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How do you create an effective marketing strategy for your ecommerce brand? It should be more straightforward than ever — in theory, at least.
After all, most people are comfortable with online shopping in 2024. Plus, consumers are spending a lot of time online. So, reaching your target audience shouldn’t be too much work, regardless of your niche.
Yet, boosting awareness, online sales, and customer retention has never been more challenging.
For one, consumers are demonstrating increases in price sensitivity. They’re choosing between more options than ever. And they’re becoming less receptive to marketing messages than ever.
So, how do you overcome these challenges to grow your ecommerce brand? You need to establish credibility, authenticity, and dedication to your customers. And the best way to do so? Investing in adequate types of content.
Do you need tips on what formats to focus on and which to skip for the best possible outcomes? If so, read on to learn about the types of content you need in your ecommerce marketing strategy.
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Identity-establishing content
Brand reputation is everything. Just look at the research data on consumers’ buying behavior.
- 91% of people consider brand image when deciding what products and services to buy.
- They’re far more likely to interact with businesses they’ve heard of.
- Some shoppers see certain brands as aspirational, equating the ownership of particular products with a sense of fulfillment or success.
What does this mean for your ecommerce marketing tactics?
It reveals that the key to growing your business may lie in brand-building content. More specifically, it shows you must pay attention to how you establish and communicate brand identity.
Ultimately, every bit of brand communication — no matter where or how you use it — tells something about your organization. So, why allow your customer base to make assumptions or jump to conclusions about your business? Especially if you can use identity-establishing content to encourage them to see your business in a specific (positive) light.
Check out AssaultFitness. This brand does everything in its power to highlight the top-notch performance of its products. Notice how the homepage refers to elite gear. The copy also features phrases like “unmatched quality,” “premiere running machines,” and “powerhouse rowers that stand above the pack.” In other words, every bit of visual and textual content positions the brand as the best choice anyone can make.
Of course, well-crafted branding content isn’t just for your website. Make sure you incorporate it into every aspect of your ecommerce marketing strategy. That includes your social media platforms, paid ads, and any other content you publish to capture your ideal customers’ attention.
Conversion-inspiring product page elements
You’ve forced your target audience to perceive your brand as credible and competent. But is that enough to grow your business?
Well, no.
To ensure business success, you must encourage prospects to buy from your brand. And what better way to do so than to make your product pages irresistible?
The best way to boost ecommerce sales is to optimize for a superb shopping experience. Use content like product descriptions, visuals, and UX components, as these guide prospects through the purchase stage of the buying process. Nonetheless, they’re not always enough to elevate conversion rates.
To guarantee a high conversion rate, supplement key touchpoints with content that significantly boosts customer experience.
For instance, most people want the best value for money when shopping. In other words, buyers don’t want to spend their hard-earned money on the wrong products.
So, ask yourself: what can you do to prevent that outcome? One answer is to empower your audience with information. If you can present web visitors with content that eases the evaluation process or communicates value, you can effectively make people more likely to buy from your brand.
To ease product research, supplement product pages with formats that help your audience understand you have what they need. Use advanced visuals — like videos and 360° views — to give them a better idea of what to expect from their purchase. Produce descriptions that highlight user benefits. And make it easy for web visitors to see that you offer a great shopping experience.
Check out all the bits of CX-boosting content Athleta adds to its product pages. The RainOut Sutro Long Trench page includes multiple product photos, videos, and close-ups (including user-generated content). Visual cues communicate that consumers get a superior checkout process. They also receive free shipping, can pay in installments, and pick up in-store. The page includes an interactive size guide (complete with measuring tips). Finally, the brand provides info on how the garment fits, how to care for it, and in what situations it works best.
SEO-friendly blog posts
Most people equate the concept of content marketing with blogging. And considering the effectiveness of this ecommerce marketing strategy, that’s not much of a surprise.
Investing in blog content is a great way to build brand and product awareness. It allows businesses to engage prospects and encourage them to convert. It can help retain customers and boost brand loyalty. And when done well, this tactic can yield long-term business growth.
However, producing and distributing compelling blog posts requires you to comprehend that one size does not fit all.
The secret to effectively incorporating blog posts into your digital marketing strategies is to optimize them. That is, each article needs to reflect your audience’s needs and goals.
One of the easiest ways to accomplish this objective is to divide your blog posts into four categories based on what segment of your audience they’re trying to target.
- Want to reach people in the top stages of the buyer’s journey? Invest in awareness stage content.
- Need to elevate the shopping experience for middle-of-the-funnel buyers? Do it with evaluation-stage resources.
- Encourage transactions with pieces meant for the conversion stage.
- Finally, use content to maximize customer retention by finding ways to encourage loyalty.
For example, do you want to attract organic traffic to your website? Explore ways to use blog content and search engine optimization to increase product awareness. The How Long Does It Take to Rehydrate Your Body article from Transparent Labs is an excellent example of such a strategy.
(Image Source: Transparent Labs)
The text is search engine optimized for broad and high-volume search terms. It’s formulated to invite qualified prospects into the sales cycle and then nudge them toward the mid-to-low stages of the buyer’s journey. It answers a common question and provides readers with tips on how to solve their pain points. Finally, it presents a product recommendation (along with commercial links) to help web visitors solve their needs instantly.
While the post represents an exceptional example of an awareness-stage piece of article, it’s not the only type of content you should publish on your company blog. Incorporating blogging into your ecommerce marketing strategy offers much more potential than simply attracting customers.
For example, research shows that between 89 and 96% of buyers spend at least 10 minutes on product analysis. Some are willing to invest hours or even days to find the right option. And what about big-ticket items? When expecting to spend a lot of money, people find the time and energy to conduct in-depth product research.
In other words, consumers want to consume content that helps them make smarter buying decisions. So, why not invest in high-quality, evaluation-stage formats for your ecommerce marketing strategy?
Explore types of content that will allow you to empower your audience. A well-written blog post, like Escort Radar’s Features of the Best Radar Detectors buying guide, can be an excellent way to call your prospects’ attention to the features they need. Especially if you can maintain an objective approach that prioritizes your prospects’ needs over sales.
But, of course, there are other types of ecommerce blog content you can incorporate in your strategy.
Product and price comparisons are gaining popularity among consumers looking for the best shopping experience. Comprehensive product reviews (supplemented with visuals and video marketing) are also great for inspiring readers to buy. And if you want to complete your blogging strategy in a way that will account for all segments of your target audience, don’t forget about existing customers.
Using blog content to enhance the customer experience and inspire loyalty is an effective way to grow your business. Ultimately, this content strategy doesn’t just boost customer satisfaction. It can also be the secret to maximizing customer retention rates. Plus, it can help elevate customer lifetime value, which is crucial if your brand relies on repeat purchases.
Check out how Vitamart does this. The brand uses blog content to ensure buyers have all the info they need for a stellar experience. Understanding that people often have to combine supplements to achieve their desired wellness results, Vitamart regularly advises readers on combining vitamins and minerals.
This isn’t a topic that many brands from the health industry cover. Yet, the info is vital for ensuring people’s positive product experience. Plus, it’s a way for the brand to empower its buyers to focus on their health. Finally, it gives them clear guidelines on what they can and can’t take together, helping them avoid unwanted side effects.
Visuals for every customer touchpoint
Even though written content — whether blog posts or value propositions — works well to help market your ecommerce business, it’s rarely enough.
After all, people almost always prefer visual formats. They’re more exciting than plain text, and they’re also effective at:
- Making complex concepts easier to understand for non-experts.
- Speeding up the process of consuming the content.
- Encouraging emotional connections between consumers and brands.
- Boosting readability and accessibility by breaking up large chunks of text.
- Allowing web visitors to interact with the brand from mobile devices.
So, if you want to market your ecommerce business, explore ways to communicate with your audience through visuals.
The most elementary way to do this is to produce engaging images, animations, or videos for your homepage. However, although a beautifully designed site is crucial for getting prospects to consider investing in your solutions, it’s not always enough to attract consumers to your brand.
To accomplish that goal, enrich your marketing activities with alluring visuals. Here’s what you can do:
- Prioritize visual appeal for your social media posts. These always require an aesthetic element to engage followers.
- Consider enhancing your paid ads with images and videos. These will be far more effective at grabbing your audience’s attention.
- Explore ways to make your content more alluring by using visual formats.
Footwear brand Chisos understands that people are far more likely to watch a video than read an article. That’s why it creates video versions of each of its articles, as you can see in this post on how to get the perfect cowboy boot fit. This simple solution allows Chisos to engage more people. Plus, the format lends itself nicely to brand-building. It helps the business establish its identity as relatable. Plus, it demonstrates a unique dedication to quality and CX, positioning Chisos as a brand that prioritizes its customers’ best interests.
Furthermore, note that the brand doesn’t just publish the video on its website. The resource is also uploaded to YouTube, the ideal platform for reaching a large audience. This allows Chisos to engage more people.
Elements to capture qualified leads
Producing and distributing high-quality content across multiple marketing channels is an excellent way to market your ecommerce business.
But here’s the thing: You may be able to capture your target audience’s attention. Nonetheless, most people don’t go from awareness to purchase in a single touch. That means you have to explore ways to transform qualified leads into potential customers.
The easiest way to do this is to invest in content elements that aim to capture prospects.
On your website, this can be something as simple as a lead capture pop-up. Check out how Greenhouse Emporium does it.
This brand invests heavily in awareness-stage blog resources, such as the What Does a Greenhouse Do for Plants article. However, the brand knows that many consumers need to learn before they are ready to convert. So, it presents web visitors with a compelling offer. Greenhouse Emporium invites readers to subscribe to its newsletter, giving them 50% off on the brand’s gardening resources. The outcome is a win-win. Prospects get access to high-quality educational resources at a fair price (along with free tips and updates from the brand). The business captures new qualified leads it can nurture into customers with the right marketing campaigns.
Lead-nurturing content
Lastly, to invest in effective content for your ecommerce marketing strategy, explore lead-nurturing formats and tactics.
The point of publishing blog posts, videos (or any other multimedia format, for that matter) isn’t just to grab your prospects’ attention. Instead, it’s to convert web visitors into customers of your business.
Most business owners understand that achieving a conversion takes time. Some resources suggest that leads need eight interactions, on average, to become buyers. You need to set the foundations for these interactions to happen. Even more importantly, make these touches valuable to your target customers.
With this in mind, explore types of content that will allow you to deliver value to your prospects over an extended period.
For example, email marketing campaigns—especially automated drip campaigns and abandoned cart emails—offer tremendous benefits. For one, they’re affordable. So, even if you create multiple email campaigns, you won’t blow through your marketing budget. Even more impressively, email allows you to personalize interactions, creating a hyper-relevant experience for future customers.
Or, you could invest in retargeting display ads to re-engage prospects via social media marketing. Lastaforest does this on Facebook. The business uses its website pixel to identify potential buyers. Then, it presents them with sponsored content. This way, the company encourages leads to reconsider buying from the ecommerce store.
(Image Source: Facebook)
In closing
Choosing the best types of content for your ecommerce marketing strategy is never simple. After all, it’s not enough to consider your goals and your audience’s preferences. You also have to understand how each format affects consumers.
Yes, some types of content—like blogs and social media posts—will work to reach and engage prospects. But they won’t always be effective at inspiring re-purchases.
So, as you build the marketing strategy for your ecommerce brand, permit yourself to experiment. Try out the formats discussed in this article. Track how each one performs. Then, invest in the best resources for your desired outcomes.