Whether you’re new to eCommerce or ready to take your business to the next level, investing in the right eCommerce marketing solutions is essential. Learn about these 8 considerations to drive sales, increase visibility, and build your online business.
eCommerce Platforms
When your business depends on selling products and services online, you need the best eCommerce platform for your specific needs. Since it’s one of the most important aspects of your business, you won’t want to choose your sales platform without researching or opt for the cheapest software. After all, eCommerce marketing is changing rapidly, and you will need a platform that can make your products and services shine, allow your customers to feel secure, and grow your business over time.
While startup companies and businesses on a budget may want to consider affordable options such as Shopify or WooCommerce, these platforms can be limiting if you have a large catalog, if you want to build a customized site, or if you’re planning to scale quickly. Larger companies and businesses planning for growth can consider more robust platforms such as Magento. Although you’ll need an experienced Magento developer to make the most of this platform, it’s ideal for creating eye-catching sites, responsive shopping experiences, and secure payment processes.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
When searching for the right eCommerce platform for your business, think about your SEO needs, too. To optimize your online store for search engines, you’ll need a platform that relies on simple site architecture and ensures that your site loads as quickly as possible. Online stores that take even an extra second or two to load risk turning away potential customers and cause sales to plummet. About half of internet users expect sites to load within two seconds, and even more won’t return after a frustrating experience.
The keywords in your product descriptions, category descriptions, and other site content also impact how your site will rank in search engine results. Consider integrating third-party on-page SEO extensions in to your eCommerce marketing plan to ensure you’re using target keywords, creating Google rich snippets, and writing effective meta descriptions.
Social Media Marketing (SMM)
Social media sites are among the most effective and least expensive platforms for eCommerce marketing, allowing you to boost brand awareness and drive sales without spending a penny. Begin by choosing the right platform for your company, such as LinkedIn for business-to-business (B2B) sales, Facebook for business-to-consumer (B2C) sales, and Instagram for younger audiences.
After optimizing your profile, develop a social media strategy that helps you generate engagement and organic growth. To encourage organic growth, you’ll want to publish posts regularly and strive to add value for your audience rather than pushing sales constantly. If you want to grow your social media following more quickly or drive sales exponentially, consider running paid ads on your social media platforms.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)
You can also push more potential customers to your website with a strong PPC ad strategy. These ads appear on search engine results pages (SERPs) and target relevant keywords your audience would search for when seeking a particular product or service like the ones you offer.
Unlike some other advertising models, PPC ads require you to pay only when people click them. While they can be affordable and effective additions to your advertising budget, research popularity and estimated cost using Google’s Keyword Planner or a similar tool to make sure you’ll get the return you expect.
Email Marketing
As your eCommerce site grows, you’ll have the opportunity to collect email addresses from customers and interested prospects. Rather than tucking them away and never using them again, put your contact list to work with an email service provider.
Consider sending out regular newsletters and updates to keep customers in the loop about new products and designing a series of automated messages that keep your customers engaged. From simple welcome emails for new subscribers and thank you messages for purchasing customers to abandoned cart messages for customers who never completed their purchases, automated email marketing can drive sales and help you meet your goals.
Content Marketing
If you’re focused on eCommerce sales, you might prefer to keep your online store as simple and streamlined as possible. In many cases, however, adding a blog or creating a content marketing strategy to supplement your store can help drive sales.
To design an effective content strategy, avoid creating “salesy” blog posts and instead focus on educating, informing and inspiring readers with your content. In addition, as you publish more, you’ll have more opportunities to rank for keywords, improve brand visibility, and create sharable content.
Affiliate Marketing
Many of the most successful online stores don’t depend on their own in-house efforts to drive substantial sales. Instead, many of the most effective eCommerce marketing strategies are focused on growing a network of affiliates.
This revenue sharing model is relatively simple. To get started, you’ll just need to establish an affiliate program and recruit others to sell your products and services. To get the best return from this strategy, make the affiliate percentage low enough to still make a profit but high enough to incentivize affiliates to promote your offerings. With the right motivation, your affiliate network might do everything from writing reviews and sharing social media posts to emailing their lists and creating high-quality content to sell your products or services.
Sales Funnels
For many eCommerce companies, the key to success involves nurturing customers via sales funnels. Your prospective customers may not be ready to buy right away, but their indecision doesn’t have to cost you the ultimate sales. By introducing them into your online sales funnel, you can help them shift from early awareness to a stage where they’re ready to purchase.
The best sales funnels can be complicated to develop and may involve a combination of PPC ads, email marketing, and landing pages. However, effective funnels may ultimately automate sales for your eCommerce site.
Ready to launch your business but need a hand to get your online store off the ground? Book an appointment with IronPlane for a free consultation about eCommerce marketing, Magento development and support, website hosting, and other smart solutions for your eCommerce business.
