Tips to Market an Online Store
The world of e-commerce is extremely competitive, with a large percentage of sellers paying for exposure. This is especially true with search results. Online retailers have been made increasingly available through different platforms, including Amazon, Etsy, and Shopify, leading to incredible growth expected to reach $4.5 trillion by 2021.
While that’s great news for those trying to break into space, it also means that marketers need to do more than ever to stay ahead of their competition. Like with social media strategies such as Facebook advertising and Instagram, attracting sales and traffic requires a strong marketing approach. It would help if you were willing to continually examine and adjust your online store tactics based on successes and failures.
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Know Your Audience
Before you can start working out a specific eCommerce marketing plan, you need to learn what your customers are looking for.
The benefits of personalized marketing are well documented: 88% of marketers see improved results from personalization. This technique allows you to focus on a specific pitch or value proposition that aligns with online shoppers’ needs, rather than simply creating another generic ad campaign.
For example, you can personalize an ad based on their browsing history on your site. If a customer was browsing the shoe department, serve them an ad for another pair of shoes a week after they’ve visited.
Many businesses have already gone down this path, and learning from their successes and failures is a great way to avoid making the same mistakes. Write Notepads & Co. is a perfect example of this, as they used social media marketing and other tactics to reach a niche audience on Shopify. By leveraging both the platform’s unique offerings and a personalized marketing strategy, this company found a group of passionate and loyal consumers that still find value in paper and pen products despite the competition from an ever-growing digital population.
Market Online Store Through Facebook
Facebook should be at the center of your e-commerce marketing campaign, as its outreach and marketing tools provide you with what you need to reach your audience. There’s a reason 93% of marketers regularly use Facebook, and it’s thanks to the wide range of users it attracts.
Many online retailers see increased ROI with visual content, including images and video. For e-commerce, in particular, the ability to show all angles of a product or how it looks when used by a customer in real life can be invaluable. Facebook allows you to customize who sees your ad using various criteria, giving you the ability to tailor your strategies as specifically or generally as you need.
Other social networks can also give you a significant leg up on the competition. Melinda Wood Designs, a popular e-commerce store on Etsy, utilized Pinterest and Instagram to connect with their audience. In doing so, they increased both engagements and, in the long-term, return on investment. With just 500 followers, they were able to create more than $800/month in sales.
Use Search Engines to Your Advantage
One of the simplest ways to market online is by getting your brand at the top of the search results. Google Adwords allows you to pay for an improved search ranking, which can significantly affect your online store’s visibility.
In fact, over half of all traffic goes to the first two results. Simply getting to the first page can also make a significant difference, as traffic decreases by a shocking 95% if you’re on the second page.
Market Online Store: Market on Podcasts
While Facebook and Google each offer eCommerce retailers ways to target specific segments of their user base, podcasts can also provide you with a receptive audience. Since most podcasts often focus on a specific topic or interest, you can look for one that fits your eCommerce brand’s messaging. There are plenty devoted to shopping or specific products. Another important tip is to ensure that you get a spot in the middle of the podcast rather than at the beginning or end, often skipped over.
Ecommerce marketing is a unique field, and marketing your own store can be daunting, especially at first. Fortunately, eCommerce stores now have several platforms to help them succeed, including Shopify, Etsy, and WooCommerce.
These guidelines can help you start creating an effective marketing strategy, but the best marketers understand that a successful approach requires constant evaluation and revision. This is true now more than ever, as it’s a time when marketing is such a competitive field.
