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Tips for getting the most out of your e-Commerce marketing

Digital Marketing + Social Media + SEO + SEM + Content and copywriting

Tips for getting the most out of your e-Commerce marketing

Particularly after the last few years, e-Commerce has become a non-negotiable for customers who expect to be able to easily add to cart the products they need and want. The ‘pivot’ to e-Commerce was, however, likely an accelerated push to an inevitable direction for most brands who opted into an online store, particularly with the direct purchase participation of social media platforms making it easier than ever for consumers. So, if you’re a business that has migrated to e-Commerce, or seasoned in e-Commerce but are new to marketing it, how do you know you’re effectively presenting your brand to the right consumers to grow your purchases? Here’s our top tips for getting the most out of your e-Commerce marketing activity.

Don’t let paid scare you

Paid digital marketing can have as much or as little investment by you depending on which platform you’re choosing, how many of them you’re choosing, what your goals are and how much you can implement the perfect balance of high reward with the most cost effective strategy possible. However you decide to do it, though, it is a vital component to an e-commerce marketing strategy. From awareness campaigns, to Google Ads, shopping and paid search, and social media paid posts (all of which allow you to target your intended audience in various ways), paid is a highly effective way of reaching the people you want to reach, at the times they want to be reached.

Foolproof your social proof

There are a number of ways a consumer might find your brand, but more often than not it’ll be through word of mouth or digitally. During their consideration phase (after they’ve discovered your brand, and you’ve done your awareness work), they’ll be looking for proof of conversion points: quality, reliability, real life experience of product and customer service etc. The best way you can immediately provide this, in a very cost effective ecommerce marketing way, is to ensure your organic social media platforms are truly representative of your brand and doing it justice. This could make or break a potential conversion from a customer. This means keeping post times consistent, high quality content being rolled out, sticking to a consistent tone of voice, allowing and encouraging user feedback and engagement, and giving them social proof that their purchase will be a valuable one.

Email isn’t dead

A great marketing strategy to implement on your website or social media platforms is incentive-led email capturing that will allow you to create an inbound email marketing campaign to offer value and delight to your database of current and future customers. This can be a subtle pop-up on your website that offers a discount, or valuable content, if people enter their email address, or similar incentives through a paid social media campaign that pulls information from accounts (with the account holder’s approval) to migrate direct to your database. Marketing research shows that for every $1 you spend on email marketing (to, say, use a distribution site or apply offers as incentives to click through and purchase), you can expect an average return of $42. That’s a pretty impressive ROI!

Invest in SEO

Search Engine Optimisation is ideal for meeting customers where they are at, as they’re searching for the solution to their problem (your product being the solution). The aim is to have your e-commerce site ranking organically on search engines, typically Google. SEO training company Backlinko found that the first result on a Google search, organically (meaning, not a paid ad) was more likely to receive a click through than a result on page one but position 10. Investment into SEO doesn’t mean paid (necessarily), it can also be in optimising your onsite content (particularly on product information - ensuring it’s not just regurgitated information from the manufacturer, where it could be replicated on other sites and be considered duplicate content). It can also be updating URLs, deploying blog posts, building quality backlinks and incorporating keywords in a readable, valuable way.

All in all, research has shown that 93% of online consumers expect their digital experience with a brand to equal or better an in-store experience, and 52% would be willing to pay more if that experience happens within a few clicks (which a good UX design on your website should support). The overall experience, from awareness to conversion and onto brand loyalty, is determined by the digital marketing choices you make and invest into your brand. Every touch point counts, and the value they find in each one will make the difference between a happy and loyal customer, and a frustrated one who abandons cart, if they get that far.

Read on for more information on making that e-commerce experience smoother.