If you’re running an e-commerce business, you should stay updated on the latest e-business marketing tactics. Indeed, online sales are growing every day due to changing consumer behavior brought by a global pandemic and advancement in e-commerce marketing strategies.
If applied well, e-commerce marketing efforts can help build brand awareness, increase website visitors, attract new customers, and even boost customer loyalty. All you need is a clear marketing plan and strategy.
Below are five tried-and-tested e-business marketing strategies you should use.
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1. Optimize Your Ecommerce Website for SEO Searches
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a strategy to get more organic traffic to your e-commerce site—the more traffic you have, the higher your position in the search engine results.
SEO can be broken down into two main categories: On-page and off-page SEO.
On-page SEO refers to the optimization performed on an individual page or the entire website. It can include:
- Improving your site’s speed and mobile-friendliness for better user experience
- Internal linking
- Adding keywords to your page titles, headings, and URLs
- Creating high-quality content about your products or services on the home page, category page, and product page.
However, off-page SEO refers to the optimization that happens away from your site. This mainly involves earning backlinks from other authoritative sites.
To get maximum benefits from your SEO efforts, you can also incorporate content marketing by having a blog with SEO-friendly content.
Also, unlike Google shopping, Google ads, Adwords, and PPC, investment in SEO compounds over time. Hence, instead of growing traffic for just one page, multiple landing pages across your e-commerce website benefit from the lift.
Engage in Email Marketing
While email marketing is one of the oldest forms of digital marketing, it’s still as relevant as ever in e-commerce strategies.
One amazing thing about email marketing is that you can automate it. You can set up a drip campaign for subscribers and segment them by their stage in the buyer’s journey. After that, your email campaign will do its magic, so you don’t have to send emails manually.
Moreover, when creating your email list for marketing automation, let your subscribers join with full consent. Most people today are extra cautious about data privacy.
Here are two effective ways of using email marketing campaigns.
- The Abandoned Carts: If a user has abandoned their shopping cart, send them a polite retargeting email urging them to complete the checkout.
- Post-Purchase Follow Up: If a person has already bought your product from your e-commerce website—and subscribed to your email list, you can send them a follow-up email after the delivery of the product to get their testimonial on the purchase experience. This also keeps the conversation going for future online shopping.
Additionally, use creative subject lines for your emails, so your users can open and read them.
3. Use Social Media Marketing
According to Backlinko, about 4.48 million people are on social media today. You can use your social media platforms to connect with existing and potential customers.
Before anything else, identify the platforms your target audience uses the most. For example, if you’re targeting Gen Z and millennials, Instagram and TikTok are solid choices. But, if you’re targeting Boomers, Facebook may be your best bet. And, if your customer base is primarily women, don’t ignore Pinterest.
Successful social media marketing requires developing genuine connections with your followers. Here are four things you can do:
- Respond to comments and DMs
- Share customer reviews
- Be entertaining and captivating
- Give incentives to loyal customers
Furthermore, focus on growing your social media following for increased engagement. For instance, you can display your social media handles in outdoor digital signage systems together with your offers. As people pass by, they will see the signs and connect with your e-commerce company or business.
4. Engage in Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is an effective e-commerce marketing strategy because it allows you to tap into a specific audience through a person who is greatly trusted by that audience. This is important, especially when introducing new products.
However, the cost of influencer marketing will depend on the influencer you’re using and your agreement. Some influencers want to be paid through commissions, some want direct payments, while others may even ask for free products.
Overall, this can be an investment, especially for small businesses. But, as long as your influencer has an active, engaged audience, that investment will be worth it.
5. Use Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing relies on a network of referrers or affiliates who drive people to your online store and get paid a commission for each sale they aid. This is common with Amazon sellers.
Typically, the affiliates use blog posts to review your products or list their favorite picks in a given category. As an online retailer, you don’t have to do anything. Also, the conversion rate is quite good as the people coming into your site already have a buying intention.
In Closing
As an online store owner, you have more marketing tools at your disposal than ever before. However, ensure the marketing tips and strategies you embrace fit the evolving needs of your target audience.
Also, the e-business marketing strategies discussed in this post highlight various options, ranging from free and prompt to those that will take months and significant investment to implement. Take time to determine what works for you best.
