10 Ways to Improve Your E-commerce Marketing Strategy This Year
By Chelsea Dewlen
Everyone wants to increase their sales and conversions. With the right marketing strategies in place for your e-commerce business, you can maximize your channels to drive more sales and acquire loyal, lifetime customers.
Despite the recent supply chain issues, online retail is flourishing. The e-commerce world doesn’t show signs of slowing down anytime soon. A basic marketing plan isn’t enough. You need to evaluate and tweak your e-commerce marketing strategy.
Read on for 10 strategies to help you make the most of your channels and hit your goals.
1. Use SEO Best Practices
If you’re not evaluating search engine optimization (SEO) as part of your e-commerce marketing strategy, launching a beautiful website won’t get you very far. According to Backlinko, the #1 organic result is 10 times more likely to receive a click compared to a page in spot #10.(1)
SEO best practices haven’t changed much over the years. Focus on using SEO keywords organically within your web content. This practice improves your site’s ranking on search engine ranking. When a shopper is searching for terms related to your product or service, you want to show up.
You can improve your SEO by:
- Doing keyword research and including keywords throughout your site
- Optimizing your website to create a great user experience
- Making sure you have backlinks from other sites
If SEO seems daunting, don’t panic. There are numerous resources available to help you. Working with an SEO expert will help you get the results you want to see.
2. Run PPC Campaigns
PPC (pay-per-click) is a great advertising method to include in your e-commerce marketing strategy. With PPC, you’re charged for your ad when a potential customer clicks on it. PPC boosts traffic to your website, since your ad is visible to a shopper on the first page of the search results.
This type of advertising helps you control your ad spend, since you pay as you go. You can run an ad for a few days and check performance. There are no long-term obligations. You can tweak or stop running ads that aren’t performing well at any time. PPC is cost-effective, since you won’t pay if no one clicks on your ad.
Getting PPC ads up and running is quick and easy. You can work with an ads professional or handle it yourself. Either way, ads can be live in no time.
3. Leverage Influencer Marketing
According to Forbes, influencer marketing is growing faster than digital ads.(2) The benefit of social media and influencer marketing is that you reach your audience where they already are. Working with influencers helps you increase brand awareness and generate new leads across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, etc.
Influencers have built trust with their followers. By working with influencers, social media users will get to know your brand, your story, and who you are. You’re putting your products or services in front of an audience who is already engaged and interested in your niche.
Plus, if you’ve run out of content to share on your social accounts, sharing influencer content can fill the gaps. A good influencer relationship can lead to future opportunities, like brand collaborations.
Working with influencers is a great option to take your business to the next level if you’re struggling to get traction on social media.
4. Collect User-Generated Content
So, what exactly is user-generated content and how does it fit in your e-commerce marketing strategy? Referred to as “UGC” for short, consumers make content about a brand themselves. UGC takes the form of written reviews, photos, videos, or social posts. UGC is organic — unlike influencer marketing posts.
Consumers are buying from their phones more than ever. And they’re using UGC to inform their decisions around what to buy. Shoppers are more likely to trust what someone like them says about your brand over what you say about it.
In TINT’s 2022 State of User-Generated Content Report, they found that 76% of consumers have purchased a product because of someone else’s recommendation, and 72% of consumers believe reviews and testimonials submitted by other customers are more credible versus just having the company talk about its products.(3)
UGC allows consumers to do your content production work for you. You can focus your budget on other strategies.
5. Try SMS Campaigns
There’s no doubt that SMS marketing is effective for e-commerce brands. According to Postscript, consumers read 98% of text messages by the end of each day, and 32% of consumers actually respond to SMS marketing messages.(4) Email stats pale in comparison.
SMS allows you to reach customers where they spend their time — on their phones. It’s a great tool for welcome and opt-in campaigns. Since SMS requires an opt-in, your list will only include customers who actually want to hear from you.
Use SMS to stay in touch with customers about:
- Promotions and Sales
- Reminders and Celebrations
- Rewards Programs
- Reordering
- Abandoned Carts
- Shipping and Delivery Notifications
A good SMS strategy can help you grow your subscriber lists, build trust within your community, and increase sales.
6. Beef Up Your Email List
Email is essential to your e-commerce marketing strategy. Your email list allows you to reach a broad audience who may not be active on social media. Email marketing cultivates trust and provides valuable information. Like SMS subscribers, email subscribers have chosen to be on your list.
Email is more reliable than social. If Instagram changes their algorithm and only a few people ever see your posts again, you’ll still have your email list.
Make sure you’re creating entertaining, helpful email content. Aim for content that people won’t send to their trash folder. If your emails are engaging, your subscribers are more likely to forward them to their network.
You can incentivize customers to opt in to your email list with a special offer. Messaging like “10% off your first purchase if you subscribe to emails” is effective. A lead magnet like a free tool or e-book also goes a long way to encourage email opt-ins.
A quality email list moves your leads through your sales funnel and increases conversions.
7. Revamp Web Content and Product Descriptions
First impressions matter. You have a tiny window to catch and keep a customer’s attention. Your web content can keep someone scrolling your site, or have them bouncing in seconds.
Website content should communicate exactly what your site is about. Make sure you understand the person you are trying to reach. What do they want to know? What are they typing into Google?
Great product descriptions highlight your product’s benefits so that your customers have to buy — now! Your product descriptions shouldn’t highlight why you think your product is great. They should connect with the customer on an emotional level by communicating what’s in it for them.
When writing compelling product descriptions, put yourself in the customers’ shoes. What problems do they have? How will your product solve those problems? How will that make the customer feel? Speak in their language.
Creating compelling, SEO-optimized content can be overwhelming. Working with a skilled copywriter is a great way to make sure you nail it.
8. Use Retargeting
Not everyone who lands on your site will buy now. Retargeting ads appear to potential customers after they have visited your site and left empty handed. Retargeting is successful because it targets people who have been on your site at one time. Return on investment is always better when you’re spending money on warm leads.
You can use retargeting ads on social media to spread brand awareness. Retargeting entices consumers to return to your site to buy. Banner ads can appear anywhere your audience is browsing on the internet, as long as the site supports ads.
Email retargeting allows you to create a personalized experience. It targets shoppers who leave your site without making a purchase. A retargeting email may include a list of products personalized just for that customer. You can show social proof for an item they’re abandoned in their cart, or even a coupon to encourage them to complete their order.
Personalized messages shown to the right shopper at the right time dramatically increases conversion rates.
9. Optimize Shipping Strategy
A competitive shipping strategy is an e-commerce marketing tool that often goes overlooked. It’s not easy for e-commerce brands to compete with Amazon Prime’s free 1-2 day shipping. Why would a customer spend $10 for 5-8 day shipping when they can get the same product from Amazon with fast, free shipping?
Customers are less likely to convert if they reach the checkout and see high shipping fees or long transit times. Don’t be afraid to subsidize shipping costs – the increased conversions will make up for it tenfold. Especially if your average order value is on the high end.
Your customers want instant gratification, and they don’t want to pay for it.
10. Reward Loyal Customers
Loyalty & referral programs engage existing customers and help reach new ones. Customer advocacy is one of the most affordable ways to increase revenue. A loyalty program incentivizes repeat purchases and higher average order value. Customers receive better rewards based on the amount they spend.
With the e-commerce market becoming more saturated, you have to earn loyalty from your customers . According to Yotpo, “Building true emotional loyalty requires crafting journeys, forming storylines, and creating more organic and deeper reasons for why consumers would choose to deliberately spend time with your brand and the experience it provides.”(5)
Referral programs allow you to incentivize your customers to do your marketing for you.
What’s Next?
You might be thinking, “Sounds great, but how do I get started?” If you’re overwhelmed, that’s okay. You don’t have to use all 10 of these strategies right now.
Think about your current e-commerce marketing strategy, and improve where you can.
The right marketing strategy will help you reach your ideal customers, increase your average order value, and increase your sales. If you have any questions or you’d like to chat about your e-commerce marketing strategy, please reach out here.
References:
- 21 Proven Ecommerce Marketing Strategies to Try in 2022. Accessed 2 February 2023. https://www.shopify.com/blog/ecommerce-marketing#1
- Influencer Marketing is Growing Faster Than Digital Ads. Accessed 2 February 2023. https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/05/02/influencer-marketing-is-growing-faster-than-digital-ads/sh=1c367d47b391
- The State of Social & User Generated Content 2023. Accessed 2 February 2023. https://www.tintup.com/state-of-social-user-generated-content
- Guide to SMS for Ecommerce in 2022: Resources, Checklists, and Examples. Accessed 2 February 2023. https://postscript.io/guide-sms-for-ecommerce
- The New Reality of Loyalty: Consumers Want Brands To Earn It. Accessed 2 February 2023. https://www.yotpo.com/blog/the-new-reality-of-loyalty-consumers-want-brands-to-earn-it/
