Eighteen Essentials for Your Ecommerce Marketing Strategy

If you run an ecommerce business, you know marketing is essential. Great marketing techniques will benefit all stages of your ecommerce company.

If you’re just starting, you probably have no marketing knowledge, but if you have a steady stream of revenue, you’re probably looking for methods that boost your marketing efforts.

There are marketing essentials that always drive success. These tried-and-true methods are easy for a beginner, but drive expert results. Here are eighteen essentials to include in your ecommerce marketing strategy.

1. Create Original Content

If your ecommerce website doesn’t have a content strategy, this is first on your marketing to-do list.

Content entices customers. Well-written content makes your brand more engaging, will attract a devoted customer base and can be the tool that gains more sales.

However, you need to ensure your content strategy is effective. The secret to well-performing content is high-quality and original content.

Original content is unique and creative. Know how you stand out and develop your own voice.

2. Market Your Content

What’s the point of amazing content and great branding if you don’t know how to market your content? The key to attracting more website visitors is great content marketing skills.

At the same time, you shouldn’t expect viral content in one night. Even great marketing techniques are most effective after some time.

Focus your content marketing strategy on evergreen and informative content that ties into your products.

Publish consistently and promote all content after it’s posted. Collaborate with SEO and social media experts to optimize your content for promotion.

After some time, you’ll notice your blog visitors increase.

3. Optimize Your Website for Performance

An effective ecommerce website layout contains UI/UX qualities that assist your customer in the buying process.

As such, ecommerce brands can have a minimalist website, devoid of animations and unique colors. Website performance is the factor you should focus on.

To ensure your website performs well, run multiple tests. These tests should measure important aspects such as the website’s layout, language, and content placement.

When your website performs well, you’ll have better luck generating leads.

4. Don’t Forget About Social Media

Social media is one of the best tools for an ecommerce company. You can easily communicate with your customers, colleagues, and other influencers.

Social media is also the catalyst to drive engagement. You can post different forms of media such as images, video, and savvy one-liners. These tools help boost traffic and grow your customer base.

Social media advertising uses engagement for lead-converting strength.

For the best results, use different social media platforms. Each platform attracts different customers and utilizes different promotional methods.

However, you should always keep a constant tone and personality, so your customers can always identify you.

5. Have an E-mail Marketing Campaign

You should never underestimate the power of e-mail marketing. E-mail marketing keeps existing customers engaged.

E-mail marketing also serves as a reminder; a one-time customer may visit your website again after seeing a promotional e-mail.

For ecommerce companies, always send e-mails for deals and other special sales.

E-mail marketing is also a great way to personalize your marketing content, such as wishing a customer happy birthday.

E-mail marketing’s sole purpose isn’t sending promotional material. Always include your e-mail address in all promotions and urge your customers to send you an email.

6. SEO for Organic Results

If you haven’t optimized your website and content for SEO, you’re making a huge mistake. SEO is one of the top modern marketing methods.

SEO, or search engine optimization, measures your website with Google algorithms. This helps you appear higher in Google searches.

You can easily optimize your ecommerce content for SEO. Research keywords for each product and optimize each product page. Write good quality and keyword-rich copy for each product.

A blog also increases your website’s organic reach. Make sure your blog posts contain useful information and are relevant to your products.

Other factors also include SEO performance. This includes your website’s UX factors and social media presence.

7. PPC Marketing

A combination of organic and inorganic marketing helps drive leads from all angles.

One of the easiest inorganic marketing tricks is PPC marketing. PPC, or pay-per-click, is an advertising set-up where you only pay when someone clicks your ad.

There are two main components of a successful PPC advertising campaign: the ad and the landing page.

Your ad must entice a customer. Offer a customer a reward or an answer to their problems. When they click the ad, the landing page should synchronize with the ad. Offer a simplistic layout that delivers what the ad promises.

You can also use PPC marketing techniques with keywords. Invest in a well-performing keyword. When someone searches that keyword, your ad appears at the top of the results page.

8. Optimize Mobile Marketing

Most of your customers will access your website through their mobile devices.

Therefore, use mobile-friendly marketing strategies.

The key strategy is your web design. A responsive website, or a website optimized for all devices, is integral. This allows easy transition and viewing between a customer’s mobile phone and their desktop.

You should also invest in other mobile marketing products. Create an app or integrate text message marketing in your campaign.

However, one major mistake marketers commit is optimizing for mobile and not for desktop. You shouldn’t compromise your desktop marketing efforts because of mobile domination.

9. Use Wearable and Virtual Reality

One of the most popular consumer markets is virtual reality, but this is still a market untapped by advertisers. If you can be inventive, come up with a virtual reality marketing campaign.

A good tip is offering a virtual product tour.

Users who have a virtual reality device can click your page and view product demonstrations and experience your products before they even buy anything. If it fits your niche, create products designed to improve the VR experience.

You can also use your advertisements in certain virtual reality videos or programs.

Keep in mind, this type of advertising and optimization can be pricey.

10. Always Use Different Storefront Platforms

If you think your customers only buy products on your website, you’re mistaken. If your customers need a product, they will likely go to Amazon’s website and search for it.

Follow which platforms your customers use. Create different ecommerce platform accounts and see which are the most profitable. You can even reach out to customers and ask how they found your company.

If you never saw results from different web storefronts, your marketing could be failing. Research each storefront’s SEO techniques and invest in paid ads.

11. Retarget Existing Customers

When marketing, many brands only focus on new customers, but retargeting techniques are easier. New customers have no knowledge of your brand.

They likely only purchase one time. They will wait and purchase again, or they may not purchase at all.

Your devoted customers, on the other hand, trust you and know your brand. Therefore, create a special marketing strategy for them.

The most effective retargeting technique is paid ads. After they visit your website, your ads appear on their browser. This continues to draw interest and they will continue visiting your website.

You can also use your content strategy for retargeting. See which products your devoted customers purchase. Write blogs based on those products.

12. Optimize Customer Accounts

To continue with retargeting strategies, customer accounts benefit existing customers. When they purchase a new product, they log into their account where their information is already saved, but this also benefits you.

From their account, you can see what your customers buy and how much they buy. You can also view additional data, such as their location and age.

To simplify the process, offer social or Google logins. You’ll see similar information and can even view their social posts.

Keep in mind, recent data protection laws affect how much information your customer can provide.

13. Include User-Generated Content

User-generated content is a major SEO trend. This includes reviews and testimonials from customers.

Most marketers know reviews on third-party websites is beneficial to SEO, but reviews on your own website helps increase your website’s search ranking.

For best results, give customers the option to review a product directly on the product page. Whether the review is positive or negative, respond to each review. This shows a future customer that your brand engaged with customers.

User-generated content shouldn’t be restricted to reviews. Offer a community where customers can ask questions and connect with others. Forums are also a helpful way for customers to gain insight.

14. Offer Sales and Pop-Ups

Let’s say a customer is searching your company website, regardless of whether they’re a new or returning customer.

They have a few products in their shopping bag, but they’re still deciding between some products. A pop-up emerges and offers a 35% off coupon. The customer will likely use that coupon and keep all of the products in their shopping bag.

There’s a tried-and-true method: a sales page. If a customer sees you have a lot of great marked-down products, they will continue visiting your website.

These techniques draw more sales and increases conversions, but you’re not spending a lot of your overhead costs.

15. Reaching Out to Abandoning Shoppers

You can use retargeting and customer account marketing strategies to see when customers are abandoning you. You can use different ways to reach out to one-time and abandoning shoppers.

E-mail marketing is your best bet. Send personalized e-mails with product recommendations. If this doesn’t work, send personalized coupons.

People love acknowledgment. Your customers are no exception. When your customers see their name and a personalized message, this is more enticing than a traditional newsletter.

This will take more time and research, but you’ll be able to convert failing leads and retain your sales traffic.

16. Gather Data from Live Chats

If your customer service team doesn’t utilize live chat, then you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.

Live chat doesn’t only benefit your customers, it benefits your marketing efforts. If you’re stumped on a new marketing campaign, you can look back at chat conversations.

Let’s say a customer has an issue and starts a customer service chat. After the conversation is over, you can read what the customer said. You can use their feedback to improve the customer experience and market on this improvement.

This method is also a great customer research tool. During chats, your customer offers good information. They may explain their purchases are for their child or is a gift.

You already know a little bit of information about the customer and the niche you’re targeting.

17. Always Tell a Story

Stories engage people and a digital platform makes sharing stories easier than ever.

Share stories as a brand. Your company story should be a page on your website, but you can share more stories on social media, such as the inspiration for a product or even amazing interactions with customers.

18. Always Use Video

Are you ready for the video marketing takeover? If you don’t have product videos, you’re losing a great marketing opportunity. Videos are engaging and shareable.

It’s easy to make a video go viral. If you have an amazing product with unique qualities, push video marketing strategies.

Don’t sacrifice SEO strategies. When the video is done, upload the video to social media. Use a keyword-rich title and write a video description. Utilize other video-sharing platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo for best results.

Time to Create an Effective Ecommerce Marketing Strategy

The key to engaged customers and higher sales traffic is an ecommerce marketing strategy that drives results, but a successful strategy has different aspects of marketing.

Get to know your customers and engage them through social media and content. From here, you can use paid advertising and other product advertising methods.

Do you need a multichannel marketing strategy for your ecommerce business? We’ll review your digital marketing strategy for free.