5 marketing tactics every eCommerce business should be using
If you’re working in eCommerce in 2021, you should be focusing on using the most effective digital marketing tactics in order to sell your products or services. In this article, we’re going to outline different tactics you can use to improve your sales. Let’s get started.
Create video content to show how great your products are
Video content is becoming increasingly popular, and creating videos that show how exciting your products are can help you stand out from your competitors and make more sales. Production process videos, product demonstrations, and user testimonial videos are also great for marketing your wares. Understanding the nuances of video transcription can enhance the accessibility and SEO of your content, making it even more effective.
Let’s look at a few examples of businesses that use this type of content well to give you some inspiration.
For instance, SchoolLockers.com, an online locker retailer, uses video content on their product page for storage cabinets. To the right of the page, you can see a short video that showcases their metal lockers. It helps the viewer stay engaged on the page and gives them real insight as to what these lockers are like.
This builds trust with SchoolLockers.com’s audience and ultimately will lead to more sales. On your website, consider using videos to show off different types of products.
Aerial Wakeboarding, a water sports retailer, uses video content as the header image on their homepage in order to engage the viewer and get them excited about the products. The header features a variety of people on wakeboards spinning through the air and having a good time. On your website, think about how you can use video in order to engage your website visitors — this can lead to more sales!
Prioritize SEO to climb relevant search engine results pages
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is a very important digital marketing technique! It’s the process of improving your website and creating content that will help your website rise through the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Publishing high-quality content is a great way to boost your SEO. Start by conducting some keyword research. Write down a list of words and phrases related to your industry and plug them into a tool like Google Keyword Planner. Google will then provide you with a list of keywords that people are searching for on any given subject. Basing your content on these keywords is a great way to rise through the SERPs.
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Link building is another important aspect of SEO; it’s the process of getting other high-quality, authoritative websites to link back to your page. When this happens, Google takes it as a vote of confidence in your authority and gives you a boost on the SERPs. Think about how you can create shareable content on your website that other websites will want to link back to.
Lastly, you need to ensure that your technical SEO is up to par. Here are a few things to keep in mind when improving your technical SEO:
- Have a fast loading speed (try to keep it under two seconds)
- Optimize and compress your images
- Make sure your website is mobile-friendly
- Fix broken links
- Make sure your website is easy to navigate
Create relevant and helpful content your audience will love
Content marketing is one of the most important promotional tools that you have at your disposal. It’s the process of creating content like blog posts, videos, calculators, and more in order to attract your ideal audience.
To come up with new content marketing ideas, start by checking in with your customer service team in order to determine if there are any questions or pain points they get frequently. Creating content to solve these problems and answer these questions is a great way to come up with content marketing ideas. You can also write articles about new products or services, create how-to videos, and more.
Let’s take a look at a business that uses content marketing on their website for inspiration.
BarkBox, a dog product subscription service, uses content marketing to promote their dog dental products. For instance, they have an article outlining the different stages of periodontal disease in dogs, as well as how owners can help prevent it.
Throughout the article, BarkBox notes that their Bark Bright products can help fight gum disease in dogs. The article is informative and helps sell their products without being too aggressive, making it a great example of content marketing. On your website, think about how you can write an informative article that also helps to promote your products or services.
Publish positive customer reviews
Word-of-mouth recommendations provide a very powerful way to get more sales for your business. Showing website visitors that past customers enjoy your products or services can help them feel more confident buying from you and build a sense of trust. This will ultimately help you make more sales!
Keep in mind that different types of businesses might want to use different types of reviews. Product-based businesses might want to use star ratings in order to show the average of many reviews for a single product, while service-based businesses might want to use long-form testimonials that provide more context.
Let’s look at a few different ways that websites have incorporated reviews into their web pages for inspiration.
AutomotiveTouchup, an autobody paint retailer, has a series of before and after photos on their results page with attached testimonials. This is a great way to provide word-of-mouth recommendations for their website visitors and draw in more customers.
On your website, consider if before and after photos are practical for your products — different cosmetics, gyms, and repair facilities all could use this tactic to draw in more sales.
Purple, an online pillow and mattress retailer, does something different with their Harmony Pillow product page. They have a series of user-provided images and reviews from happy customers talking about just how great these pillows are.
Because so many people have trouble sleeping, reviews like this are a great way for Purple to make more pillow sales. On your website, be sure that you have reviews in a very visible place on your product pages in order to prove to your visitors that you sell quality products.
Focus on using a handful of social media channels
Social media is an incredibly powerful tool that all business owners should take advantage of! However, too many businesses make the mistake of trying to be on every platform at once, which can use up too much valuable time and resources. Focus on the platforms that are most suitable to your business for the best results!
If your business is well-suited to visual content, like a salon, retailer, or restaurant would be, platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest are all great options. If you’re just looking for a platform with the largest user base, Facebook is your best bet. If you market mostly to other businesses and professionals, LinkedIn is the obvious choice.
Let’s take a look at a few examples of businesses that have done a good job of choosing their ideal social media platforms to post on.
Abercrombie and Fitch, a men’s and women’s clothing brand, does much of their marketing on Instagram — a logical choice for a clothing retailer!
Instagram allows them to show off images of their clothes, both on models and off, in order to garner excitement around their products. If you work in retail selling clothing, makeup, or furniture, for instance, consider using Instagram as your platform of choice to make more sales.
Agility Partners, an IT recruiting firm based out of Columbus, Ohio, uses LinkedIn to market many of their programs and open positions.
Again, because they work in the employment sector, this choice makes sense for Agility Partners. Workers looking for new jobs and hiring managers are most likely to come across these types of posts on LinkedIn over any other platform, making it a great way for them to get more applicants. If you work directly with workers or other businesses, be sure to post regularly on LinkedIn to increase your engagement with these audiences.
Summary
As more and more businesses shift their focus to online platforms, marketing has been changing! In this article, we outlined several different tactics that eCommerce businesses should be using, including social media, content marketing, and more. Take a look at your website and get to work!
