This is a guest post written by InterExcel.
Yes, you’ve done it! Your brand new online store ticks all the boxes for design and functionality and all your products are sitting pretty, ripe for the picking. But where are all the customers? Every new store needs to make a bit of a hoo-ha to get noticed. Unfortunately, this isn’t as easy for eCommerce stores as it would be for a physical one, but with some clever digital marketing tactic, you can attract an instant stream of visitors and keep it that way.
Tactic 1: Content Marketing
Content marketing is more than just a blog post. It covers all types of content that your target audience would find appealing, for e.g. videos, photographs, newsletters, guides, etc.
Content marketing is effective because it gives visitors another reason to visit or re-visit your website, not to mention the long-term search engine optimisation (SEO) benefits involved. Through clever content, you can convince visitors to stay a while and peruse your products, perhaps even make a purchase.
Remember, as with any store, there will always be those that are “just browsing” and that’s okay, but don’t let them leave before you’ve captured their email addresses. An incentive (i.e. R100 discount/free delivery on your first purchase) in exchange for a subscription always works well. This way you can share all your content directly to a targeted audience.
Tactic 2: Social Media Marketing
Products and social media go together like ham and cheese or bacon and eggs. Why? Because people like to associate themselves with the things they are interested in and if they find something they especially adore they will even advocate it out of their own free will. It is exactly why word-of-mouth advertising will always be one of the most powerful tools any brand must capitalise on.
Visual platforms like Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook are ideal for online stores but if you fear you might not have the time to manage them effectively, start with one platform only. Social Media is all about engaging with people. You, therefore, need to be available to respond to queries, etc. in a timely fashion.
Tactic 3: Pay Per Click Advertising
Get the ball rolling by allocating budget for Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising – even if it is only for a short-term period. With PPC ads, like Google Adwords, your ad is shown to the perfect audience: people already searching for a product you offer. PPC ads can accommodate a variety of budgets and campaign results can be viewed and amended instantly.
The great thing about digital marketing is that it offers online stores flexibility. If you have the skills and enough time, you can implement some of these tactics yourself. If you don’t, you can outsource it to an agency, such as InterExcel.
The online competition out there is fierce, so don’t wait for customers to stumble across your eCommerce site by accident. Instead, actively pursue digital marketing and experience the results you want.
For more information on how to get started or to use InterExcel’s expertise to help you market your online store effectively, contact the team at the office on 012 003 1540.
