The Guide to Ecommerce Marketing

ECommerce is a growing theme on the internet in today’s world, and with the high street shopping scene decreasing around us, ecommerce is only going to continue to grow as the years go on. Now the issue for ecommerce platforms is how do they distinguish themselves from their competitors. This guide to ecommerce marketing will cover the basics of how businesses conduct their marketing, and also the platforms in which they can use.

What is ecommerce marketing?

Ecommerce marketing is simply the process of drawing awareness to your brand, and turning those who look at your brand into customers via your digital platform. As mentioned in the opening lines of this blog, ecommerce is growing with the decline in high street stores. Therefore brands need to be able to stand out on the internet amongst their competitors.

Ecommerce Advertising 

Ecommerce advertising falls beneath the banner of marketing as its all about driving traffic and customer shopping rates to improve conversion. Using a mix of the two will also help to build an increased brand awareness.

The advertising element of e-commerce also looks at the methods which you use to be able to advertise and promote your products. This is where display ads, banner ads and even in depth media will come into play. Implementing an effective advertising and marketing plan is only going to benefit your business in the long run.

Ecommerce Marketing 

Luckily, ecommerce companies do have the flexibility to utilise a number of marketing channels. The guide to Ecommerce marketing however shows some of the more popular to utilise:-

Social Media Marketing 

Social Media has really transformed the way in which people shop. Swipe up functions, and the options to purchase directly through social media has really progressed the customers journey.

The increase in popularity of Instagram and also YouTube has really meant brands are able to build a brand story, and really connect with their following. Some social media networks however are not always successful. Instagram, Facebook and YouTube have really adapted their platform to suit those looking to advertise their products.

When launching a campaign you will need to be mindful of the platforms you are going to use. As mentioned Instagram, Facebook and YouTube are some what the market leaders and will give you the reach you require. Where as Twitter is not really geared up to be able to support this.

Another outlet to explore on Social Media is influencers. Influencers are people that promote and help to advertise the products for brands. When we talk about influencers we mean people who have tens of thousands if not millions of followers and can really reach a new audience for your brand.

Content Marketing 

In more recent times more and more companies are adopting the content marketing strategy. Content marketing involves writing blogs about products you offer or in ecommerce terms brands that you may be selling. This allows customers to be able to be more informed about your business, and will also increase your reputation in the market.

It may sound easy, write a blog and I will get more traffic. Unfortunately that is not the case. You are now going to need to involve some SEO skills. SEO or search engine optimisation in its longest form allows you to optimise your content to be found. It is done by using key search phrases which your audience would use, and incorporating them into your blogs.

Email Marketing

One of the forgotten fruits of marketing is Email Marketing. Now for some industries your open rate will only be about 2%-3%, however in e-commerce that number is by far higher than normal. This is due to a combination of a few reasons.

Most ecommerce sites will ask you to sign up to begin with as they will offer a discount code. And everyone loves a bit of discount! Secondly and probably the main reason is that ecommerce stores will send out offers at key times of the year to drive sales. So if you are an ecommerce store take a look at email marketing. It will give you a chance to stay in touch with previous customers, and hopefully get them to return.

Other things to consider

Abandon Cart

Alongside marketing there are numerous other avenues you can use in order to increase your potential revenue. One of these key areas is the abandon cart function. Customers will keep adding items to their basket, and then will end up leaving your page for whatever reason. Being able to re engage these customers is key to conversion.

If they are a customer who has logged into your site, then send them an abandoned cart email. This could be in the form of a reminder, or in some cases some businesses offer free delivery or 10% off if they go back and purchase within 24 hours.

Whichever one of these you use, keeping customers coming back even after adding to their cart can generate extra revenue. And not to mention it helps to increase your conversion rates.

Customer Referral & Affiliate Marketing

Very similar to influence marketing, more and more brands are using the affiliate marketing platform. Where an influencer will be sent products to wear and promote to their following, an affiliate will earn money if someone uses their code to the shop on that site. You will see a crossover however for some brands.

To set up an affiliate programme you need to decide what you are going to give away, and how you want to conduct it. More and more brands are opting for the 10% off discount codes specific to those involved, and will give a kickback depending on how many times that code is used.

Similar to affiliate marketing is also customer referral. Very simply if a customer refers their friend to the brand it is easy to generate a one off code specific to that customer. Therefore creating a forever evolving customer base.

Alongside the guide to Ecommerce marketing Neil Patel goes through an extensive list of options on affiliate marketing in one of his latest posts. Affiliate Marketing Made Simple: A Step-by-Step Guide.

To Conclude 

As you can see the world of ecommerce is vast, and unlike other industries there are many marketing channels to explore to improve your brand and hopefully your revenue. As with all marketing you will need to look at how you can stand out, and be at the forefront of your customers minds over your competitors. The guide to ecommerce marketing is not conclusive, but it should provide some great pointers to utilise moving forward.