Why is it essential to promote your online store
To not just rely on building a website alone in order to generate sales. It is essential to employ various digital marketing strategies and implement a comprehensive marketing plan in order to differentiate yourself from competitors and capture a larger portion of the eCommerce market. The ultimate goal of promoting your online business is to achieve success and increase your market share.
- Reach your potential customers
- Convince customers about your products and services
- Build trust and entice customers to buy
Who are your primary audiences to promote your online business
To ensure a successful marketing strategy, it is essential to allocate your time and budget appropriately among various marketing activities. Typically, online store marketing focuses on three primary target groups, each requiring distinct approaches.
- People who know about your store or have shopped in the past: Contact them directly through social media, content marketing, or email.
- People who search for the products you offer: Help them discover that your product meets their needs through search engine optimization (SEO), content creation (blogging), and website optimization.
- People who already know and want to buy your products: Increase their brand awareness to make purchasing decisions through comparing articles or analyzing their problems, and offering solutions.
Marketing tactics to promote your online store
Let’s examine eight tactics that can be utilized to drive traffic to your new online store, ranging from marketing to existing customers to acquiring new ones.
1. Build and update your email list
Firstly, in order to boost an online store, the most widely used method of marketing is via email. Initially, it is essential to gather a large number of email addresses from both existing and potential customers. This can be achieved by:
- Your existing customers at your brick-and-mortar store
- People who are interested in your social events
- Your website visitors (use a pop-up box to suggest customers leave an email for a small promotion in return, such as free shipping or 15% off their first purchase) Then, you can launch an email marketing campaign to:
- Notify your email list to visit your online store
- Offer discounts when customers refer friends or share your website
- Develop a regular email cycle that encourages customers to return to your site with news, new product launches, and personalized promotions
2. Boost your social media presence
One more efficient and simple way to promote your business is to utilize your social media platforms. If you already possess a specific quantity of followers on social channels, seek methods to enhance customer engagement and amplify your brand awareness.
- Increase posting frequency
- Invest in creating dynamic visual content and engaging videos.
- Use hashtags # starting with the appropriate trending keyword
- Encourage customers to share user-generated content
- Organize gift-giving programs
- Leverage your expertise to create or join a virtual conference or webinar to showcase your business
- Partner with bloggers who are active in your niche You don’t have to be everywhere; choose the relevant channels for your target audience and focus on them.
3. Optimize SEO
SEO is a vast domain and there is no need to optimize all aspects for search engines. In order to commence, envision yourself as a searcher, specifically a purchaser, to comprehend:
- What do customers want to know?
- How do customers search for products?
- What does your target audience say about your product?
From there, you will be able to identify the elements on your eCommerce site that assist search engines in understanding your online store, such as:
- Title
- URL
- Meta tags, or title tags (a summary of each page and what customers see on a search engine results page)
- Product description
- Images
- Blog or related content
In general, the essential stages for executing a successful SEO strategy encompass:
- Keyword research
- Website architecture
- On-page SEO
Creating content is a great method to:
- Bring traffic to your online store
- Provide helpful information to help customers make informed shopping decisions
- Present an authoritative voice to position your brand
4. Try out google ads
The objective of search engine optimization is to attain the top position, but Google Ads will continue to appear first. Utilizing Google Ads for search engine marketing will result in:
- Make sure your online store appears first in search engine results pages with your chosen keywords
- Drive new traffic effectively without any design requirements
- Monitor and measure results in real-time
- Adjust your campaigns based on performance
5. Create interesting, useful content
One effective strategy to drive traffic to your website and establish your brand as a credible authority in your industry is to produce high-quality content that caters to potential customers seeking to purchase your product.
When Robert Ellis, the owner of Bavarian Clockworks, started his ecommerce website, his goal was to create comprehensive resource pages that would assist customers in making well-informed choices when purchasing his products, which are authentic German cuckoo clocks.
According to Ellis, our user guides are the central component of the website. He emphasizes their immense value to potential customers and highlights their positive impact on SEO.
6. Advertise on social platforms
Social media platforms are an ideal choice for allocating ad spending due to the assurance that individuals are dedicating their time on these platforms. Consider the selection of a suitable road for placing a billboard. Similarly, adopt a similar perspective when contemplating social media advertising.
If your audience does not spend much time on Twitter but spends a significant amount of time on Instagram, it is recommended to allocate your spending primarily towards Instagram.
Begin by using photos and videos in your advertisements, but start with a more limited approach. Initiating with a photo ad can effectively expose your product to a fresh audience. Experiment with uncomplicated yet captivating visuals showcasing your product in action, and adapt your strategies according to its performance during the initial weeks.
7. Partner with complementary brands
One approach is to establish partnerships with other brands to engage in cross-promotion. Seek out a business that targets a similar audience but offers a product that complements yours. This way, both partners will be able to reach a fresh, yet applicable, audience. For instance, if your business revolves around outdoor gear, consider partnering with a brand that specializes in hiking shoes.
There are various ways to cross-promote, with options available at every stage of the funnel. At the top-of-funnel, possibilities include co-sponsoring an outdoor living podcast or blog. Another idea is a co-branded gift guide, which can be particularly effective during certain times of the year. Alternatively, down-funnel promotions can be implemented, such as offering a discount on one product when purchasing another.
8. Participate in online events and discussions
With the rise of online communication and events, there are potential opportunities to enhance brand awareness among specific communities. By engaging in webinars or virtual conferences, you can utilize your expertise to promote your business.
Identify any prospects for virtual malls and marketplaces and make sure to capitalize on them.
9. Consider using influencer marketing
Influencers possess sizeable online audiences and hold the ability to impact the purchasing behavior of those audiences.
To effectively utilize influencer marketing, it is essential to collaborate with the appropriate influencer who can expose your product to a large pool of potential customers, therefore enhancing your brand recognition. It is crucial to ensure that the influencer you choose to work with has a following that corresponds to your target audience and shares the same values as your brand.
Common tactics used in influencer marketing consist of an influencer publishing a blog post discussing your product, sharing social media content that assesses or exhibits your product, or speaking about your product at an event.
10. Leverage your offline store(s)
By strategically utilizing the strong reputation and dedicated customer base of your physical store, you can leverage face-to-face interactions to promote and attract customers to your recently established e-commerce platform.
You can help customers stay engaged with your brand even after they leave the store by using non-intrusive methods. These methods can include asking them to sign up for your email list during checkout, informing them about your customer loyalty program, if applicable, and highlighting any promotions on social media that they might be interested in following.
Consider providing flyers containing promotional codes that can be shared with friends and family members who may not reside in close proximity to your brick-and-mortar store. Embrace the potential of your in-person clientele as influential advocates who can effectively disseminate your message over a wide geographical area.
11. Launch podcast ads
Podcasts serve as evidence that marketing can be effective without relying on visual content. Numerous eCommerce stores, including Blue Apron, have effectively utilized podcasts to effectively connect and advertise their online businesses. Moreover, podcasts are a fantastic means to approach your desired customers as they are designed for specific customer segments.
- Create podcasts related to your industry to explain your brand values and discuss fees
- Explain why your product is valuable and worth buying with solid customer insights
- Choose where to place your podcast time ad for message content review. If you only require a few lines, an excellent place to place your ad is the beginning or the end of the podcast. With longer messages, the middle of the podcast is ideal because listeners are paying more attention and engagement.
12. Invest in your website design to make a positive first impression
Regardless of the marketing strategy employed, the ultimate goal is to drive potential customers to your website and successfully encourage them to make purchases.
At the core of your online marketing strategies lies your e-commerce website. It is important to note that website design accounts for 94% of initial impressions. Hence, it is crucial to allocate resources towards website design to leave a favorable impact on your target audience. Through an appropriate design, you can effectively showcase your style and brand, thus enhancing brand recognition.
- Website color scheme: It should match your brand style. For example, you can choose a design in black and white tones like Chanel if you are a luxury brand store.
- Consistency: Create a style guide and set design guidelines to have a consistent design feel no matter what page they browse.
- Mobile-friendly design: Customers browse your online store on multiple devices. Make your website responsive on all devices to deliver a seamless experience.
- Fast loading times: Customers hate waiting for pages to load slowly and may leave if it takes more than 2 seconds. If you’re inexperienced with speed optimization, use Google PageSpeed Insights to see your site’s current load time and get suggestions for improvement.
- High-quality images: When shopping online, customers cannot touch your product. So the eCommerce product photography will help you better market your products and sell them yourself. Use high-quality images and 360-degree images so customers can see every detail of the product. For example, Adidas allows you to zoom in on each photo to see details like buttons.
