eCommerce Digital Marketing for Businesses on the Brink of Greatness

Using the internet to sell products is challenging at the best of times. It seems never ending because there’s always more to do. And let’s not forget that nagging doubt you have that it could always be better.

Ever wondered if you’re missing out?

Consistently growing sales takes a lot more than running some Google Ads or pushing a content calendar on social media.

Not that these things can’t work well in their own right; obviously they can. The chances are you’ve managed to sell products using Google Ads successfully and have got some kind of presence on social media.

But we’re not just trying to sell some products or get more ‘likes’, are we?

We want to take your eCommerce business to the next level.

What is the best digital marketing for ecommerce?

To get the most out of your ecommerce website your digital strategy needs all channels working together to be truly effective.

It’s about taking an integrated multimedia approach that markets your business, not just products. The best digital marketing (a.k.a. performance marketing):

• Promotes your ecommerce brand.
• Generates sales.
• Builds customer loyalty.

Just focusing on ‘selling more’ is why it feels never ending.

‘Brand’ plays a big part in sales generation, especially if your niche is crowded with competitors. Delight customers with your products and wonderful service and they won’t just be loyal, they’ll tell everyone on their social how awesome you are.

Underpinning all this is data which allows us to track and report on each channel’s performance. It means we can see what’s working, what can be improved and where other opportunities lie.

Key features of performance marketing

Measurable – set and track goals whilst measuring things like email sign ups, downloads, click throughs and conversions.

Targeted – speak to your prospects and existing customers, engender loyalty and increase customer lifetime value.

Affordable – take the fight to bigger competitors with smart data-driven marketing through your most profitable channels.

Inbound – leverage the flywheel effect by connecting your products with people’s online searching.

A performance marketing strategy for eCommerce

The 4 pillars of online marketing are:

1. Content
2. Search engines
3. Email
4. Social media

Marketing your eCommerce business successfully means using these together in a data-driven multimedia approach.

Here’s a simple look at how it’s done.

1.    Content Marketing

It’s a mistake to think your eCommerce website is just an online shop. It can be so much more than that.

Have you ever used Google search to learn about a product before purchasing?

Of course you have; we all have.

And it’s not just about blogging either. Nowadays, content can be video, audio, written or a combination. There’s no right or wrong per se. Your audience won’t care which format content is in provided it makes their life better.

For example, here is a ‘drawing’ of one of our blog posts – the 4 pillars of digital marketing – and made it into this awesome Venn diagram.

Producing valuable & search-optimized content consistently enables your website to rank in search engines for topics within your niche.

The Golden Rule of eCommerce Content Marketing

When using content for digital marketing you must work out where it fits within the conversion funnel. This is because different stages of the funnel represent the different mindsets of a prospect.

A typical content marketing strategy would start with producing TOFU content. Then, as traffic grows, you’d also produce MOFU and BOFU content accordingly. In short – attract users, nurture prospects, then convert into customers.

But eCommerce is different – you need to flip this on its head.

The golden rule of enhancing eCommerce website performance is to produce all of your BOFU content first.

The idea?

Ensure your website is a conversion monster before you spend time and money driving lots of traffic to it.

Examples of BOFU content for eCommerce:

• conversion-focused product pages
• case studies
• product user reviews/ session recordings
• individual (ideally video) testimonials
• product comparisons (vs. type content)
• before/ after benefit illustrations
• etc (you get the idea)

2.    Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

SEM is the branch of digital marketing that relates to using search engines to generate leads and customers. There are two types:

•  Organic – Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Inorganic – Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

SEO is the process of making your eCommerce website more visible to search engines like Google.

It’s referred to as ‘organic’ because there’s no direct cost. Your pages can rank high in search results because they’re optimized properly and are the best content of their kind.

There’s a lot to it, but it’s not as complicated as some might have you believe. It can be broken down into 3 main elements:

1. Technical SEO
2. On-page SEO (Content)
3. Off-page SEO (Backlinks)

Combining SEO with your content marketing efforts means your site should begin to attract users who have searched for something specific in a Google search. The quality of your product pages and other BOFU content will affect how much of this traffic converts into sales obviously.

A starting point for this would be:

• Get your website fundamentals healthy
• Check you page speed and performance
• Establish a keyword for each page and appropriate meta titles and descriptions
• Add the website to Google Search Console and connect Analytics.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of PPC Ads

eCommerce businesses often pay for a spot above the organic search results.

Of course, it costs a fee every time someone clicks on your ad (hence the name), another reason your BOFU content needs to be awesome.

Social media platforms also do PPC ads as well. Much like Google Ads, these can be an effective way to generate sales especially for younger eCommerce businesses.

The best SEM strategy is starting with well-targeted paid ad campaigns, whilst investing in SEO over the medium to long term.

3. Email Marketing for eCommerce

Even as far back as 2021, the ROI for email marketing was easily the best out of all digital channels.

How does £38 back for every £1 spent sound?

Once you’ve got a growing email list, there’s a range of awesome email series you can use to nurture, guide, help and sell to your subscribers.

6 Email Series to Drive More eCommerce Sales

1. Product Education – use cases, how to guides, tips & tricks, maintenance, etc
2. Post-purchase Follow Up – thanks & order detail, personalization, exclusive offers
3. Ascension (upsells) – nurture higher value purchases, combo discount offers
4. Abandoned Cart – reminder, concern addressing, one off discounts
5. Repurchase – convenient reminders, consumables
6. Customer win back – re-engagement with personalized offers, reignite their interest

Using content marketing, SEO and email marketing within a performance focused marketing strategy is a longer-term investment. It takes time to build an email list and for SEO efforts to see content get search traffic.

Stick at it though and it’ll transform your brand and business, paying dividends for years to come.

4. Social Media Marketing

As we all know, social media platforms get billions of users every month which represents a serious opportunity for any business.

Having said that, you need to work out where your prospects hang out otherwise you risk wasting a lot of time and money.

Choose one or two platforms then share useful and interesting content on a consistent basis.

Ideas for content are:

• Posting links to your content to drive traffic to your website
• Developing partnerships with brands and influencers that share your values and whose customers and followers dovetail with yours
• Offering a lead magnet to build your email list
• Publishing customer stories or testimonials
• Hosting live Q&A sessions
• Promoting events

Use your website content marketing efforts in conjunction with your social media marketing.

The best way to think of social media marketing is:

If Google search helps people to find content, social media enables your content to find people.

If you’re new to this then start by repurposing your website content as social media marketing content. Break it down into smaller bite sizes pieces that grab attention and engage immediately. For example, convert a blog post into a video and talk through what it’s about.

The sky is the limit

Formulating your digital marketing into a blended multimedia approach is how you’ll take your online store to the next level. The sum of using all four digital channels effectively is far greater than their individual parts.

Get this right and you’ll be attracting prospects and converting them into brand loving customers for fun.

Need a helping hand?

Find out how we could create and drive a kick arse digital marketing strategy for your eCommerce business by getting in touch.