“Content is king.”
The article’s name was published on the Microsoft website, written by Bill Gates himself back in 1996. During the decades that followed, many marketing tricks went through. Still, in the end, everything returned to the quality of the content.
When it comes to the internet, content is a broad term. Interestingly, today anyone who has the internet can produce high-quality content and distribute it worldwide if they know.
However, many do not know. For example, only 31% of B2B marketers reported that their organization was successful with content marketing in the last 12 months.
Even multinational companies with almost unlimited budgets have visible errors in content. So, it’s not about money; it’s about knowing what content needs to be created to make it appealing to your target audience. The internet also allows information to be distributed worldwide at virtually zero marginal cost to the publisher. The possibilities are extraordinary, and many companies plan to create content for the internet.
Are you one of them? Then, please keep reading and find out what you need to know about e-commerce content marketing before even starting to create it.
Why do you need content marketing in e-commerce?
The competition for online sales is fierce, and quality content is a way to make your product shine and stand out from the competition. Content marketing for e-commerce is a critical factor that will help show your product to people looking for it and those who don’t.
In simple words, e-commerce content marketing encourages traffic from the top of the sales funnel to turn traffic into sales and customers.
In times of hyper-productivity, content marketing is essential to the users. It helps you:
- standout from the crowded market
- answers the questions of your target audience
- educates them
- build trust
- improve conversions
- generate new potential customers
Keep in mind that you need to be consistent in your messages because consistency is one of the many aspects that determine the growth and success of your business. Successful brands know how to present their brand consistently and at every point of contact with customers or every distribution channel.
You can promote your brand content by trying a combination of paid and unpaid advertising methods such as SEO, Google Ads, email marketing, and social media ads. Moreover, you can do A/B testing to find the most effective and performing method.
The goal is to find the perfect combination to convert the most visitors. Therefore, it is crucial to find a content marketing strategy that brings the best results due to the changing and increasingly competitive environment.
How do you create an effective e-commerce content marketing strategy?
So we know most e-commerce companies understand the importance of content to attract more customers and sales because simply having an online store alone will not bring desired results.
To maximize the return on investment, e-commerce companies must have a unique presence on the internet sky, where the effectiveness of quality content comes into play.
We will now list the 4 effective methods of content marketing that you need to start applying today.
Email marketing
Did you know that every dollar spent on an email campaign generates an average of $ 38 return on investment? When done correctly, of course.
There are several ways you can use email in the e-commerce process. You can send:
- personalized messages to your customers
- messages with seasonal and holiday themes and discounts
- informative messages
- reminders to complete the purchase if they have items in the shopping cart
Email marketing pro tip: Personalization is key to tailoring a message to users based on their interests. Once you have customer email addresses, it’s a great channel to communicate directly with your target audience over and over again.
Blog posts
Blogs have never gone out of fashion, and managers and business owners recognize the potential of quality blog articles.
Well-formatted, high-quality text with enticing visuals attracts internet visitors and positions yourself as an authority in the field in which you do business. In addition, regular subscription-based content is helpful in building a lasting relationship with your target audience so that they become your followers.
For your e-commerce brand, blogs can increase your business, allowing you to strengthen your relationship with customers. Creating blogs on relevant topics for your industry can help your online store gain loyal, repeat customers.
Blog posts pro tip: Longer posts are generally more successful because they contain more details and are more informative for readers. Give examples in your content that your audience can connect with and inspire. Give your readers valuable information and use visual elements such as pictures, videos, charts, etc., to increase engagement and interest.
User-generated content
User-generated content (UGC) is another important part of the content strategy puzzle for e-commerce companies.
But what is UGC?
UGC is content created by your customers specifically for your brand or products. UGC can include videos, images, statements, reviews, etc.
Interestingly, users trust UGC reviews much more than any other, no matter how poor the UGC quality is because it comes directly from customers who have already bought from you. Customers generally trust each other the most, which is why UGC is a great way to gain authentic reviews.
According to the research, 85% of consumers believe that UGC is more influential than the content created by the brand.
For UGC, you can encourage your customers to share their feedback and experiences on social media platforms. For example, you can ask them to use a specific hashtag and mention your brand name to raise awareness about it and gain authentic recommendations.
UGC pro tip: When users share the generated content on their social networks, be sure to publish it as social proof and give credit to the original content creator. In this way, you give praise to the author and at the same time connect better with the target audience.
Product images and descriptions
As a company that sells products online, you need to include high-quality product images and relevant descriptions. Using quality images that can be zoomed in will encourage customers to learn more and inspire them to purchase your product.
The fewer customers have to imagine the product and assume how it works, the more sales there will be. You can lose many customers if you do not include quality content on the product page, such as text, images, instructions, and video clips.
Product images and descriptions pro tip: Keep in mind various perspectives of the item such as front, side, underneath, etc. Dimensions of a product image are usually 640 x 640 or 800 x 800.
How do you measure the success of your content marketing?
Let us answer you with a question: How do you measure your health?
This can be done by monitoring your heart rate, blood pressure, BMI, testing your strength/endurance, and so on.
There are almost unlimited ways to measure health, simply because the term “health” can be defined in endless ways.
The same thing applies to content marketing.
To measure the effectiveness of content marketing, the first thing you need to do is clarify what you are trying to achieve, and here are some of the goals you can set:
- Attract new leads for your business
- Generate traffic and attract new customers to your e-commerce
- Spreading brand awareness
- Increase keywords ranking
- Build website exposure and authority
So, first of all, ask yourself this question: What is the ONE thing I am trying to achieve with content marketing?
You should limit yourself to one goal. Otherwise, you will not be able to optimize the content well, nor will you know what to measure and why new customers actually came to the website.
The only metric of marketing content efficiency that you need to consider is the number of potential customers generated through content marketing.
Good marketing is impossible without great content
Great content gives your audience something they can talk about. If your content is high quality, relevant, and offers benefits to the reader, they will tell others about you. So in time, you get content marketing that works for free for you, which is marketing gold!
Do you still need help? You have the opportunity to book a COMPLETELY FREE 30-minute session with our content marketing expert, so make sure to use it and let us help you grow your business!
