No matter what industry you’re in and no matter if you’re already established or just starting, you’ll always look for unique and creative ways to help your business grow. Now, you might know that a brick-and-mortar business can be limiting as people have shifted to shopping online over the past few years.
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So you decide to open an online store. The options to connect with and interact with your target audience are endless when you have an online presence. Whether you run a small or big business, e-commerce is the way to go.
However, between all the platforms, tools, and strategies available to you, the question on your mind right now is where to begin your journey. Fear not! We’ve made things a little easier for you by listing down everything you need to know about e-commerce marketing below. Read on!
Understanding E-Commerce Platforms
You can’t have an e-commerce business without an e-commerce platform. These are software applications that let you set up and manage your online store. All the tools required to market and sell your items are included in the application. Additionally, these platforms enable business owners to manage inventory, set prices for products, and run promotions.
Currently, there are 6 e-commerce platforms that are commonly used. Keep in mind, however, that not all of these platforms are suitable for your business because they each offer a unique set of features.
- Shopify
Shopify provides small enterprises, boutique retailers, and artists with a SaaS e-commerce platform. It’s a great choice if you’re new to the e-commerce game, as it is really simple to set up and operate because of the platform’s intuitiveness.
Shopify also offers features such as abandoned cart reminders, SEO tools, social commerce, Facebook marketing, a POS system, etc.
- BigCommerce
BigCommerce divides its product offerings into two groups: Essentials and Enterprise. Similar to Shopify, BigCommerce provides a wide range of features like product videos, bulk pricing, single-page checkout, reporting and analytics, and more. The platform is compatible with eBay, Amazon, Google Shopping, Square, and social networking sites like Facebook and Instagram.
For beginners, the intricacy of the platform usually results in a steep learning curve.
- WooCommerce
If you’re familiar with WordPress, then you might want to consider this e-commerce platform. WooCommerce is an open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress-powered websites. It includes features common to most standard e-commerce systems that let business owners manage their end-to-end operations.
Even though the plugin is used by many, many businesses, scaling its capabilities requires working with developers who are familiar with WordPress and WooCommerce.
- Magento
Magento is an open-source platform that you can easily install on your servers. If you want to install it in the cloud, Magento 2 is an open-source alternative. Since Magento is housed on your premises, it gives you total control over your data. One drawback is that you have to handle any on-premise servers’ needs for security upgrades and other upkeep.
- Wix
Aside from allowing you to build your website, Wix also lets you set up online stores. With little to no code required, its drag-and-drop interface makes it simple to construct an e-commerce website.
One thing to remember about Wix, though, is that it’s not a full-fledged e-commerce platform, even though it lets you manage the store and set up product pages, coupons, discounts, and payment options.
- Squarespace
For those who don’t want to dig into the technical aspects of Magento and other comprehensive platforms, Squarespace is another e-commerce platform similar to Wix.
Squarespace enables you to create aesthetically beautiful websites, but the platform’s restricted shipping choices and support for only Apple Pay and Stripe are key drawbacks.
Understanding the Best E-Commerce Marketing Tools and Strategies for You
The work isn’t done once you’ve already set up your online store. In fact, we dare say that it is only just the beginning. Running and promoting an e-commerce store is a fast-paced endeavor because you will constantly have to keep creating goals and doing everything in your power to attain them.
That’s why coming up with an e-commerce marketing strategy is not just important, it’s a necessity. In this section, we will examine five strategies that can support your objectives and the tools you will need to carry them out effectively.
- Email Marketing
You’ll see a lot of “Email is dead” articles every now and then, but you can’t deny its effectiveness. The typical return on investment for email marketing is $42 for every $1 spent. There are several advantages of email marketing, but this one tops the charts for keeping your business steady.
If you want to add email marketing to your e-commerce strategy, you’ll need a good email productivity tool. When researching for your provider, make sure to keep an eye out for expert email templates, automation tools to help you expand, easy ways to manage your email list, and tracking features that let you see how customers are reacting to your emails.
Some of the most popular providers are:
- Mailchimp
- ActiveCampaign
- HubSpot
- GetResponse
- SEO
Want to see your business name up high on the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages)? Having a solid SEO plan is necessary if you want to rank organically. Here are some ideas to help your shop appear higher in search results:
- Adapt your website to mobile devices.
- Improve website load speed. Try using Google PageSpeed Insights.
- Conduct an SEO audit. Use tools like SEMRush or SE Ranking.
- Conduct extensive keyword research to find the terms you want to rank for with tools like Google Keyword Planner.
- Improve local SEO by creating a Google My Business profile.
Here are other tools that will help you along the way:
- Ahrefs – SEO keyword tool
- Moz Pro – SEO Software
- Ubersuggest – Keyword tracking tool
- Woorank – SEO ranking tool
- Majestic – Marketing SEO tools
- Social Media Marketing
Due to the prevalence of social media nowadays, e-commerce marketing strategies wouldn’t be complete without marketing on social media. Social media is perfect for e-commerce since it is mostly a visual medium, making it easy to influence people with pictures and videos.
The emergence of social commerce, like Instagram’s Shoppable Posts feature and Pinterest’s Product Pins, will support your future e-commerce marketing efforts in addition to social ads to reach your target audience.
If you’re looking for social media tools, you can try:
- Buffer
- Sprout Social
- Hootsuite
- AgoraPulse
- Content Marketing
Content marketing is not just blogging. It can also include using lead magnets, such as ebooks, podcasts, and webinars, to draw customers to your website and nudge them into making a purchase or joining your email list.
The reason why content marketing is so essential is that you can use it to focus on target keywords that might not naturally fit on product or category pages. Through blogs and other forms of content, you can produce long-form material that ranks well in organic search.
The tools you can use include:
- BuzzSumo
- Google Trends
- Yoast
- HubSpot
- Google Docs
- Influencer Marketing
One of the most effective ways to reach a particular audience is through someone with an incredibly strong relationship with their community. In this day and age, influencer marketing is something you should look into, especially when launching new products.
The good news is that this type of strategy may be profitable even if you don’t offer lifestyle products. Almost every sector has influencers, including the pet, DIY, cosmetics, and automotive industries. All you need to do is to tap the right influencer in the right community.
If you’re having a hard time doing so, there are always tools to guide you:
- #paid
- HypeAuditor
- BuzzSumo
- NinjaOutreach
- Upfluence
It’s All In The Platform, The Strategy, And The Tools You Use
At first, it may feel overwhelming to put all the pieces in place for your online store. E-commerce can be tricky, but the good thing is that there are so many resources available to you online and offline. Plan wisely, choose tools and platforms that can scale with your business, and make investments where they matter.
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