Ecommerce marketing will play an important role in bringing in customers and spreading the word about your product to potential buyers, whether you are an owner of an ecommerce company or someone looking to start one.
The world of ecommerce marketing can seem daunting. There are many marketing options available, from influencer engagement to social media outreach, email marketing, regular advertising, and even email marketing. Marketing online does not have to be difficult. You can find all the tools you need, and there are many tips you can use to increase your ecommerce marketing efforts and engage customers in new ways.
Understanding the basics of ecommerce marketing is key. What exactly is it? What are the different types? Do you want to explore all marketing channels at once? Or should you stick with one type of marketing?
These are great questions. We are here to answer your questions and help you understand the intricacies of ecommerce marketing. This will give you a better understanding of the possibilities for your business and help you decide which forms of ecommerce marketing you should pursue.
Continue reading for a crash course on ecommerce marketing. This includes a brief overview of the practice and a list of tips to help you market your business, no matter how big or small.
What is Ecommerce Marketing?
Ecommerce marketing is the use of tools and techniques to help customers find new customers, guide them through the buying process, and foster existing customers. Ecommerce marketing involves sending customers to your store through the customer lifecycle and converting them into paying customers.
Ecommerce marketing increases your conversion rate by turning web visitors who are interested in your products into customers.
Online marketing is generally done online. This includes email marketing, social media marketing and many other ways to reach old and new customers. Ecommerce store owners who are smart know that marketing goes beyond the internet.
This is why ecommerce marketing encompasses both word-of mouth and in-person marketing. Physical marketing strategies like billboards and TV commercials are also possible.
The key to a successful ecommerce marketing campaign is flexibility and the use of the right tools. It’s impossible to predict what new technologies will be available in the future so it’s vital that you don’t get too comfortable with one marketing solution for your entire business’ lifetime.
Ecommerce marketing should be included in your overall costs. Ecommerce marketing is the only way to reach new customers. Therefore, every shirt and electronic item sold must have a per unit line in your accounting figures that shows how much it cost to acquire this customer via ecommerce marketing.
There is no single answer to ecommerce questions. Dollar Shave Club, an online company, achieved marketing success through funny TV and YouTube ads. Podcast advertisements are also available at MVMT Watches and other online stores.
You need to determine the best way to promote your brand. Do you think this means that social media influencers should be pushed hard? Are there opportunities for your product to be promoted at craft shows?
This article will help you identify the best marketing channels for your company. Keep reading to identify the ecommerce marketing channels that are most appealing to your business. You can then test them individually to determine which ones are best for you.
Ecommerce Marketing: Different Types
There are likely to be more than nine types of ecommerce marketing. These are the main forms of marketing when selling products online. We do our best to combine different marketing niches into one overarching category, so you have a clear view of each.
Ecommerce Marketing Type 1 – Advertising
Advertising and marketing are often confused. Marketing is a broad category and advertising falls under that umbrella.
Advertising is a form marketing and it is crucial to the success or an online shop.
Advertising is an unusual form of marketing. It involves how you promote your products directly and almost always requires the company to pay a fee for listing those advertisements in a relevant area.
Online advertising offers amazing targeting options. You can advertise on sites like Facebook and Google by targeting people who have searched for similar products. Targeting can also be done based on demographics, age and location.
Pay-per-click advertising is generally available in these areas:
- Social media sites like Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.
- Search engines like Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo.
- You can reach out to other websites by using an ad network or reaching out directly to them.
- Print publications and billboards.
- Visual media, such as TV ads or previews of movie theaters, are examples.
Tools for Advertising
- Google ads – The one-stop shop to build, target, and pay for ads that appear on Google and its networks
- Google Merchant Center is the best way to get products listed in the Google Shopping section. Visitors can purchase your products through Google.
- Facebook Advertising – This dashboard allows you to configure and target ads for both Facebook and Instagram.
- Pinterest Advertisements – A manager that allows you to choose an objective, insert your product and then launch the advertisement for Pinterest users.
- Amazon Ads– Solutions to promote products and brands on Amazon.
- Bing ads – An advertising platform that reaches more customers via the Bing search engine.
Type 2 of Ecommerce Marketing: Email Marketing
Email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to market for physical stores as well as online businesses.
There are many benefits to sending emails to customers. First, customers open emails on a regular basis. They also expect promotions and messages from companies to be delivered to them, rather than personal messages on social media or texting.
Online stores often turn to email marketing as their first line of business. This is because email marketing can be done at any time, and there are many options for using it.
Ecommerce has many options for email messaging:
- Receipts.
- Newsletters.
- Abandoned cart messages
- Special offers
- Emails to customers with loyalty messages
- Recommendations for products
- Notifications for account registration
- Re-engagement or defunct customer emails.
- Cross-sells and upsells
This is just a small sample of the possibilities for your email marketing campaigns. It’s amazing that many ecommerce platforms, such as WooCommerce and Bigcommerce, already offer email marketing integrations. Popular email marketing tools such as Omnisend and Sendinblue have built-in automation features that will help your customers navigate the customer journey.
Email Marketing Tools
Omnisend – One the most powerful ecommerce marketing tools available. It integrates with all major ecommerce platforms and offers beautiful templates as well as automated ecommerce workflows.
Klaviyo – An option for email and SMS marketing across multiple platforms. Segmentation, data science and reporting are some of the features.
Seguno – Email marketing tailored to Shopify with targeted and recommended products
Mailchimp – One of the most well-known email marketing platforms. Although it’s not specifically designed for ecommerce, it offers powerful automation for this purpose.
Ecommerce Marketing Type 3 – Social Media Marketing
Email marketing is still the mainstay of digital and retail marketing. But social media is the new frontier. Social platforms have changed over the years and new networks are created all the time. This makes it a challenging landscape for online store owners.
Social media allows companies to communicate with customers in casual settings. Customers have rare opportunities to interact with brands via the commenting and tagging functions.
While Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are the most popular social media networks, there are many others.
Social media marketing is interesting because some businesses thrive on one network while others struggle with another. For example, fashion brands are more successful on Instagram than crafting and design shops (although Pinterest is equally important).
Social marketing is about sharing general posts with your followers and also trying to create a more organic discovery process for potential customers. You might share a blog post to Facebook, and customers may then share the post with others who don’t already follow you on Facebook.
Social Ads
Advertisements are another way to market social media. Advertising opportunities are available on all major social media networks, including Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram.
We’ve already covered the major social media advertising networks, but here are the top contenders.
Social Media Organic Content
Organic social content is another way to market via social media. Organic content simply means that you are using social media in the same way it was intended.
Social posts can include images, GIFs and videos as well as links or text-based thoughts.
It is crucial to have a solid social media strategy to build your following and give your customers an easier way to reach you.
Social Media Selling
Social commerce is constantly evolving and the way it is configured depends on the social network.
You can create an ecommerce shop on some social platforms to process your payments through their platform. This is a great advantage because customers don’t need to leave their social networks. However, this is a disadvantage for your business because they will never visit your website.
You can also tag products on other platforms, such as Instagram and Pinterest. You can post a photo of your product, along with a tag and link linking to the product page. This will redirect them to your website, so they can buy the product.
Social networks can occasionally change rules and capabilities for social sales (Facebook does this almost every day). It can be frustrating for merchants but it can also make it profitable if the system is right and you create a social commerce section.
Social Media Marketing Tools
- Social scheduling tools – These tools are great for managing organic social content. You can choose from Buffer or Hootsuite.
- These are the links to social advertising networks. Other social networks also have their own advertising systems.
- Rapid social design tools – Not all online business owners are graphic designers. We recommend Canva or Adobe Express as tools to quickly create beautiful social posts that fit your brand.
Ecommerce Marketing Type 4 – Search Engine Optimization
Search engines are a great way to market your site. All you need is a website that can be accessed by search engines.
A website that is indexed could be found on Google or Bing’s first page for certain keywords. However, it all depends on how competitive the keyword is and what people are looking for.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is often limited to having an index site.
Other search engine marketing strategies include paid advertising (covered earlier), search engine shopping platforms, and organic search optimization.
Organic SEO can sound like you just want to let the internet do all the work. You have the power to improve your search engine rankings.
These steps will help you improve your search engine rankings and bring more customers to your site.
- Register your site domain and sitemap with major search engines.
- Register for webmaster tools as soon as they become available. These modules are offered by search engines such as Google and Bing. They provide reports that can be used to assess the success of your search engine strategies, along with tips for improving.
- Optimize your website to improve user experience and speed. This includes optimizing large images and making your website mobile-ready. There are many other aspects of site cleanup.
- Optimize product pages and other pages on your website with keywords that are relevant to your business.
- Write and create visual content that enhances user experience and adds value for your brand. Blog posts, videos and infographics offer opportunities to create high-quality customer resources. They also allow you to optimize them for specific keywords.
- Optimize your checkout process. Is it easy to add a product to the online shopping cart? Everything, from the number and speed of the site to the steps involved, comes into play.
Tools for Search Engine Optimization
- Image optimization tools – Every ecommerce platform offers plugins and add-ons that automate the image optimization process. TinyIMG, a popular Shopify solution, and Mush are both great options for WooCommerce sites.
- Google Search Central A collection of webmaster tools that can be used to analyze your content and identify ways to improve your search engine results. This is also available for Bing.
- Database cleaners – Most ecommerce platforms provide automated site optimization plugins that can clean your database and speed up loading times. WooCommerce works well with the Advanced Database Cleaning plugin.
- Google Keyword Planner This tool is essential for finding keywords people actually search. This planner is great for brainstorming new keywords and checking the search volume to see if they are too competitive.
- Advanced SEO analysis and research tools – These are often expensive, but can help you increase your profits. Semrush and Ahrefs are industry standards.
- Your blog – A blog generates customers and potential for search engine results advancements. WordPress is the best choice if it can be paired with your ecommerce platform. Bigcommerce, Shopify and other companies have some blogging tools, but they are not as powerful.
Ecommerce Marketing Type 5 – Content Creation and Optimization
Search engine optimization is tied in well with content creation. The content you create shows search engines that your company offers additional content to customers. Blogs, video, and other content creation can be used to supplement products that you sell online.
Customers love to see behind-the scenes photos of your brand. They also appreciate product guides and tutorials that help them understand the product.
The following categories are applicable to an online store:
- Your product pages’ content.
- Informational content on all other pages of your website, including the FAQ and homepage.
- Your blog.
- Marketing external content includes guest posting, video creation for YouTube and what’s shared on social media.
Content marketing can be used to promote your products and offer relevant advice for the industry in which you are selling your items.
Here are some examples of content to get you started
- Infographics that explain the benefits of your product and the state of your industry.
- Podcasts that discuss lifestyle choices that are compatible with your products.
- Photos and promotional images from behind-the scenes that you can share on social media or your blog.
- Blog tutorials, how to articles, and product roundups.
- Videos that show products in action or highlight them.
- You can use case studies to show the effectiveness of your product.
- eBooks and online magazines that provide long-form content. They offer advice on how to use a product or make lifestyle changes.
Ecommerce Marketing Type 6 – Influencer Relationships
A person who is a major influencer in a particular niche is one who has a large following. Celebrities are more credible influencers, but many people are now calling themselves influencers on social media.
This type of marketing works by simply reaching out to someone with a large and relevant following. Ask them if they would be willing to promote your product naturally, perhaps through a blog post or on social media. Next, you will pay the influencer.
You should always do your research as many people are following thousands of others on Instagram, but not actively following them. It is important to find someone who will actually use your product. It should be mutually beneficial.
Tools for Influencer Marketing
It is difficult to market as an influencer because so many people claim they have a large following. You can search websites such as HypeAuditor and Upfluence.
Type 7 of Ecommerce Marketing: Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing could be the lifeblood for the entire content creation industry. Bloggers use it, as do many recommendation platforms online.
Affiliate marketing is a simple concept. An affiliate marketing program is created by a brand. Marketers/bloggers sign up to promote the brand. Each purchase made through an affiliate link earns the marketer/blogger a “finders fees”.
An affiliate marketing program is far more effective than any influencer set-up for an online store.
It is essentially free marketing, until the purchase is made. The payout structure is set by you and the tool allows marketers to create affiliate links and accounts. These marketers will recommend your products to others through newsletters, blog posts and social media.
Tools for Affiliate Marketing
- GoAffPro – An excellent affiliate management app for Shopify. Additional add-ons for affiliate managers are available on platforms such as Bigcommerce and Volusion.
- Affiliate Program For WooCommerce– A plugin for WooCommerce that allows you to set up role-based affiliate settings as well as share all kinds of tools.
- ReferralCandy– ReferralCandy works more like a referral program and is ideal if you want to offer rewards or commissions to customers who refer your company to their friends.
Ecommerce Marketing Type 8 – Shopping Experience Marketing
This marketing category is called “shopping experience”, because a lot of promotional content is presented to users while they are already browsing your catalog.
Your on-site marketing should not be about annoying users with popups that distract from what they are currently viewing. Actually, interrupting customers is just a balance act.
It is important to stay out of the way, but offer additional value to customers if necessary.
Chatboxes, which can be run both by humans or bots, are an example of such marketing. Chat boxes are used to answer questions regarding sizing or other details. Other products can be recommended to meet their needs.
On-site marketing is not complete without popups. Popups should not be displayed more than once per customer while they are on your site.
Other marketing strategies include:
- These are links to customer support resources.
- Guides and sizing papers
- Recommendations to other products
- Modules for Wishlist.
- Case studies.
- Testimonials.
- Customer reviews
Tools for On-Site Marketing
Live Chat – This chat box is great for integrating with any platform and using bots when needed.
Cross-Sell Related Products– This app is only for Shopify. However, you can also find other add-ons that work on different platforms.
Bigcommerce Wishlists: Check with your ecommerce platform for wishlists. It may be necessary to search for a plugin or special theme that provides the required functionality.
WooCommerce Customer Reviews – Get social proof for your products by building a customer review panel. This feature is also available on other platforms.
Ecommerce Marketing Type 9: Local Outreach
Word-of mouth marketing is one type of local outreach. However, it also involves your brand going out into the real world to meet other brands and attend industry events.
Local outreach is essential for online marketing. You need to optimize your site with keywords that are relevant to your area.
Although this doesn’t necessarily apply to all online shops, it is easier to tap into a specific market if your focus is on a particular area.
It is important to optimize for the local area and create landing pages specific for those areas.
Top Ecommerce Marketing Strategies and Tips
You now have the tools and knowledge to start ecommerce marketing. Continue reading to learn how to improve your marketing efforts, and create a solid strategy.
Smart Experiments
Ecommerce marketing is all about experimentation. You can use an online tool to test your marketing plan and determine if it is on the right track.
This is illustrated by A/B testing of email newsletters and automated worflows.
Although a graphic designer is trained to recognize which colors and formats are most popular, it’s not enough to be able to compete in the world ecommerce. It’s better to forget about gut feelings and make several email marketing templates, and test them to determine which one performs best.
Keyword research apps, visual website maps, and customer surveys are all other testing tools.
Get feedback from your customers
Qualitative customer surveys are a great way to find out what your customers love and dislike about your products.
You can also gain objective feedback from your customers by creating areas that allow them to express themselves, such as review modules, forums or social media.
Keep an eye on review sites online to collect data and to understand what makes customers happy and unhappy.
Prior to spending money on marketing, make sure you do your research and target the right people.
Similar to A/B Testing, advertising is not necessary if you are targeting consumers and designing based on intuition or preference.
It can be expensive to build an ad campaign for Facebook or Google. You should use their tools to see which designs work best for your business.
Also, make use of target marketing tools to ensure that your ads only reach people who are likely to purchase from you.
Be creative – Stop sending out promotions!
When they only send out coupons and promotions, some companies fail to be a personality-driven company.
Although it may seem that all your customers need is discounts, human connection can be a more powerful tool.
Take Zappos as an example. Zappos was known early on for handwriting thank you cards that were sent in small boxes. Random customers were also given overnight shipping as a reward. The website of Zappos was also filled with behind-the scenes content that showed the outside world how unique and relatable their employees were.
Customers love to know that they are buying from people and not a company. Your creativity will show them this.
Upsell Products on a Regular Basis
A salesperson trying to sell more products often uses an upsell to try to persuade a customer to buy more. The internet makes it easier to upsell.
Customers receive many messages, including thank you notes and receipts. These messages can all include upsells and recommendations. Upsells can also be displayed in the checkout area. The best part about this is that they don’t pop up in customers’ faces and distract them from what they are doing.
Consider User-generated content as a viable marketing option
It is easy and inexpensive to create user-generated content. You can get customers to engage on social media and other platforms by thinking of ways. Ask your customers to submit videos of your product, or ask them for ideas for your next major marketing campaign.
It’s almost impossible to not see your customer support resources
Ecommerce has a disturbing trend of hiding customer resources as if they were something to be ashamed of.
The footer is the preferred place to store a list linking to forums, blogs, knowledgebases, etc.
This is strange, because customer support is one the most valuable complimentary marketing tools that you have.
These resources don’t need to be the first thing that your customers see. However, it is a good idea to include them on your main menu.
Mobile Devices: Make sure your entire site looks great
It’s not a secret that mobile shopping is popular.
To ensure your website theme or design works well on smartphones and tablets, you must test it thoroughly.
Conclusion about Ecommerce Marketing
Don’t be overwhelmed by all the ecommerce marketing talk.
Begin with one marketing tip or practice to see how your company does.
It is best to set small, achievable, and concrete goals in order to increase your chances of success. This will help you gain momentum in your marketing efforts and make it easier to transition to a new marketing strategy.
We’d love to hear from you about your questions regarding ecommerce marketing.
