We are almost in 2022 but there is still time for a successful e-commerce content marketing strategy. How to create such a strategy? Keep reading this article to find out.
For those who are unfamiliar with the term e-commerce, here is a short definition:
Every online transaction is classified as e-commerce. E-commerce marketing is a vast area of different marketing strategies, all connected to a simple idea – selling things online.
In this article, you will find out about the most effective content marketing strategies in 2021. I will talk about social media marketing, optimisation of websites and branding.
These strategies will help you get more visitors to your website, attract customers, and get more sales. Let’s get into it.
Social Media Marketing
The vast majority of people on the internet were millennials but zoomers are coming and they are coming fast. We already know how deep the connection is between millennials and social media.
Social media is essential for your business and a place where you’ll meet your potential customers for the first time.
Before you decide to get into social media marketing, you should think about your social media marketing strategy. It’s 2021 which means that social media is becoming a necessity when it comes to digital marketing.
Since everybody is practically living on social media platforms, what you want is to use those platforms to your advantage. They are great for brand promotion and can help you stay connected with your desired audience.
However, social media is not very good when it comes to selling directly to consumers. They are great for attracting people but social media can’t sell directly or is not that successful as your other marketing channels.
Of course, as a part of your social media marketing plan, social media platforms are highly useful, especially if you want to use them to get more attention or establish trust.
There are more specific methods in SEO that are great for establishing trust. For example, backlinks are essential for maintaining credibility and establishing authority in your niche.
A Well-Optimized Website
Having a great, user-friendly website is well known when it comes to digital marketing. If you’re a brand, a small company or a professional in your field, it goes without saying that you need a powerful website.
It doesn’t matter what kind of company you have, or what services you’re selling, you need to have a website that sells. Many people tend to overlook this important part of their digital marketing strategy.
Even though there are other means of selling products, like starting your online store, having your own website means you mean business (pun intended).
In 2021, your priority is to bring the “right customers” to your website. How do you do that? Let’s talk about SEO first.
SEO
SEO (or search engine optimization) is the process of making your website more visible to your desired audience.
If your website is not on the first page when users (your potential customers) search for a product or service you’re selling, then you’re missing a big slice of your market.
There are a couple of things that your website needs in order to attract individuals who will become your consumers. Keep reading to learn more about keywords, search intent, content, and buyer’s journey.
Keywords Research and Search Intent
As a digital marketer, you need to find the right keyword for your product or service that you’re trying to sell through your website. How do you do that and why is this relevant in the first place?
Let’s say you’re selling boxing equipment. You want to look at available search engine queries or those that can help your business and attract relevant customers. After a while, your main keywords could be: “Best boxing bags” and “boxing bag or speed bag”.
You already have a website. The next step is to figure out what kind of articles you need for these keywords. You need to figure out the search intent behind those search queries.
The article for the first keyword needs to be commercial. This means, comparing products (boxing bags) and helping a person that already has a desire to buy a specific product (boxing bag) but doesn’t know what brand is the right for her needs.
The article for the second keyword should be informational. The person is not sure what kind of product to look for.
If you try to rank on Google with a commercial article (for example “The best boxing bags and speed bags to buy”) for the second keyword, your article will not be successful.
Keywords and search intent are essential for SEO and content creation, which is why I have to talk (or write, to be precise) about content and a wonderful concept called the buyer’s journey.
For more useful SEO tips, take a look at this content.
Content and Buyer’s Journey
Content is essential for any kind of marketing. The impact of e-commerce in today’s market could be mainly attributed to its content and there are studies that reveal that in the next decade, the content creation market will reach almost 40 billion dollars.
But why is content so important? Well, it’s common sense. In order to sell things, you need to provide information to consumers. Putting shiny things in front of people is not enough for them to be sold. At least, for the majority of people.
This is true because human beings are hardwired for narratives. Every information we consume is being classified under a certain story. What separates good content from a simple list of information can be understood through the idea of a buyer’s journey.
Buyer’s Journey
Buying journey is a system of marketing steps that turns a potential client into a paying customer. These are fancy words for something that is old as marketing itself but there is a reason why it’s called a journey and it’s relevant for e-commerce.
Today’s marketing is defined by those who practice it – marketers. A majority of those individuals (87%) are creating content for a specific stage of the customer journey. There are three stages of what is called a marketing funnel:
- TOFU ( top of the funnel)
- MOFU (middle of the funnel)
- BOFU (bottom of the funnel)
The first stage is getting attention (I’ve talked about social media). The second stage is where you get your potential prospects (those who have an interest in your product or service). And finally, the final stage is where you make the sale.
A specific form of a marketing funnel is an e-commerce conversion funnel. You already know this because I’ve covered it in the keyword research section. Targeting the right group is essential in both cases.
If you haven’t created a content strategy with a clear vision of the stages of your desired audience, you’ll have problems. You can create amazing content and yet the person who reads it is simply not the right audience.
There are a variety of options for you to choose from and make your website more attractive. For example, you can try this simple author box pro, which is a customizable responsive box that shows the name of the author and simplifies the blogging process.
There are content writing tools and more sophisticated stages when it comes to the e-commerce conversion funnel. They are highly valuable if used properly in an e-commerce content marketing strategy. However, my next topic is brand strategy.
Creating a Brand Strategy
A brand is something recognizable, something that stands out. It’s not a surprise that in the last 50 years, this concept gained so much popularity. But what exactly is a brand?
A brand can be anything. In essence, it is a symbol, carefully created to represent the values and identity of a company or an individual. Visually, in most cases, it’s represented by something simple. Yet, this simplicity is what makes it so powerful.
To create a brand you need to figure out all the benefits, features, services, and attributes your business provides. This is why you need to have a thorough understanding of your business. After you figure that out, you can start creating a brand strategy.
What Is a Brand Strategy?
Differentiating yourself from others is the first step for attracting attention. You need to be unique. This is not an easy task since there are a lot of other businesses that are trying to offer the same products or services.
The identity of your business is your most powerful weapon. Here’s a slogan: “You cannot find boxing equipment like ours on the market” (I like to use boxing examples). Or: “There are other brands but they don’t have what we have”. What is this unique quality?
This is where the brand strategy comes in. Ok, but how to create a brand strategy in the first place?
There are four types of branding strategies:
- Brand Extension
- Line Extension
- Derived Branding
- Individual Branding
A brand extension applies to already established brands that want to add new products or services. You have already positioned yourself on the market and your goal is to increase your audience.
A line extension can strengthen your brand through a similar process of changing its existing products or services. You are in the same category but you’re adjusting to the present marketing needs.
Derived branding is used to emphasize a product or its features. What you do is give it a separate identity. For example, there is a story behind this particular set of gloves. A famous boxer used it to win its latest belt.
This brings me to the last branding strategy.
Individual Branding
If you want your business to have a recognizable face or want to convey your values in a more human way, this is the way to go. Individual branding usually means focusing on a person that will represent the values of your business.
The topic of brand strategy is important for e-commerce which is why it should be among your top priorities in 2021.
Conclusion
In this article, you learned that the best e-commerce content marketing strategies in 2021 are those with a strong emphasis on the right audience and your unique brand.
For those of you who skipped the whole article and came to find a summary, here it is: Social media are essential for today’s e-commerce. They attract attention but are not good sellers.
You need a well-optimised website. Get into SEO or find a SEO expert (me, for example).
Last but not least, brand strategy. To help your business attract more customers and position yourself on the market, you need to be unique.
Be safe and good luck with creating the best e-commerce content marketing strategies in 2021.
