If you’re looking to start an eCommerce business, 2024 is the perfect time for it. Never have there been a bigger demand for online stores, as the pandemic has resulted in many people discovering just how convenient and safe it can be.
In fact, many experts are forecasting an even bigger eCommerce boom this year, even after the coronavirus will become a thing of the past. This means that there will be plenty of opportunities in almost any market.
However, merely creating an online store and adding some products isn’t enough. You also need to have a way to attract people interested in what you have to offer.
With that in mind, let’s look at some of the most effective eCommerce marketing strategies in 2024 and beyond.
Influencer Marketing
89% of marketers say that ROI from influencer marketing campaigns is comparable to or better than any other marketing channel. And at least for eCommerce stores, it’s not hard to see why influencer marketing can be such a lucrative opportunity.
For most eCommerce markets, most audiences spend a lot of time on sites like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. And usually, they not only interact with their friends and family but also follow prominent figures around the topics that they’re interested in. So, someone interested in fashion is likely to follow at least a few fashion influencers on Instagram. And that’s where you can insert your brand into the conversations.
You can go and find Instagram influencers whose audience aligns with your own and approach them with an offer for partnering up. If you use an influencer marketing platform, you can even make a post outlining what you are looking for and have influencers come to you with their offers, simplifying the process even further.
Then, it’s only a matter of reaching an agreement, figuring out the most effective marketing strategy, and launching the campaign. The best thing about influencer marketing is that even if it doesn’t work the first time, you can learn a ton from the experience and do a better job next time.
And when it does start working, you basically get an on-demand way to send thousands of targeted customers to your offer who already trust you based on the authority of the influencer that promotes your products.
Email Marketing
If you have an online store, you have multiple ways to collect the emails of your visitors. Whenever someone buys from you, they will likely need to register, and you can always ask if they want to receive updates and exclusive offers.
Another option is to set up an opt-in page or pop up that offers something valuable (like a discount or useful information) in exchange for becoming a subscriber.
But while most brands know that collecting emails is a good thing, not all know what to do once they have people on the list. So, how can you make the most out of your subscribers?
Well, the first step is choosing one of the best email marketing service providers, as you will need the powerful features that they offer to automate large parts of the process and provide the best possible experience for your subscribers.
Then, you need to develop a consistent and comprehensive strategy that begins with the very first email you send out. Whenever someone subscribes, welcome them to your list, provide them with the thing that you promised, and set up expectations for what they will receive in the future.
For an eCommerce store, that is likely going to be promotions, new product announcements, special deals, or personalized suggestions based on behavior. That last one can be especially powerful if you can establish a comprehensive tagging system for your list. Every time someone takes an action of any kind, tag that action accordingly, and use those tags to send personalized and action-triggered email sequences. That way, everyone on your list will receive relevant messages and will feel like being a subscriber is actually worth it.
SEO
SEO is one of the most appealing concepts in online marketing. You add some keywords, write some content, and then enjoy an endless flood of free traffic to your site month after month.
But while that can actually happen, the process is a bit more complicated.
Today, Google and other search engines have become much better at identifying which sites to display when people search for various terms, so hacking or cheating the system won’t work.
Instead, you must follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines, which establish the current best practices that are rewarded.
First, dig deep into the keyword research and focus on what your best customers would search for. There may be many potential queries you could target, but as you’ll probably find, only some of them actually lead to sales. Think about your audience and how your best customers reach your store. If you can identify those paths, you might be able to get much better results from the SEO traffic you eventually start getting.
It’s also essential to provide an excellent user experience to your visitors. That means that your site must be mobile-friendly and convenient to use on all devices and consistently achieve high speeds when browsing.
Finally, if you can, consider using content to get some high-quality backlinks to your site. Even though Google doesn’t actively encourage building backlinks yourself, if you do it in an ethical way by guest posting on relevant blogs, that will help your SEO efforts and improve your brand awareness.
Google Shopping Ads
It’s impossible to go through the top eCommerce marketing options without at least mentioning paid ads. And right now, no paid ad options seem as promising as Google Shopping Ads, which allow displaying your products at the top of the Google search.
Many marketing experts say it’s probably one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways for eCommerce stores to run profitable marketing campaigns. After all, if you have a good product, offer a reasonable price, and get it in front of someone who is actively looking for it, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t take your op on your offer. When running these types of ads, the important thing is to keep your focus narrow and only target keywords that have high buyer intent.
Final Words
Building a successful eCommerce shop is a long process, but it can be sped up using the marketing strategies listed above.
As consumers worldwide learn about the benefits of shopping on the web, the opportunities will only increase, so all you have to do is get in front of that growing audience and put forth your best offer.
