Read on for five actionable tips to improve your digital sales.
818 Agency made the news this week as Ometria published our guide to Ecommerce Content Marketing. Using tips from CEO Jed Wexler, the article offers actionable steps for improving your online sales with content. As veterans of retail content marketing, both in-store and digital, we were able to offer tips based on experience that has worked for real clients.
Here is a bite-sized version of the guide:
1) Know your audience
This is key to any good relationship and especially important for ecommerce content marketing.
As Jed told Ometria, “B2C content today has a very limited shelf life, and a lot of what we see out there tends to serve one-time customers. It’s much more of a challenge to break through. The answer is more effective audience segmentation, owning your niche and especially creating and distributing truly valuable content just for your alpha, or VIP customers.”
Smart companies don’t attempt to market everything to everyone; they segment their audiences and focus their messages in the spirit of retention. Read more.
2) Tell real stories
A good story can help customers see a brand for what it is, rather than simply what it does. A good storytelling strategy links a brand to the emotional goals of their consumers.
As Jed noted,“These days editorial strategy, brand strategy, technology, and conversion strategy need to viewed as one, inextricably linked together. It’s also the best way we’ve seen to communicate with your customers and prospects at scale. High quality, creative editorial content is hard and there are no shortcuts – once you’ve nailed that, audience and lead generation strategy falls into place.”
Retailers can only discover what works for them by testing different content types, analyzing the results and evolving with the changing interests of consumers. Read more.
3) Cater to your best customers
In ecommerce, you will undoubtedly have your heroes, or the 20% of people who make up 80% of your business. They’re your most valuable segment.
To treat these customers the same as every other customer is a huge missed opportunity.
“It’s essential you take care of your best customers or clients, the people who evangelize for your brand, product, or company,” said Jed.
You want these profitable customers to feel valued. Offer them perks and advantages like: an extended return policy, priority support, or even a free gift here and there to help build an engaged and loyal audience. Read more.
4) Video is king
By the end of 2016, video content may account for nearly two-thirds of all Internet traffic – and with video ad spend projected to increase by 22% every year for each of the next five years, reported Ometria.
Visual content is easier for the brain to grasp than text, driving better engagement than other formats on social media for example – a particularly awesome format for fostering emotional impact.
“So many B2C brands are creating films, that sometimes it’s just a matter of taste,” Jed remarked. “That said, a beautifully told story, with all of the essential content marketing ‘best practices’ baked in, is a joy to behold. My favourites are still some of the ‘oldies’ from a over a year ago, the ‘Roshambo’ series of short films by Free People and the Miu Miu ‘Women’s Tales’ short brand film series by Ava Duvernay (pre-Selma).”
Video may be costly, but it’s a necessary component of a brand’s media buy. Read more.
5) Marry offline with online
Retailers are quickly realizing that their physical shops are one of their biggest assets and with ecommerce giants such as Amazon, Warby Parker and Birchbox moving to build bricks as well as pixels, it’s clear that online and offline live side by side.
As Jed noted, “Combining offline and online content is becoming more important for engagement. For example, turning your online magazines into real printed materials. Beautiful mailers are also starting to make a comeback, as part of larger acquisition campaigns. Taking knowledge gained via online content to the event or conferences that provided that content. Things like that. It’s all part of creating and conveying a unified, compelling, and creative brand identity.”
Read the full article on Ometria.