January 21, 2021 6 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Amazon was founded in 1995 in Jeff Bezos’s garage. Initially, it was just a company providing services as an online bookstore. Over the years, the business that started as a mere bookstore turned into a multinational company, started selling almost everything, and eventually became the biggest name in the entire ecommerce industry.
But how did Amazon go from zero to hero?
Well, there’s certainly no single answer – it’s a blend of innovation, vision, hard work, and in-depth marketing.
No matter if you’re just starting out or running a well-established company in the ecommerce space, it’s imperative to stay up to date with the latest marketing trends that are going to help you reach your targeted audience, and thrive in the marketplace.
Ecommerce marketing strategies that you need to know about:
The rise of voice search
Put simply, voice search allows users to search on the web through digital devices. It is growing as a search method because it reduces time and effort as users don’t need to find and type the right terms for searching; they only need to vocally ask the search engine about their queries and get results.
But how is voice search impacting the ecommerce industry?
It is expected that by the end of this year, half of online searches will be done using voice search, therefore, ignoring voice search for ecommerce is like giving an upper hand to the competition.
As people have started to use voice search more in searching for products, businesses must optimize their content for voice search to attract organic traffic to their website, in turn acting as an advantage against their competitors.
However, it’s still challenging to optimize content for voice search as there currently aren’t many tools to help analyze popular voice search terms. Nevertheless, it is expected that with the growing number of voice search users, more tools will be developed and available in the near future.
Related: Voice Search: Your New SEO Secret Weapon?
The video era is here
According to research by HubSpot, 78% of the population watch videos on a weekly basis, and 55% watch daily, which is why marketers are leveraging videos to reach their target audience.
When there’s a need to buy something, buyers prefer to see what they will receive.
While you can invest in high-quality images, product descriptions, and get product reviews, nothing is better than video to tell an engaging story about your product.
Your potential customers are more likely to buy from you if they relate to your story and believe that your products can actually solve their problems.
Here’s how creating videos can help your business:
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Allows you to explain the working of your products.
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Explains all the features and functionalities.
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Share customer reviews.
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Create an engaging story about your company as well as the product.
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Show the benefits of using your products.
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Relate your product with current trends.
Related: 7 Secrets of Super-Successful Video Marketing –
Affiliate marketing
Getting leads as a new ecommerce business can be quite a strenuous job, and using tactics like SEO and content marketing can take long lead times. So what to do? Yes, you can always go for online advertisements but that would take a significant investment.
When you’re new, you need to find a way that is both expeditious and doesn’t involve substantial investment, which is where Affiliate Marketing comes into play.
In a nutshell, affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business gives a commission to every affiliate that either brings a visitor or a customer.
The sales are tracked through affiliate links that are created by various affiliate programs.
Moreover, the merchants can choose their commission rate, varying from 5 to 30%.
The top ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart have their own affiliate programs.
Related: How to Build a Reliable (and Profitable) Affiliate Network From Scratch
The emergence of VR technology
Targeting VR technology and wearables is currently one of the most trending marketing strategies. Approximately 75% of the world’s leading brands are using Virtual Reality to attract and hold customers in new and better ways.
VR marketing can bridge the gap between experience and action, providing a virtual experience to potential customers. It is a powerful marketing method underutilized by the majority of businesses in many sectors.
Businesses that are leveraging VR now gain advantages by testing the technology and innovating within this new marketing medium before competitors are onboard and implementing for their products.
Related: Virtual Reality Is Already Changing How We Work and Communicate
Google shopping ads are here
Google is undoubtedly one of the most popular websites of our era. How can you make Google work for your ecommerce business?
Through Google Shopping Ads.
Google shopping ads show users a list of products that are related to their search, and when they click on a product they are redirected to the seller’s website.
If executed correctly, Google shopping ads can be a company’s largest source of lead generation. However, as these are ads that cost budget commitments, a substantial investment of time and research is needed before getting started.
When starting a paid advertising campaign, do not initiate with heavy investments but rather use small amounts to experiment with various targeted markets, and whichever experiment works, then proceed with investing larger amounts.
Related: Ultimate Guide to Google Adwords News & Topics – Entrepreneur
To conclude
2021 is now here, and many things are still going to change, thanks to the pandemic faced by the entire world. Starting or even growing an existing ecommerce business will need marketing more than ever. The above ecommerce strategies can be used to market your business in ways that could help lead to success. The more promotion, the more your potential audience is reached, the more sales are made.
Related: Winning The Ecommerce Battle In The Post COVID-19 Era
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