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Setting up an online store and turning it into a profitable business are two completely different things. Promotion of e-commerce store requires a well-planned marketing strategy to be implemented across multiple channels. This too is not a one day task, the strategy needs to be reviewed and reworked upon on an everyday basis to stay ahead of the competitors.
However, if a digital marketer knows the right audience and the right ways to promote the e-commerce store, then the impact on the target audience can be made effectively. Let’s take a look at the ways to promote an e-commerce store:
1. Content Marketing
“Content is the king”
This is an absolute truth when it comes to the promotion of a business online. Since the year digital marketing has started, every tactic has changed in one or the other way but the importance of content has remained a priority for the Google bots as well as the audience.
Blogging consistently for the right target audience establishes the brand as a thought leader in the related niche.
For running a successful content marketing campaign, it is required to do proper research to understand what kind of content the target audience wants to read and the right time to publish the same. According to the results obtained from the research, blogs, articles, infographics, etc. should be created for the audience. The best way to find out what works the best for your e-commerce store is to experiment with content and change in strategy.
2. Social Media Platforms
Social media advertising is a tough nut to crack but again with the complete understanding of the target audience’ behavior, this too can be achieved quite easily. In the present digital time where there are a lot of social media channels, it is imperative to select the right platforms to market the e-commerce store as each platform has a different purpose.
Common social media platforms to promote on are:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Quora
Google Plus
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Medium and much more.
Utilizing all these platforms after developing a well thought-out strategy for promoting the business is the best way to reach out to the target audience. One thing to keep in mind is that every platform is different and the same piece of content cannot be promoted on each of them. For example, Pinterest is an image sharing platform whereas Twitter is a micro-blogging site. Knowing these differences while doing the promotions will definitely see a boom in brand awareness and sales.
3. Guest Blogging
Guest blogging is a good way to establish authority in the places where it is difficult to reach through one’s own blogs. The only difference between writing content for your own self and guest blogging is that the content is written for an external website but with a link to one’s e-commerce store. As every blog has some audience, by guest blogging one can attract the attention of that audience and convert them into customers in the coming days. All a person has to do is to find out which website resonates with your niche and convince the owner to let you publish your blog on it.
4. PPC Advertising
Paid advertising is usually the last option for the digital marketer but, it is high time to understand its importance. In the present time where there is a clutter of media generated by almost every single person, it is important to stand out from them. Whatever your budget is, you can always give a try to PPC to experience the difference.
It’s just that you have to pay for every click for every visitor who lands on the website through the paid advertisement. Most of the e-commerce store owners have now been investing in PPC Advertising to generate enough sales. One of the best things about PPC Advertising is that one can anytime ramp up the budget without adding much cost of doing business.
5. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is gaining popularity among e-commerce store owners to promote the business and generate leads. It is the process where other people sell your product and a small percentage of each sale generated by them is shared with them. This kind of promotion ensures that there are several people who are ready to sell the products at their online properties.
One can look up for people on Instagram, YouTube, etc. to help you promote your products. Some of the biggest e-commerce giants in the world like Amazon drive a huge percentage of their total sales through Affiliate marketing. All you need is a proper Affiliate program to make people join it with ease and reap maximum benefits from it.
6. E-mail Marketing
Just like content marketing, e-mail marketing too still holds an integral part in the marketing strategy of the e-commerce store. Despite all the naysayers, e-mail marketing works better than almost all the other platforms. Therefore, even it is 2019; one shouldn’t shy away from creating a mailing list. Even if a visitor does not buy anything from your store, keeping him/ her aware of what offers are going on in your e-commerce store is equally important. You can try giving a discount for an exchange of e-mail to potential customers. This way, a genuine list of subscribers is generated. It is now important to ensure that the interactions with the users are personalized to improve the sale rate.
7. Add Products on Google Shopping
Google for retail is an interesting feature that allows the e-commerce owners to add their products on Google’s site, to make it easier for the customers to discover your store online. Adding your products to the store will definitely promote your business to the right target audience.
If you are a proud owner of your e-commerce store then, promoting it in the right way, to the right audience and at the right time is very important. Whether you own a big e-commerce store or have a small online shop, these ways of promoting the business will definitely result in an upward trend in promotions and sales.
