The ecommerce market is saturated with businesses competing for consumer attention. With so many other stores out there, it’s easy for yours to fall under the radar. But with the right marketing techniques, you can attract a wide audience of new customers. We’ll review four proven strategies:
- Content marketing
- Influencer marketing
- Contests and giveaways
- Search engine optimization
1. Create Helpful and Entertaining Content
Content marketing focuses on creating content that answers consumers’ questions, entertains them, or teaches them something new. When you get creative with value-adding content, you’ll grow your reach organically through a variety of channels.
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- Blog posts. Create engaging and informative blog posts related to your products. When blogs are well-written and focused on buyers’ questions and concerns, they help boost your visibility on search engines.
- Video content. YouTube has long been an internet staple, and TikTok has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years. You’ll reach a wider audience of potential customers by creating engaging, shareable video content, including product demonstration videos, tutorials, or behind-the-scenes looks.
- Social media. On average, people around the world use social media for 151 minutes per day. By regularly posting and interacting with followers, you’ll increase your brand’s visibility, and new people will come check out your store.
When it’s done right, content marketing is a pretty foolproof way to generate sales. A 2022 survey found that 97% of businesses have had some degree of success with content marketing, while 77% planned to increase their content budgets in 2023.
Example: Milk Bar
Milk Bar sells gourmet cakes, pies, truffles, and other desserts. In addition to their normal product pages, Milk Bar also publishes recipes (like this one for pumpkin dulce-de-leche pie—yum!). People who come across the recipes online don’t have to pay anything to access them … but they might end up deciding it’s easier to just order their dessert from Milk Bar. That’s the power of content.
In addition to their recipe blog, Milk Bar has a presence on social media platforms like TikTok and X (formerly Twitter), where they post mouth-watering photos and videos of their sweet treats.
2. Partner With Influencers
While content marketing yields meaningful results, it can be difficult to scale content production. Instead of spending all your time developing social media posts and editing videos, why not let influencers do it for you?
Working with influencers is often an effective way to spread your reach without overtaxing your internal team. Once you’ve built relationships with people who are eager to represent your brand, their entire audience will see your products!
Note: Influencers don’t have to be famous. Micro influencers (those with between 10,000 and 100,000 followers) can make a big impact on your customer acquisition because of higher-than-usual engagement from their followers.
Example: Adidas
In addition to partnering with athletes and influencers in the sports space, Adidas often works with celebrities from other niches, such as music and film. Their collaborations extend beyond product promotion, often focusing on storytelling and a shared passion for sports.
Recently, the sportswear giant announced its Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) network for college athletes, stating that the “program will give eligible student-athletes of all genders the opportunity, directly with Adidas, to become paid affiliate brand ambassadors.”
Example: Sephora
Sephora effectively uses influencer marketing to showcase and promote their makeup and skincare products. They invite potential influencers to apply to become members of the Sephora Squad, a year-long partnership with a host of perks. And they’ve had lots of takers, receiving over 16,000 applications in 2023—the highest number to date.
3. Announce Contests or Giveaways
When something free is up for grabs, news travels fast. If you want to boost awareness of your store, try announcing a contest or giveaway. To enter, require followers to promote your account in some way: sharing, tagging friends, or tagging you in a post. It’s instant publicity!
Example: Minky Couture
Minky Couture is all about wrapping yourself in luxury with their ultra-soft, stylish blankets. Engaging followers through giveaways not only spreads warmth but also builds a strong community of Minky enthusiasts.
4. Optimize Product Descriptions for SEO
Forty-nine percent of US consumers start their buyer journey using a search engine. Are you taking advantage of this channel? If not, product pages are the perfect place to start.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving a website’s visibility on search engines like Google. Follow these tips to optimize your product descriptions for search.
- Add relevant keywords. Identify relevant keywords for your products and incorporate them naturally into product descriptions, titles, and meta tags.
- Write helpful descriptions. Write compelling, unique, and informative product descriptions. Make sure to include key details that customers might search for.
- Image optimization. Use high-quality images and optimize them for faster loading times. And don’t forget to add alt text!
- Let users add reviews. When users add product reviews directly to your site, they often use keywords that you overlooked.
Example: Best Buy
Best Buy has invested in optimizing its product pages for a variety of tech-related keywords. Rich product descriptions, comprehensive user reviews, and technical specifications contribute to its SEO success. Want to see what we mean? When you Google “new computer,” here’s what comes up first (after the sponsored posts).
Walmart
Walmart's ecommerce platform is a strong competitor in SEO. The site's structure and product pages are optimized for a wide range of categories, making it a formidable presence in online retail.
What To Do Once New Customers Start Arriving
After implementing one or more of these strategies, you’re sure to see website visitors steadily increasing. But you haven’t crossed the finish line yet! Until those potential buyers seal the deal with a purchase, you still have work to do.
To learn how to convert site visitors into paying customers, check out these articles next:
