By Kristine Aitchison
Author & Content Specialist
With Black Friday sales in full swing and Christmas around the corner, it’s time to start putting into action your digital marketing plan for your ecommerce business. Digital marketing for an ecommerce business is the practice of driving internet users to an online store with the aim of converting them into buyers.
Having a good product, at the right price is important (see the 7Ps of Marketing) but if people don’t know about your product then how can they buy from you? A well-planned digital marketing plan can help attract more customers to your physical and online store. Let’s explore.
Ecommerce Sales and Marketing Funnels
Sales and marketing funnels are a visual representation of your customer’s buying journey, from awareness to consideration and conversion.
For example:
- Awareness stage: You may be showcasing your products on social media or promoting them via paid advertising.
- Consideration stage: Once a customer clicks on your website how easy is it for them to find the information they’re looking for to make a purchase (search engine optimisation)?
- Conversion stage: When they complete a transaction on your website, what happens next? Are they followed up with a thank you or added to a database for future marketing (email marketing)?
Funnels are useful because they can help you plan your sales and marketing activities based on your customer’s needs.
Digital Marketing Channels for Ecommerce
#1. Paid Digital Ads
Google Ads are ads that come up at the top of your website browser when you type a search in Google. Running a Google Ads campaign can help you attract more customers to your website, with the flexibility of how and where you advertise, and how much you spend. And it’s working right now! According to Scott from Digital Influence, having a solid plan for your Google advertising helps your ads perform better.
He says it’s important to ensure you’re creating ads that match your business goals and selling those key aspects. Ensure you optimise that ad spend by targeting correctly and split testing so you know what is performing well and what isn’t. Furthermore, create a negative keyword list, so you don’t trigger what you don’t want to be found for.
If you’re trying to get your product in front of the 35+ market, then you should try Facebook advertising. At the moment, lead ads are performing well, but for an ecommerce business, you will want to take advantage of video advertising and image carousels to showcase your product.
#2. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
There have been a lot of changes in the SEO space because of AI. But it is still working. At present, the fundamentals are:
- Make sure your users are having a good website experience
- Ensure your website is optimised for mobile
- Create good quality content
- Ensure your contact details are easy to find
- Make sure your business is listed on local directories, such as a Google Business Profile.
SEO for ecommerce concentrates on optimising your website to make it easier for leads (customers) to convert (buy stuff). You can do this by ensuring your products are optimised for search intent, i.e., What are people looking for online when they search for your product? Create title tags, meta, and product descriptions that grab attention, allow customer reviews, and well-placed internal links and click-throughs (CTAs) that make it easier for customers to navigate your site.
#3. Email Marketing
Email marketing is a great way to nurture people who have purchased from you before. Email marketing for ecommerce can consist of creating welcome or thank you for your purchase emails, sending abandoned cart emails, or letting customers know when a product is back in stock or you have a special promotion. Setting up automated emails to nurture those relationships can be improve those customer retention rates and lead to better sales.
#4. Content Marketing
Blogs articles are an easy way to show up in a Google Search, especially if you’re a small ecommerce business selling in a highly competitive market. Blogs allow you to create content that might not be featured on your standard website pages.
For example, let’s say you sell avocados online. The keyword ‘avocado’ is highly competitive. However, the long-tail keyword ‘Guacamole Dish Recipes’ still receives a high number of searches. So, you might decide to create a recipe blog that focuses on these long-tail keywords to make it more likely you’ll come up in a Google search. Every blog you publish is another opportunity to be indexed and get traffic to your website.
#5. Social Media
Social media marketing is a digital marketing strategy where you create content to promote your brand, service, or product. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to which social media platform you should use, but understanding your audience and catering to their preferences is key.
For ecommerce businesses social media is essential to drive product awareness. At the moment, video marketing is performing well. In 2023, Facebook and Instagram discontinued Shops in New Zealand. However, consumers continue to buy from brands they follow on social media. Therefore, it’s important for businesses to continue to nurture connections on social media with content that adds value and builds trust.
Wanting to apply these techniques, but unsure how to start? NZIE’s Diploma in Digital Marketing is a great way to learn the necessary industry-related skills, and it only takes one year!
Written by Kristine Aitchison: Guest Writer and Content Specialist.
Kristine Aitchison is a copywriting and content marketing specialist. Showcase your expertise with regular blog content for your website. Visit www.writeasrain.nz.
