In the ever-shifting domain of digital marketing, the impact of storytelling cannot be overstated. Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or just dipping your toes into content creation for beginners, understanding the significance of weaving compelling narratives is crucial for success.
Why storytelling matters in marketing
From ancient cave paintings to contemporary blockbusters, storytelling has been an intrinsic part of human communication. In marketing, it serves as a potent tool to captivate audiences, educate them, and ultimately convert potential customers.
Content creation for beginners: Crafting compelling narratives
For those embarking on the journey of content creation for beginners, mastering the art of storytelling is a game-changer. Envision your brand as the protagonist, facing challenges and overcoming obstacles. This narrative framework humanizes your brand and creates a relatable, memorable experience for your audience.
The emotional connection
One of the primary reasons storytelling is crucial in content creation for beginners is its ability to evoke emotions. Humans are emotional beings, and emotions drive decision-making. Crafting narratives that resonate with your target audience establishes a connection that goes beyond mere transactions.
Structuring your marketing content
Storytelling provides a cohesive structure for your marketing content. Instead of presenting isolated pieces of information, a well-crafted story threads these elements together, guiding your audience through a journey that keeps them invested and interested.
Consistency across platforms
As you venture into content creation for beginners, remember to infuse your brand’s story across various platforms. Whether it’s social media, blogs, or video content, consistency in storytelling reinforces your brand identity and message.
Storytelling is not just a buzzword in marketing, it’s a fundamental element that can elevate your content creation for beginners. So, don’t just sell a product—tell a story.
Are you a good storyteller? Drop a comment below to describe how you’ve managed to leave a lasting impression.
Alex Wilks has been working as a copywriter and digital marketing strategist since 2018, with added specialties in social media and email marketing. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Communication, she is a natural content writer with the ability to connect well with her target audience.
The spooky season is upon us! Whether you handle your business’ digital marketing or you work for an agency, there are so many creative and frightening ways to orchestrate Halloween marketing campaigns in 2021. So, if you were looking for the perfect way to break out of your traditional digital marketing mold, take a leap this year and start brewing up some creative Halloween-inspired marketing ideas.
Curated videos that celebrate the chilling season
We’re living in a digital age where many people are learning to engage with brands and businesses through video content. Since this type of digital marketing gets the most organic engagement, it’s important that your business learns to utilize video regularly—the same goes for Halloween marketing campaigns. Consider taking a stab at creating a product, service, or even staff-related video but be sure to include a spooky twist. Even if this strategy doesn’t offer scary-good conversion right away, it shows that you’re an edgy, up-and-coming company that’s committed to catering to societal trends.
Display ads that target a more devilish theme
When creating a pay-per-click ad, it’s important to create personalized displays that meeting the browsing habits of your target audience. That said, building an ad that does all of the above is easy, but breaking the mold of a typical advertisement to get the attention of viewers can be challenging. It’s ingenious to give your PPC campaigns a little revamp by adding a creepy message, using a frightful font, or even changing the colours to orange and black to reflect the theme of traditional Halloween marketing campaigns. Your next data-driven campaign could use a little hocus pocus.
Social posts that are eerie-sistably boo-tiful
While sending a shoutout to Halloween day-of is the easiest way to get into the spirit of the season, giving your campaigns some added spooky energy leading up to the special day is far more exciting and memorable. That said, as soon as October rolls around, you’re in the clear to formulate some devilishly dark social media posts. Whether you do a quick disguise of your product with some enchanting props, snap a photo of it out in a pumpkin field, or simply advertise your service with a ghostly touch, there are so many opportunities to jump onto the bandwagon with a social media Halloween marketing campaign.
Blog posts that brew spooktacular ideas
Since content can take a bit of time to create traction and spur engagement, it’s best to get on this opportunity as soon as possible, especially if you’re hoping to boost your SEO with a Halloween marketing campaign. The spooky season is a time of year for trendy searches since lots of people are on the hunt for the perfect costumes, decor, and party ideas. So, if you can find a way to create some spooky blog posts while using keywords that are trending, you can find a way to stay relevant during Halloween Google searches.
What is your favourite option from our suggestions above? Drop a comment below to share.
Alex Wilks has been working as a copywriter and digital marketing strategist since 2018, with added specialties in social media and email marketing. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Communication, she is a natural content writer with the ability to connect well with her target audience.
With technology vastly advancing every day, it’s becoming increasingly important to find new ways to protect your business against the threat of cyberattacks. While virtual assets such as customer information and company financials are at risk, your brand’s reputation is another element that requires businesses to be more aware of cyber-vigilance. So, are you ready to learn about how to better secure your online shop?
Bots can affect your marketing strategy
A bot is a software program that operates on the internet and performs repetitive tasks. While most bot traffic is good, some bots have a negative impact on a website or application and will maliciously attack to collect data. So, if you’ve got a killer marketing strategy, you need to be cyber vigilant to ensure that you’re protected. While Google Analytics can do some of the work for you, this program will miss things that the human eye can catch, which is why it’s always a good idea to have a professional take a look at your digital marketing efforts to ensure good cybersecurity.
You want to protect your customer’s information
While you may not examine your customer’s information daily, its collection is essential to the operation of your business, especially if you have loads of recurring orders. That being said, customer-associated data is very precious and should be stored in a protected order management system to track visitor movements and protect names, addresses, and credit card numbers in the event of a data breach.
Since digital marketing is a data-led game, it’s important to carry out security checks to ensure any risks or vulnerabilities within your chosen software are removed. We also recommend that you change your passwords often and keep employee access only to those that require it.
Avoid plagiarism of content
It’s challenging to share content in the online world without the risk of competitors copying your style. While the first step is being aware that plagiarism tends to happen, the next is ensuring that your content creation remains focused on building informative copy that’s written in-house or by a trusted third-party digital marketing company that will write original copy geared towards your brand.
If you think you’re a victim, use an online plagiarism checker and once found, contact the offender to have them remove the copy. If they refuse, the next step is to contact their web hosting service with the proof.
Remove the risk of brand damage
Another reason that business owners focus on digital marketing cybersecurity is to ensure their brand’s competence isn’t destroyed due to aggressive or obscene messaging. Many consumers are fixated on a company based on this relationship and if emails or social posts go live with other motives in mind, it can be very challenging to apologize and make a comeback.
Are you ready to reduce any threats to your businesses’ security?
Have you ever been a victim of a cybersecurity breach? Please share your story in the comments section below with our other readers.
Alex Wilks has been working as a copywriter and digital marketing strategist since 2018, with added specialties in social media and email marketing. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Communication, she is a natural content writer with the ability to connect well with her target audience.
A digital marketing plan equips online business owners with an essential roadmap to achieving their most crucial brand objectives. Since it’s a tool that helps to guide marketing activities to generate the best results, it must be organized step-by-step and reviewed at multiple points in the lifespan of your business venture, which is why most entrepreneurs opt to have a professional digital marketing company handle their plan for them.
Why do you need a professional digital marketing plan?
So, for those asking themselves, “Do I need a professional digital marketing plan,” the answer is always yes, and here’s why:
While a business owner can formulate goals and work towards those objectives, a professional digital marketing agency will draw up a consumer-competitor analysis and create a plan that focuses on the entire environment surrounding the brand including context and current market situation.
Intended objectives are achieved quicker with the help of a professional digital marketing agency, especially since they have separate departments that coordinate together.
A coordinated digital marketing plan contains strategies and actions that are put in place to carry out campaigns.
Measuring the results of actions is one of the most overlooked tasks of business ownership which is why it’s important to include it in a professional digital marketing plan.
Now that you know what to expect from a professional digital marketing plan, below are some advantages that it can bring to you and your company:
You will gain in-depth knowledge of the market and your target audience. A good marketing plan allows time for a research phase which creates a scope of your business challenges and how to respond to them.
Digital marketing actions can align with departments working towards the same brand objectives.
Allows you to budget for the resources that are most effective for your business strategy.
Improves internal communication so all those involved can easily coordinate future goals.
Improves client communication by outline the elements that will meet their needs and expectations.
How our professional digital marketing agency creates an effective digital marketing plan: Step by step
1. Analysis and starting point:
Creating an effective digital marketing plan starts by analyzing the current situation of the company and coordinating time towards market research. During this phase, we aim to answer questions such as, “What could be a unique selling position for this company” and “What is the competition doing and how can we compare”.
2. Create objectives
Success is achieved when objectives are met. When the phase commences, the objectives of the company need to be concrete, detailed, measurable, realistic, and time-bound. Based on these parameters, we will create a professional digital marketing plan that will reach new markets, increase brand awareness, and improve your company’s return-on-investment (ROI).
3. Develop a buyer person
It’s important to paint a picture of your ideal client, even if it involves defining a profile for more than one type of product or service user. This includes determining the age, gender, income level, occupation, and place of residence. This will allow us to develop a professional digital marketing plan that creates a better understanding of your brand-to-consumer relationship.
4. Content plan
Every professional digital marketing plan requires an outline of the type of content that will be distributed. While it can follow a variety of formats, your content should align to the above buyer persona(s) and be incredibly focused to increase website conversions. This phase should also include the addition of search engine optimization (SEO), which is the backbone of content creation, dedicated to structuring the website to direct valuable traffic.
5. Determine platforms for business growth
While the world of social media marketing offers an assortment of platforms for any brand, it’s always best to focus on those that are more adapted to your companies’ objectives. Effective digital marketing planning includes intentions for these social networks and the application of available resources to boost your growing strategy.
Are you ready to speak with our team about your digital marketing plan?
What stage of the above digital marketing planning process is your business at? Drop a comment below to compare with other readers.
Alex Wilks has been working as a copywriter and digital marketing strategist since 2018, with added specialties in social media and email marketing. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Communication, she is a natural content writer with the ability to connect well with her target audience.
You may think that you can build the best website by making it informative, packing it with great content, and investing in an intuitive design, but if shoppers aren’t able to find your website, all that work and money will go to waste. We’re here to help by breaking down the basics of why PPC Advertising could be the strategy your business needs to attract more online users. So, here’s why you should want to use it!
What is PPC Advertising?
Pay-per-click advertising, also shortened to PPC advertising, is a method of online marketing that allows businesses to place ads in strategic places where a fee is only charged after the ad is clicked on by a visitor. It’s a great way to buy visits to your website rather than taking the time to attract them organically.
Here’s how it works:
When a user clicks on your ad, you pay a specified fee, which is referred to as the cost-per-click (CPC).
The CPC can vary dramatically (average is between $1 to $2 with some as cheap as a couple of cents, while others go as high as $50 or more).
Another way to orchestrate a PPC Advertising campaign is by using cost per 1,000 impressions (CPM), which applies to display and video ads.
Now that you have a better understanding of how PPC Advertising works to attract online visitors, we are going to provide you with some reasons as to why you should consider adding it to your digital marketing strategy.
It’s very targeted
Entrepreneurs and digital marketers alike love PPC Advertising because it allows them to choose precisely who will be seeing the ad based on their location, choice of keywords, interests, age, gender, language, and even the type of device that the consumer is using. This ensures that you’re catering to an audience that’s more likely to enjoy your goods and services, which has a huge influence on click-through rates and conversions.
You can even re-target previous visitors!
Most consumers will only click on advertisements that appeal to their interests, however, just because they choose to follow through to your website, doesn’t guarantee that they will become a customer. The great part about PPC Advertising is that you’re targeting those who share the same enthusiasm about your products and services, and the best part is that if they don’t follow through on purchasing the first time around, you can retarget the ones that left your website and remind them to come back again!
It’s cost-effective for all types of e-commerce businesses
While many elements of your digital marketing strategy charge a flat-rate, monthly fee, you only pay for PPC Advertising when your ad is clicked by a potential customer. This means that the odds are always in your favour, allowing you to cater your ads to those whose values align with your business. Also, since PPC ads appear at the top of search engine results pages, you don’t need to spend the time and money building your content because your ad will already appear above organic search results.
It’s easily tracked
Aside from the above conversion-based benefits, PPC Advertising is also easily tracked, meaning that you as a business owner can monitor how well your ads are performing and make adjustments to them if they aren’t receiving a good number of clicks. This is a great way to learn what attracts consumers to your products and services and what can be improved upon to drive sales and help your business grow.
Are you ready to test the waters of PPC advertising? Please fill out our contact form and anticipate a prompt email from our Client Success Manager to discuss your business goals!
Do you have any further questions about PPC Advertising and how it works? Drop a comment below to share with our other readers.
Alex Wilks has been working as a copywriter and digital marketing strategist since 2018, with added specialties in social media and email marketing. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Communication, she is a natural content writer with the ability to connect well with her target audience.
Do you have a good relationship with your target audience? Would you say you go together like search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising? While most professional digital marketing services take time to generate ongoing growth and conversions there are some things that you can do last-minute to entice your customers to shop. Valentine’s Day is one of the most overlooked occasions when compared to other days like Black Friday or Christmas, and even if your product(s) and service(s) don’t scream romantic, you can ramp up some sales by following the tips we recommend below.
Host a flash sale for your shoppers
Since Valentines’ Day is the celebration of love, it’s a good idea to show your customers some love and appreciation during this time by offering them a great deal on your products and services. One of the best ways that you can do this as a business owner is by surprising them with a generous flash sale… because of course, everyone loves to save money! Since the following idea can be executed rather quickly by sending out a short, punchy email and otherwise promoting it through your existing social media channels, you can consider hosting a sale last-minute. The best part is that if you possess an overwhelming amount of inventory for a few particular items, a last-minute sale can also double down as an opportunity to unload products that aren’t selling as well on regular calendar days. Whether you just have a buy 2, get 1 free sale, a store-wide discount, or a featured sale on a product category, giving your customers a deal is a perfect incentive to inspire them to make a purchase and possibly even tune into other sales or promotions that are offered in the future.
Email your customers some personalized Valentine’s Day cards
While we did mention above that emailing is a great way to connect with your audience last-minute, if you aren’t up to hosting a sale, but you still want to take advantage of this tactic, we recommend coordinating a cute email campaign allowing you to send out virtual Valentine’s Day cards. Your card should coordinate with your brand and include a punny poem or a letter of appreciation to your customers, and if you’re feeling edgy, you can include a shop now button in there as well. This takes a lot of hassle out of putting a lot of work into your website and it shows your customers that you’re fun and not just sales-focused.
Create a quick landing page dedicated to themes of the holiday
Landing pages, also known as lead capture pages or destination pages, are a great way to promote Valentine’s Day specials, and since the holiday is geared towards buying gifts for your loved ones, they can be extra beneficial when created specifically to target your audience and draw in shoppers. Now, if you don’t possess the knowledge of how to coordinate a strategy that targets a certain search engine optimization search result, don’t worry. As a professional digital marketing company, we have the skills and experience to market your promotion using industry-relevant key terms and phrases.
Last-minute doesn’t mean you have to tap out! How are you planning to orchestrate something for your company this Valentine’s Day?
Alex Wilks has been working as a copywriter and digital marketing strategist since 2018, with added specialties in social media and email marketing. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Communication, she is a natural content writer with the ability to connect well with her target audience.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on economies worldwide, small businesses were the ones that were hit particularly hard. Many businesses weren’t able to reopen their doors after forced closures and some of the companies that have managed to survive are now scraping by amid the second wave. While this is the tragic reality that many industries are now facing, there are some businesses with e-commerce shops that have thrived throughout 2020 and will likely continue to do well with the help of professional digital marketing.
Supermarkets
While the grocery store industry has always been backed by popular demand due to necessity, the pandemic lifted their business, as restaurant closures meant that those who normally spend money eating out would instead have to make more of their own dinners. Even with stay-at-home restrictions in place, supermarkets remained open and were considered essential businesses. While you would think that cooking isn’t something new, many people decided to test out some different recipes and began flooding their social media accounts with delicious home-cooked meals. If that wasn’t enough, amateur bakers also sprang up everywhere and many typical ingredients and kitchen items became very high in demand. Oftentimes when supermarkets experience a quick depletion of items from their inventories, this can cause the prices to rise, and since people began to fear product shortages, the demand for the above items (alongside cleaning supplies and toilet paper) also went up.
Historically speaking, grocery store chains have always needed to compete with one another and heavily rely on coupons to get customers through their doors, but the fear of running out of food and other basic comforts have kept many flocking to the supermarket since the start of the pandemic. Plus, it’s a good excuse to get out of the house!
Hand-sanitizing products
The concept of on-the-go hand sanitization is nothing new, however, as health authorities began to suggest using this measure to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, brands popped up everywhere to fulfill the global demand, with businesses such as distilleries and breweries going as far as to halt their operations and pivot to producing hand sanitizer. Even 10-months-later in today’s current environment, people are still using it everywhere they go!
Liquor stores
We all remember that home alcohol consumption rose during the first few months of the pandemic due to the stress of people’s employment status and the added responsibility of home-schooling children while attempting to work-from-home. While sales likely returned to their usual levels throughout the months that had an ease on restrictions, the second wave is here, and since people are starving for socialization during the holiday season, one can expect that those sales will increase yet again. After all, aren’t you planning on having a virtual, Christmas cocktail party via zoom?
At-home entertainment
Streaming sources such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ saw a huge growth in subscribers during the first quarter of 2020, as people looked for more at-home entertainment options in place of their usual activities. This is once again the case, as non-essential businesses like theatres and nightclubs remain closed to slow the spread, giving people more money in their pockets that can easily be extended onto these services.
Online shopping
Everyone loves the care-free convenience of shopping online and having your items delivered right to your doorstep, and while this phenomenon is something most people have utilized for years, many have recently adopted this tradition. With everything from groceries, prescriptions, and skin care products available at the click of a button, there’s no reason to ever leave the house if you don’t have too. The best part is that while younger generations have already found comfort in the simplicity of online shopping, the gap is narrowing as older people are starting to utilize their computers and smartphones to take advantage of the digital experience.
What does all this mean?
What professional digital marketing and web development experts have learned in 2020 is that the entire realm of online shopping is now considered to be an essential service. Since people require a safer way to access items that can be purchased in-store (online grocery ordering) and services that have always been in-person (doctor’s appointments), an e-commerce website has the ability to satisfy this new-found demand, alongside professional digital marketing services that will allow shoppers to find the resources that they need.
While it’s a strange world that we have been living in these past 10 months, if you’re a part of the evolving technology sector, give yourself a pat on the back. We’re one of the groups of workers who have been shadowed by those working on the frontlines. However, your remote, work-from-home adaptability has allowed many of the essential operations to expand digitally to meet the needs of the general population and keep more people safe at home. Good work, everyone!
Are you an e-commerce business owner who needs help with your professional digital marketing strategy moving into 2021? Drop a comment below to speak with one of our industry experts.
Alex Wilks has been working as a copywriter and digital marketing strategist since 2018, with added specialties in social media and email marketing. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Communication, she is a natural content writer with the ability to connect well with her target audience.
Your online presence is essential, regardless of whether you’re starting a new e-commerce business or simply taking over from a previous owner. While the 2020 year has brought about a lot of changes, the only change to online shopping is that it has become more important than ever before, as more customers are flocking to the web to make their essential purchases. We’re in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s your job to keep on top of your digital marketing efforts to ensure that you prosper in the years to come. Here are some techniques that we recommend.
Understanding your audience
As a growing, e-commerce business owner, one of the most important aspects of operation resides in knowing who your customers are. An engaged audience is key, regardless of whether you’re a startup business or you’ve been in the industry for years. For those who are hoping to better relate to your audience, this would require narrowing your content to meet the needs of that demographic, which as a result, will allow you to cater your digital marketing efforts towards campaigns that understand their pains, problems, and priorities. It could be as simple as communicating a compelling message that encourages a prospecting customer to purchase your product. However, it often involves digging a little deeper into the shopping habits of your target audience.
One of the most cost-efficient, professional digital marketing services available is email marketing. Why is this? It’s because this type of digital service bridges the gap between generations. Pretty much everyone nowadays has an email, aside from using them to communicate with loved ones, most enjoy receiving special discounts from the online businesses they subscribe to. After all, who doesn’t love a good deal? However, the best part about email marketing is a quicker return-on-investment (ROI). While many professional digital marketing services take time to generate revenue, business owners can see the money that’s being made from a good email right away! Emails also help to create brand awareness, which translates to more valuable traffic leads down the road.
Search engine optimization helps to increase your ranking
Even if you have the most aesthetically-pleasing website, if you aren’t able to increase your search ranking, shoppers will have a hard time finding your online business. So, while there are many e-commerce entrepreneurs that don’t understand SEO, most invest in this content creating, link-building service! Since SEO involves a variety of crucial tactics, such as an initial audit, ongoing research, on-page optimization, and link building, it’s far easier to hire a professional to help you achieve your search result goals!
Don’t forget to be socially involved
Social media marketing has become an integral part of professional digital marketing strategies for businesses. Its importance is huge in helping e-commerce companies expand their following, as many small businesses start gaining traction through positive reviews and customer word-of-mouth. Needless to say, building your brand involves consistency and relevance in the quality of content you publish. That’s why many e-commerce business owners seek professional digital marketing to help utilize tools that are available on social platforms, create a vibrant posting schedule, and cross-share their content.
Blogging adds value too
While many e-commerce business owners often overlook blogging, we believe that it holds great value in the expansion of your reach to potential customers. Blogging allows you to establish credibility for your business, inputting regular entries that offer insightful information, as well as take a sales-based approach. Keeping in mind that it’s essential that you create a regular posting schedule (once a week is ideal), unless you’re full of industry ideas, many look to professional resources to create ongoing website content.
Can you think of other digital marketing techniques that have added major value to your online business? Drop a comment below to share.
Alex Wilks has been working as a copywriter and digital marketing strategist since 2018, with added specialties in social media and email marketing. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Communication, she is a natural content writer with the ability to connect well with her target audience.
While most e-commerce business owners possess a rough understanding of how search engine optimization (SEO) affects their presence, many aren’t knowledgeable enough to increase their online rankings, which is why industry experts are needed to improve the quality of traffic and clicks. Nevertheless, with so much lucrative information available at your fingertips there are still some tasks that you can undertake to help your business crawl to the top, and if all efforts fail, an SEO agency for e-commerce who’s ready to swoop in and do all the work for you.
Tip #1: Focus on structured data
Since there are an abundance of websites that Google is crawling, the best way for this search engine to understand what each is about is through structured data giving purpose and meaning to each page.
Structured data is a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying that page’s content. For example, a page displaying a recipe would include a section containing the ingredient list, another that explains the cooking time, and possibly even further subsections to describe prep, the number of calories, and so on.
An SEO agency for e-commerce would track to ensure that each markup is handled correctly, and follow recommendations by Google to review the companies’ online documents and monitor changes that may be needed. Tracking search engine results page (SERP) feature placements over time will also allow them to improve when there is a drop and help them to better understand if the structured data is working to the brand’s advantage.
Tip #2: Monitor backlinks
While having more backlinks doesn’t always mean that your website will rank higher, an SEO agency for e-commerce will ensure that high-quality backlinks are produced, which is proven to be beneficial in boosting SEO rankings.
As you are likely aware, Google focuses on the authority and authenticity of every website linking to your domain, and if there are any spammy sites in that list, your ranking could be impacted negatively. These red flags are bad news for your SEO strategy efforts, so it’s always advisable to keep track of who is linking back to your website and monitor the quality of those links.
Tip #3: Create skyscraper content
Skyscraper content involves a little investigative work where you seek out already high-performing content in your niche and use it to create something better. Then, shamelessly promote it to your audience! However, since this tip involves a lot of legwork to have it done correctly, most business owners hire an SEO agency for e-commerce to handle everything involved in seeking and writing this type of specialized content.
Needless to say, for the go-getters, here are some tips to getting started:
Find out who your competitors are on Google
Discover which keywords best relate to your niche business
Add details to your website’s pages and create comprehensive posts about the topics above
Get insights from industry experts so that you’re able to add more value to your posts
Be sure to review analytics to see which content topics did well
Re-work your content to make it more digestible by using things like videos and infographics
The key to developing good skyscraper content is to get creative and make something better than anything readers and/or shoppers have ever seen before.
Which of the above tips will you be trying out first? Drop a comment below to start a conversation with other readers.
Alex Wilks has been working as a copywriter and digital marketing strategist since 2018, with added specialties in social media and email marketing. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Communication, she is a natural content writer with the ability to connect well with her target audience.
Since it’s difficult to guarantee which investments will generate a consistent return, e-commerce business owners will often face marketing hurdles where they will struggle to see profitable results. So, whether you’re looking for help with various digital marketing activities or simply want assurance that you’re on the road to success, an assortment of digital marketing services are available at your fingertips. But first, here are some common mistakes you should avoid!
Didn’t formulate a digital strategy
While it would be silly to not utilize the power of social media for marketing purposes, most business owners use their channels to publish a stream of over-promotional content that generates little engagement, which is not beneficial for the time that it takes to perform the task. Any form of return in digital marketing requires the development of a coherent strategy that will underpin business objectives and push forward likable, inviting content. Focusing on posts that highlight keywords via pay-per-click advertising or only crafting brand-related content won’t get you the results that you’re looking for. This is why the best thing you can do is to take the time to understand your target audience and research how they engage with the channels you’re using because this will help you to narrow your focus and avoid wasn’t money by moving forward with no strategy in place.
There are digital marketing services that can offer you help with all of the above and what’s even better is that hiring a social media manager is a cost-effective way to combine research and content creation with the added bonus of customer service.
Don’t cut your spend, move it around
There are a lot of opportunities for growth in digital marketing, and as a result, common issues are faced by business owners. There’s a belief that return-on-investment (ROI) should come immediately after the trial of a small Google ad or a one-time SEO campaign, but often these investments take time to make money. So, instead of swiftly cutting your spend, consider moving it around to another digital platform that may produce more return. The best thing to do is evaluate your marketing budget, see what is and isn’t working, and increase in the areas where you’re seeing conversions.
E-commerce businesses have ramped up the use of trending features such as more video content and Chatbots, and have also increased their presence on platforms like Google, Facebook, and Amazon. So, if you want to remain competitive in your industry, you will need to keep on track of what’s engaging your target audience. The best way to implement and manage an effective digital marketing strategy is to constantly evaluate what’s working, allowing you to make positive changes and push forward in the areas that will generate a higher return. It’s also important to learn from your competition, remain focused on your growth, and keep in mind that building your business will be a long-term game of trial and error.
Not Knowing Your Target Market
One of the most effective strategies in marketing your products or services is profoundly understanding your customer’s pain points and what type of person is more likely to be interested in what you’re trying to offer. Formulating a buyer persona is an excellent strategy used by professional marketers to streamline their target and know what type of people they are trying to aim.
Knowing your target market is as important as anything else, especially in advancing technology today. Social algorithms already have much more data than ever before about their users’ interests, hobbies, and even buying behavior. Therefore, having a deeper understanding of your target market allows you to maximize your campaign’s efficiency and even take advantage of sophisticated digital tools in today’s online business world.
Failure to Track Measurable Goals and Milestones to Hit
Many entrepreneurs have been successful in their business in the digital space but staying successful is a whole different conversation. In most cases, even a thriving business at its early stages could quickly lose track of its progress because of failing to track its progress and setting goals to target.
The e-commerce business is continuously ramping up, meaning you also have to step up your game and never lose sight of your improving your business as a whole to stay relevant to the market. Tracking your progress through statistical analytics by digital services allows you to have a leg up on your competition and gradually improve your online business over time.
Not Flexible Enough to Try and Test Different Strategies
There is no shortage of digital marketing strategies that effectively ramp up your engagement, traffic, or even sales almost instantly. While there’s a value in staying consistent about your current method that has already been working for you, being open to other opportunities would open up so many doors for your business, especially in a constantly evolving world.
An Entrepreneur’s ability to do trial and error, whether through specific marketing campaigns, trying out new digital strategies, or other things, is a massive advantage for taking advantage of opportunities ahead of you. It is likely that an effective digital marketing strategy from just six months ago now could no longer be relevant today. That is why it’s best to keep being updated and allow yourself to try out new things that might or might not work for the sake of the business. This is a common trait for thriving businesses in today’s world.
Focused on blending in instead of standing out amongst your competition
Another common mistake for up-and-coming entrepreneurs trying to find their success in the digital space is focusing too much on blending in instead of finding ways to stand out. The reason behind this is to remind you that you’re in the business of offering products/services that are distinctly unique from what the market already has to offer.
Unrealistic Overnight Success Expectations
Setting goals and targets are excellent, but expecting unrealistic results over a short amount of time is detrimental and could hold your online business success even further down the line. There is nothing wrong with high-ambitions and having the confidence that your product or service online would do well. However, patience is a huge thing, especially when entering a highly competitive market.
Understand that you’re not the only one who’s trying to get a fair share of the market and that you’ll have to earn it gradually with patience and wit if you want your business to thrive. A good rule of thumb when it comes to setting expectations is to set goals that are hard enough to keep you going but aren’t too challenging and leave you in a slump. Small wins, whether in sales, engagements, followers, or any progress in your digital marketing pursuit, get you going and are much more effective for sustainable growth instead of unrealistic expectations.
Failure to Adapt to New and Updated Strategies
Keeping an eye on and constantly updating your digital marketing strategies is a huge plus for your e-commerce store to stay relevant to your chosen niche market. Many factors may impact how well a particular digital system might or might not work, so it’s always best to keep open and flexible for future adjustments.
Undervaluing the Power of Customer Reviews and Feedback
Online Reviews and Customer Feedback is an excellent social proof and way to get more traction on your e-commerce business. However, not many entrepreneurs understand the value of having honest feedback from customers, whether good or bad and how it could impact your business as a whole.
Genuinely listening to what your customers like about your products and what they dislike gives you ideas on improving your business. Businesses that listen to their customers will likely have their way to building their community and engagement over time.
What did you learn from the above blog submission? Drop a comment in the section below to converse with other readers.
Alex Wilks has been working as a copywriter and digital marketing strategist since 2018, with added specialties in social media and email marketing. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Communication, she is a natural content writer with the ability to connect well with her target audience.
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