A strong marketing campaign can make or break your business, few would question that in today’s modern commerce climate. Over the past few decades, marketing has become a more dynamic and powerful industry, it is now valued at $1.7 trillion worldwide.
Even small businesses need to allocate a portion of their income towards a marketing budget. The U.S. Small Business Administration recommends you spend up to 8% of your gross revenue in marketing.
We all know it’s essential, but how do you actually get involved in digital marketing? The techniques used in physical environments aren’t always applicable to a digital landscape.
How E-Commerce Marketing Differs
With an e-commerce business, you’re closer to your customers than in any other business model before. In traditional marketing, potential customers may see a billboard or newspaper ad well before they ever step foot in your business. Digital marketing, however, leaves e-commerce businesses just a click away.
An online viewer can go through your merchandise or services the moment your ad sparks their interest. There is a direct channel from your ad to your business, this fosters an environment where customer engagement is encouraged. The perk here is that engagement can be monitored and analyzed, so you have a stream of readily available information at your disposal.
Digital marketing may also be cheaper than traditional marketing, but it’s important to consider that individual ads are temporary and the medium is constantly evolving. It takes more expertise to create and maintain a successful digital marketing campaign, so what you save in the actual advertisements you may have to pay through the backend.
Utilize the Advantages
Unless you’re well versed in graphic design and marketing management, you will need outside help to create your digital marketing campaign. Online users are accustomed to scrolling past ads, this is why it’s important to invest in attention grabbing visuals. Take advantage of the medium and incorporate movement, colors, and creativity wherever possible, this will hardly affect the cost of running the ad online.
Keep track of your viewer data. Both Google and Facebook offer analytical data regarding your average viewer, such as age, gender, and time spent on your website. Monitor this information and adjust your ads accordingly to target those viewers. For example, if you sell electronics you may find that many of your viewers are young males.
This is an opportunity to revamp the visuals and copy of your ads to signal to viewers that this is something they’d like. You may also use this information to adjust the running times for your ads — some demographics are more active during certain periods of the day or week.
Take an active part in engaging with your customers. 4 in 10 people state they follow their favorite brands on social media. This gives customers the ability to talk to businesses about their products, complaints, and interests. It is an easy, free way to engage customers on a basic level. This keeps your business in the public eye and helps to reinforce customer loyalty while garnering the attention of potential customers.
Some aspects of traditional marketing have certain merits, but for an e-commerce store, digital marketing is the way to go. Establish your online presence by leveraging the advantages of digital marketing with these techniques and strategies.