When you run an online store, it can be hard to know which strategies are the most effective for growing your audience and increasing sales. Luckily, there are countless ways you can market your business, both on and offline.
Read these nine ways to promote your online store to help get you started!
1. Create an Amazing E-commerce Website
A well-designed, functional e-commerce site goes a long way to convincing customers that they’re in good hands. If your website is unappealing or difficult to navigate, you will lose potential buyers in seconds — so start off on the right foot!
There are various digital marketing agencies that offer affordable e-commerce web design services. So, get in contact with an agency today, get your site set up, and start promoting!
2. Have a Strong Social Media Presence
You have to have more than just a Facebook page if you want to build an engaged following on social media. Setup Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr — even LinkedIn if it’s relevant!
When people ‘follow’ or subscribe to your site, they’ll see new posts in their feed. Having a large following will also increase the likelihood that individual posts will go viral, driving lots of traffic to your site quickly.
3. Develop a Marketing Strategy
Once you have a strong presence on all your social channels, it’s time to develop a marketing strategy. This is a plan for increasing visibility and drawing new customers who might be interested in buying from your store.
The goal of your marketing strategy should be to raise awareness about your brand and generate sales. Your approach should be based on identifying what type of people are likely to become customers and how they behave when shopping online. That way, you can reach them with messages that speak directly to their needs.
4. Find Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Site
Now that you have a marketing strategy in place, you’ll need to drive traffic, so your efforts aren’t wasted.
One of the best ways to do this is by linking to your website on relevant blogs. The more quality backlinks you have coming in, the higher your site will rank on search engines like Google. Ensure that any content posted across these platforms provides value to customers and also drives them back to your site.
Your other option is paid advertisements. If you’re prepared to spend money, PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising platforms like Google Adwords are an excellent way of promoting your products quickly. Although it’s easy to burn through cash fast with advertisements that don’t convert, if they do work, then scale up!
5. Utilize Email Marketing
Email is the most effective type of marketing because people love getting messages directly in their inboxes.
Make it easy for your site’s visitors to subscribe by having pop-up forms on every page. You can then send them emails with offers that are relevant to their previous purchasing habits.
6. Create Engaging Content
You have to have engaging content that is worth talking about if you want social media shares, backlinks, and website traffic!
Create blog posts with valuable information related to your industry that will make customers more likely to share your content socially. It could be an interesting statistic or piece of advice — whatever catches their attention!
7. Offer Great Customer Service
If you don’t provide good customer service, you’ll lose customers and end up with a bad reputation.
Respond to any questions or issues raised as quickly as possible, and take the time to thank customers who buy from you, as well as those who don’t!
8. Be Consistent
With all this talk about different types of marketing, it’s important to remember that they should all work together toward one goal — increasing sales.
If you’re only promoting via Twitter, but your Facebook page hasn’t been updated in months, customers will catch on and become confused. Make sure that your overall marketing strategy is consistent across different platforms by using similar language and imagery.
9. Focus on SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Finally, if you want more traffic, use SEO techniques to help search engines find and rank your site higher.
Optimize the content on all of your marketing platforms so that customers can easily find what they’re looking for. Title tags and meta descriptions on your website give search engines a guide to what your page is all about, so make sure that it reflects what you’re selling.
To market your online store successfully, follow these nine tips. By following these ten tips, you’ll be on your way to promoting your online store and driving sales!