E-Commerce marketing refers to various activities that guide users through the transition from consumer to business. E-Commerce (Electronic Commerce) is basically the process of purchasing or selling goods or services over the web using electronic transactions. While the traditional concept of e-commerce was born from the conventional brick and mortar system, the practice has evolved into a more sophisticated model that incorporates a number of business functions. E-Commerce websites are the latest trend in the online retail sector, especially for those who are looking to expand their product offerings in a short span of time. This allows an entrepreneur to tap into the enormous potential of the internet to get into the market faster and at a cheaper cost.
One of the foremost steps towards a successful E-Commerce marketing strategy is proper planning. You need to identify the purpose and objectives of your website. This is done by defining the target consumer, offering, and promotional strategies. These are then complemented with effective strategies like pay-per-click ads, content marketing, and social media marketing.
Pay-per-click ads are one of the most popular strategies used in e-commerce marketing because they can be targeted according to the interests and needs of the target audience. It’s essentially a pay-per-click advertisement, where the publisher bids on keywords or key phrases and then only displays ads that are clicked on. Content marketing channels involve creating content around a particular product or service and letting it disseminate through different platforms such as blogs, forums, and social networking sites. Social media marketing channels entail putting up advertisements on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. The latter two strategies to help you in reaching out to a larger audience at a low cost.
Another important element to e-commerce marketing is quality search engine optimization. SEO experts use various techniques like keyword analysis, link building, and search engine optimization to improve the visibility of a website. With an optimized website, a higher conversion rate is realized, meaning sales go through the roof. On the other hand, new strategies don’t always guarantee conversions but they ensure that your website appears on the first page of search engine results.
The latest craze among online marketers is creating digital ads that can be promoted using Instagram. Digital ads can be created using the Instagram marketing app. Instagram allows a marketer to create digital ads that can be viewed by followers on the site. The ads are made based on what your target audience is looking for and you can choose from a wide variety of ads including coupons, discounts, and even contests. Instagram has become one of the most popular and efficient tools for e-commerce marketing.
If you want to reach out to more people, you can opt to go with pay per click (PPC) or affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing works best when you have a specific market to cater to. You can also advertise in live chat. When a user asks about your product, you can just mention it in the live chat and the user will be guided to your website. Since a lot of people are into social networking sites, the success rate of a PPC campaign is pretty high as well since users can easily find your site using the keywords that you have used.