A proper digital marketing strategy used by top digital marketing agencies is one of the key elements if you want to run a successful online business. Expecting customers to stumble upon your website out of nowhere is a far-fetched idea, and it does not happen.
Most entrepreneurs who have been working in ecommerce or have been running a different kind of online business will tell you that they are constantly looking for new marketing opportunities.
But how do you know if it is worth investing in a marketing idea? Well, some methods are known to be quite effective, so let’s see what makes them stand out from the rest.
The Importance of Brand Awareness
Raising brand awareness may not seem like a direct way to improve sales, but it is a great investment for the future if you want to build a sustainable business. The more people recognize your logo, slogan, or even the color palette, the more you should expect to gain as a business.
What are some ways to raise brand awareness? Well, you could shift your focus toward improving customer service. Someone who has an excellent experience with your business is likely to share it with their friends and family.
Offering complimentary gifts is also a good option. You can create personalized merchandise for free with the intent to include it in your orders. Products like mugs, t-shirts, or calendars are some examples.
Responsive Web Design
Another suggestion that may not seem too obvious is a responsive website design. Besides good loading speed and uptime, you need website pages that are mobile-friendly. After all, mobile ecommerce revenue accounted for 50% of total U.S. ecommerce revenue in 2018, and the number has not stopped growing since then.
Aspiring brands need to make sure that their websites are accessible for smartphone and tablet users. Otherwise, they risk losing many potential customers.
Besides a mobile-friendly website, you could also consider hiring an app developer. Since so many people use Android and iOS, an app for these operating systems would also push a brand toward attracting more customers.
Social Media and Influencer Marketing
It is no secret that plenty of brands rely on social media and influencer marketing to make their advertising efforts worthwhile.
For social media, you have platforms like Facebook and Instagram where it is not that difficult to create highly engaging content. Contests and giveaways are a good example. If you make an announcement about giving something for free, people will be happy to like and share your post if it means participating in a contest. After all, people love free stuff.
Influencers are also a worthy investment, even if you are on a tight budget. There is a good reason why celebrities are making a lot of money by promoting goods and services.
When you follow someone on social media, it is because you admire that person or believe that they have the right takes when it comes to various topics. And the words of someone like that are worth more than a random company that is bombarding you with ads, right?
So when an influencer recommends you to get something, or you see them wearing clothes or accessories that look good, it piques your interest.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization should be one of the cornerstones for online businesses. Organic traffic is valuable because it comes from search engines after website visitors enter relevant keywords. That is, if your pages are properly optimized.
It helps when you have multiple website traffic sources. However, if you are looking to focus on one in particular, then SEO should be it.
Keep in mind, though, that ranking for competitive keywords is tough, and some of the best experts spend months to reach desirable positions.
On the other hand, if you manage to overtake the competition and reach the top pages of Google and other search engines, you can expect to have a constant influx of new customers. At the same time, you will also need to work hard to maintain that position because the competition below you will try to do their best to get ahead of you.
Email Marketing
Collecting an email list from the very start is a good piece of advice. Once your website is up and running, you should incentivize people to subscribe to your newsletter or have them submit their email info in return for a discount or free shipping on their next order.
Having an email list means direct access to your customers. You can send them reminders about the products they have left in the shopping cart, announce new deals, and share behind-the-scenes stuff. In other words, you need to help them remember your brand.
Blasting customer inboxes with promotional emails may work in some cases, but if you take things too far, it will not be too long before most of the people who have subscribed will unlist you or redirect your emails to a spam folder. Therefore, if you are planning to invest in email marketing, do not go overboard with spamming advertising emails.
