The past year has shown us that you don’t need an office to run a successful business. And what’s more, you don’t need to go through countless meetings in a boardroom to market your brand. All you need is a little know-how and the drive. You can market your business online anywhere and anytime. Here are some simple steps you can take as you market your business online.
Tips On How To Market Your Business Online Today
Make Use Of Social Media
2020 and 2021 opened up the world of eCommerce, with smaller independent brands having more access to customers in other countries than ever before. And one of the simplest, most cost-effective ways to take advantage of this globalization is by social media advertising on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
On Instagram, you can create your own ads and target consumers based on location, demographics, and even their interests. Instagram’s system assists business owners by making DIY advertising simple. In addition, platforms like Instagram or Facebook are a great way to reach untapped audiences.
It’s also important to recognize that as you market your business online, different social platforms have different strengths and you can leverage each platform’s features and target audiences. For example, Twitter is really good for customer engagement and responding to queries. Instagram is ideal for those who are looking to showcase their beautiful products. Facebook is the perfect place to build a customer community.
Optimize Your Website
As an eCommerce brand, your website is your most vital point of contact. It needs to act as an inviting, easy-to-navigate storefront for your customers. Here are a few simple things you can do to ensure your website is optimized and showing up on the search engine results pages:
Make A Great First Impression
One online shopping survey found that over 93% of consumers considered the design of a website to be a key deciding factor in whether they would purchase or not. Your all-important landing page should feature a minimal, appealing design that feels modern and easy to use.
Keep It Simple
The UX, or user experience of your site, is vital. Your customers are looking for a hassle-free shopping experience. It should be streamlined, utilize user-friendly navigation, offer easy-to-find products, and an uncomplicated checkout process.
Create Effective CTAs
It seems like a small element, but your CTA button is a huge part of the conversion process. Use large, legible text with action words like ‘buy, view, and shop’. Creating a sense of urgency with words like ‘now, today, and hurry’ can also help. Finally, make sure your CTA really stands out – choose colors that contrast your website’s background and font colors that are bold and highly legible.
Invest In Email Marketing
With nearly 4 billion active email users in the world right now, email marketing is an incredibly effective way to drive customers to your site. In fact, it’s pretty much essential for any eCommerce brand to have a good email marketing program.
Email marketing services like Klaviyo and MailChimp offer great, tailored subscription packages that allow you to send automated email flows to different segments of your email list at the same time. You can also choose from pre-existing templates or hire an expert email marketing agency to create beautiful campaigns for you.
Topical, once-off email campaigns are ideal for communicating new product offerings or services and any current promotions, while always-on email flows will help you welcome new customers and recover abandoned carts on your site. Other flows like browser abandonment will allow you to entice customers who had previously just been ‘window shopping’ to return and make a purchase.
Harness The Power Of Social Proofing
Word of mouth is powerful! Marketing attracts customers, but sometimes, it’s the friend or trusted source that convinces you to purchase. The impact of social proofing on brands is enormous! When you market your business online, be aware of the power of social proofing digitally, and in person.
Having a great reputation amongst your consumers is everything. Reviews from other people are persuasive tools that can be used to establish that reputation and gain the trust of your customers in a totally authentic way. It’s also proven to be very effective. In fact, in a survey conducted by Nielsen, over 92% of consumers stated that they would trust recommendations from family and friends over any other form of advertising.
So how do you get those reviews? You can do this through an email marketing campaign, or simply by encouraging customers to leave reviews on your social media platforms or website. You could also consider running an online contest – incentivizing your customers to share their thoughts about your products or services.
These reviews that come from social media, email, or other sources, should be placed front and center on your website and can also be used in your emails and as standalone digital ads.
Try Influencer Marketing
There is a perception that influencer marketing is expensive and more of a long-term marketing plan, but it doesn’t have to be the case. Influencer marketing can be as straightforward as identifying bloggers and social media personalities who might be interested in your product offering and sending them a small gift with a personalized note.
Your communication should be lighthearted and casual rather than asking outright for a review. While you run the risk of them not posting, the rewards and potential reach make it worth the risk.
Wrapping Up
They might use different platforms but all of the marketing tools mentioned here have one thing in common. You can start implementing them right now from the comfort of your home, your home office, or even just sitting at your local cafe.
With some effort and a little research, you can run a lucrative marketing program that will amplify your brand online, increase ROI, and allow you to reach a global audience.
