Content is king”, means creating content that is unique, fresh, informative, engaging and most importantly relevant will get quality targeted traffic to your ecommerce website from search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing. Content may include animation, ‘how to’ videos, guides, whitepapers, blogs, social media, graphics and of course text. This is also reinforced by Google’s SEO algorithms that recommend adding value through unique content. Ecommerce businesses like Amazon, Airbnb, eBay and more have high engagement with their users since their content is up-to-date and of very high quality including reviews and how to guides.
In order to boost your brand further with a stream of fresh content, content should also be user generated (UGC). User generated content includes reviews, comments, and social media interaction with your website. Influencers, authors and top bloggers will share and follow your content if it is unique and adds value.
How to Master Ecommmerce Content Marketing – Infographics
Infographic Source: business2community.com
Ecommerce is a fast and competitive market, and to stay ahead and differentiate yourself from the rest, you need to have a strong content. Content marketing helps you to attract and convert potential buyers, and change regular customers into repeat buyers. However, it is important to know how to market your content so you can engage the readers in an effective manner. The best way to do this is to improve your awareness of the strategies in ecommerce content marketing and use them for your business.
Some of the top online retailers like Amazon and eBay are adopting the content focused approach to engage more customers in online shopping. Creating interactive and fresh content will help you build and maintain relationships with existing customers and reach out to a wider range of audience. Ecommerce content marketing can be embedded in all forms including blogging, social media marketing and even paid research.
Amazon Content Marketing
The important thing to remember is that content has a long afterlife, and customers can refer back to it through links and posts even when the material has become outdated. Develop content with a focus on how it will affect customers in the long run, and make sure to avoid any errors at it creates a negative impression on the readers, and is likely to reduce the appeal of your content.
To start with content marketing, you first need to have a plan. You need to think about what you are aiming for, and learn about all the bases that you want to cover. You also need to have a list of influencers to build your network and create your persona. Develop a statistics for your clients, and identify where they live and what age group they come from. This will help you create the right material for the target audience.
Think of ways in which you would distribute or share your content. Whether it will be through social media, blog posts or your personal website, depends on how you want to reach out to the audience. You will have to do a bit of homework to identify which platform is more effective in channelizing the users. Try to renew your content from time to time so it doesn’t look static or boring. Build new and creative ideas into the existing content to engage more customers, and achieve a higher conversion rate.
There are several content formats to choose from such as ultimate guides, guest blogging and list-based content. The ultimate guide is a well-written expert insight into a particular area of specialization. The appropriate length is between 5000 to 20000 words. You don’t want to make it too long to put the reader off-topic or bore them with unnecessary details. Guest blogging is another way to engage with customers and interact with them in a more conversational way.
List-based content is the simplest and easiest way to catch the attention of the readers. The information is easy to digest and great for online sharing. However, a large list might take the attention of the reader to other stuff. Hence, it is important to keep it concise and relevant. Some people like to crowdsource to create their content. While it is a cheap and quick way to getting things done, don’t go over the board and make sure you use this approach for specific subjects which can gain the interest of audience too.
Another advantage of this type of content is that it lends itself perfectly to several different formats whether written, graphic, animated or video/audio. You can also use reviews and testimonials to your website to add a greater impact to your content. The only downside to this is that you will have less control over your content, and your users’ feedback will greatly affect how other readers receive it.
Some of the basic guidelines to add more depth to your content are given in the below points:
‘How To’ Guides
Create a ‘How To’ guide on specific topics and subject to engage more customers and let them know that you are the expert in this subject matter. If you are starting out with content marketing, this is a sure method to get the attention of your readers. It is simple and creative, and you can’t go wrong with this approach. Plus you’ll be able to generate more traffic and achieve higher conversions to your site.
Product Videos
Some researchers suggest that adding video content about your product increases conversion rate by 80%. You can use this approach in a variety of ways and not just limit it to product videos. For example, you can use it to create an interactive Buyer’s Guide or create a tutorial about how to assemble a product. If you’re product based business, then this strategy can be very useful. Unboxing the product, and giving users a preview before they actually purchase an item is a great way of generating traffic.
Amazon Product Videos – Unboxing the new iPhone 6S. (screenshot from the website)
Case Studies
A well-crafted case study helps lower the apprehension of buyers before purchasing a product, and quickens the process of their decision making. You can use positive case studies from previous clients to include in your marketing content, and use their sentiments and quotes to engage other online users.
The Visual Element
The visual element is the most critical part of your website especially if you’re planning to engage consumers through social media platforms. Nearly two-thirds of social media posts include images, and it is important for your product displays to stand out among the rest of the items in the gallery. This approach will help you improve your ranking in SEO results and get more traffic towards your site through embedded image links.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Many ecommerce websites have a FAQ page to deal with the common questions from customers. It is a necessary piece of content; however it can appear dull and boring if you keep the tone strictly professional.
eBay FAQs
You can make the content more interesting by creatively answering the FAQ, and use this page to make yourself seem more approachable as an online retailer or business.