Over the last decade, the retail landscape has been completely reconstructed thanks to the rise of the digital world. Additionally, the ongoing pandemic has changed customer behavior forever, as more and more customers prefer shopping online. Due to this boom in the e-commerce sector, many entrepreneurs have shown interest in opening an online business.
With everything gone online, now is a good time for all business owners to start a digital marketing strategy. If you are considering opening an online business or if you have an existing online store, these Digital Marketing tips will help you promote your business and reach a substantial target audience.
Search popular niches for an online business
To start a successful online business, the first thing you need to do is research the market to find out the most popular e-commerce niches. Once you have a few in mind, you can start carrying out online surveys to see what people are interested in the most.
When searching for a niche, you also have to research the cost of acquiring and storing the products to determine if you have the necessary funds. Once you decided, you can start further planning, such as looking for wholesalers, drop shippers and product delivery options.
Choose a suitable domain name
The domain name of an online business plays a crucial role in its success. That’s why it is vital to carry out thorough research and find the right domain name for your business. Some characteristics of a suitable domain name are:
- Easy to pronounce
- No hyphens or numbers
- Should match site niche
- Easy to remember
If you have an existing domain name that does not fit these characteristics, consider changing it. You can find great platforms where you can discover how to test out a new name.
Design and build a mobile-friendly website
According to recent research conducted by Forbes, mobile commerce will grow by 68% in the coming year. Therefore, building a mobile-friendly website is important now more than ever. Also, the best thing that you can do for your online business and the visitors is to curate an easy-to-navigate platform to enhance the user experience.
Optimize your website for search engines
By optimizing your website, you will notice an increase in organic traffic as the website will reach more people by appearing on the first page of search engines. Below are a few ways that you can improve visibility through SEO:
- Conduct in-depth keyword research
- Speed up load time of your pages
- Get high-quality backlinks
- Work on improving existing content
- Update and remodel old content with new links
- Link other resources with relevant content
- Relaunch most liked content
- Optimize your content for voice search
Pay per sale affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketers promote a brand’s products/services for a small commission. The best part of pay per sale Affiliate marketing is that you only have to compensate them if a consumer purchases your product/service due to their efforts to promote the brand.
Start writing useful articles
Write articles helping people understand why they need your products/services. Answer common customer queries and post different articles dedicated to promoting each product/ service. For example, if you own a skincare business, you could post articles along the lines of ‘why is it important to take care of your skin’ or ‘daily skin regime for a youthful glow’. Through these articles, you can promote your products while providing customers with useful information.
Incorporate email marketing into your marketing strategy
Almost everyone checks their email, which makes email marketing one of the most powerful marketing strategies available. A significant benefit to email marketing is that it’s free, so start taking advantage of it by building a solid email list. Also, Design a monthly newsletter and don’t forget to notify potential customers about ongoing deals.
Social Media Marketing
Build attractive Instagram and Facebook pages and share informative articles on there. Social Media is a great way to build an audience, positive brand image and increase sales. Also, choose a powerful social media platform according to the product/services you are selling. For example, if you have an apparel or makeup business, Instagram is the right platform as most people use Instagram to look for new makeup and clothing trends.
Influencer Marketing
Work with social media influencers and come up with attractive campaigns to endorse your products/services. Social Media influencers can have a large audience and fan base; take advantage of this by sponsoring these individuals to recommend your products to their audience. These social media influencers share the most attractive pictures, helpful information and share the most pleasurable content, and they can endorse your products in the most creative ways possible.
Work for a good cause
People love brands that support causes that protect the earth and help other humans or animals. Come up with ideas that makes customers want to purchase more products from you to support a good cause. Some examples of showing customers that you are doing your part in making the world a better and safer place are listed below:
- Cruelty-free products
- The chemical-free and organic product range
- A small percentage of earnings from each product/service goes towards a charity
- Eco-friendly packaging
- Partner with like-minded businesses to support a good cause
Have a giveaway
Who doesn’t like free products? Start a giveaway on your social media platforms where people have to share your platform with others, and each participant has to tag at least five new people on the post. Doing so will help you attract more potential customers to your page and get you noticed by many new audiences.
Don’t forget outdoor advertising
Even though you run an online business, don’t ignore other advertising techniques like billboards and brochures. By advertising your brand on billboards, those individuals who might not be very active on social media will notice your brand.
Keep up the hard work!
Keep on working hard and do not get discouraged if you don’t get the expected response right away. Success doesn’t come overnight, and it takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and consistency to make a business thrive. A satisfied consumer is more likely to return, and word of mouth is a valuable and cost-free marketing strategy.
People are more likely to believe advice from people they know. Work on maintaining the quality of your products so that customers have a pleasant experience every time. Provision of inconsistent service can be a death sentence for a new business. So make sure to gain the trust of your customers so that they know they’ll get the same treatment from you every time; this will encourage them not just to return, but also to recommend you to others.
