5 Ways To Promote eCommerce Virtual Store

In today's digital age, having an eCommerce store is not enough. With the increasing number of online shoppers and fierce competition in the eCommerce industry, it's crucial to effectively?promote your virtual store?to stand out and drive traffic to your website.

So, in this blog, we are talking about the five powerful techniques to?promote your eCommerce store, you can immediately implement, to increase customer engagement and drive sales.

Let’s dive straight in!

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization is the practice of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant keywords and phrases. SEO is crucial for eCommerce stores because it can help drive organic website traffic and increase brand visibility.

In fact, according to the stats compiled by WebFX,?95% of search traffic goes to the first page of search results. ?And?#1 organic result on Google’s SERP is ten times more likely to receive a click?compared to a page in the number 10 spot.

So, if you want to ensure that your eCommerce store gets seen by potential customers, it's important to make sure that it ranks as high as possible on SERPs. And there are three ways to do that:

• On-page optimization, which involves optimizing your website's content and structure, including keywords, meta tags, headings, and URLs.
• Off-page optimization, which includes building backlinks and establishing your brand's authority and reputation through social media and other online channels.
• Technical SEO, which involves optimizing your website's code, structure, and functionality to improve its visibility and user experience.

You can use tools like Google Analytics, SEMrush, and Moz to implement SEO effectively. These tools allow you to track your website’s performance and make data-driven decisions to improve its search engine rankings.?

SEO is not only a cost-effective way to?generate traffic for your eCommerce store?but also provides increased visibility, making it easier for potential customers to find your business online.

In fact,?61% of marketers say improving SEO and growing their organic presence is now their top inbound marketing priority , according to Gitnux. And According to a study by Forbes,?93% of online experiences begin with a search engine , highlighting the importance of ranking high in SERPs.

Retailers can hire a 3rd?party SEO company to help with their ongoing SEO needs, while retailers using Celerant’s eCommerce can leverage Celerant’s internal SEO team.?Considering that Celerant also developed and designed these eCommerce sites, they can really hit the ground running with more efficient optimization, since they are so familiar with the Celerant websites already.?Additionally, most SEO vendors will only review and make recommendations- the retailer then needs to incorporate the changes into their own site or have their web developer make the changes. With?Celerant’s SEO services , the SEO team not only suggests recommendations, but implements the changes as well to the site, streamlining the process to be more efficient.

2.?Personalized Email Marketing

Email marketing is the practice of using email campaigns to reach out to customers and prospects, keeping them informed about new products, promotions, and other updates. Personalized email marketing?takes this strategy one step further by tailoring content to each recipient's interests and preferences.

Here are some reasons why?personalized email marketing is important for eCommerce stores:

1. Personalized emails have a higher open rate and click-through rate than generic emails.?According to a report by Experian ,?personalized emails had an open rate of 29.3% and a click-through rate of 5.3%, compared to non-personalized emails with an open rate of 24.8% and a click-through rate of 2.7%.
2. Personalized emails can help eCommerce stores build customer loyalty and drive sales. By sending targeted emails that cater to each customer's needs and preferences, eCommerce stores can foster a sense of connection and improve their chances of repeat business.

If you run an?eCommerce store?you can send different types of emails to your customers and prospects, including:

• Promotional emails, which highlight new products, discounts, and other offers.
• Newsletter emails, which provide subscribers with updates about the brand, industry news, and other relevant content.
• Cart abandonment emails, which remind customers of items left in their shopping cart and encourage them to complete their purchase.
• Online product reviews, linking directly to the product the customer purchased, making the process easy for the customer.

But all of this requires effective segmentation and targeting to determine the success of an?email marketing campaign.

eCommerce stores can segment their email lists based on factors such as purchase history, browsing behavior, demographic data, and email engagement, among others, to send targeted messages to each group. And can use various?email marketing tools and resources?to implement personalized email marketing effectively including, Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and Campaign Monitor.?Retailers using Celerant’s retail software in their stores and online, can use?Celerant’s email marketing platform , which already pulls customer and sales data from all channels, to send personalized emails based on triggers from within its software.

Watch this short video to learn how you can send personalized emails based on customer data and sales history.

3. Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is another great way to?promote your eCommerce store online. It is a form of social media marketing that involves partnering with individuals who have a significant following on various social media platforms to promote your brand, products, or services. Influencers are trusted by their followers, and their endorsement of your brand can help you gain exposure and credibility.

In the eCommerce industry, influencer marketing can be equally effective, as it allows you to tap into a wider audience and connect with potential customers in a more personalized way. In fact, according to a study by Influencer Marketing Hub,?businesses are making an average of $5.78 for every dollar spent on influencer marketing .?In another survey by Mediakix,?80% of marketers found influencer marketing to be effective in their campaigns .

However, when it comes to?working with influencers, it's important to find ones that align with your brand values and have a relevant audience. Here are some types of influencers you can work with:

• Mega-influencers:?These are individuals who have over a million followers. They are often celebrities or well-known personalities.
• Macro-influencers:?These are individuals who have between 100,000 to 1 million followers. They are often experts in a particular industry or niche.
• Micro-influencers:?These are individuals who have between 1,000 to 100,000 followers. They are often everyday people who have a loyal following in a specific niche.
• Nano-influencers:?These are individuals who have less than 1,000 followers. They are often seen as more authentic and relatable.

Once you have identified the type of influencer you want to work with, it's important to vet them thoroughly to ensure they are a good fit for your brand. Here are some steps you can take to find and vet influencers:

1. Use influencer marketing platforms like?Aspire ,?Influencer.co , and?Upfluence ?to find influencers.
2. Look at the influencer's engagement rate and follower demographics to ensure they align with your target audience.
3. Check the influencer's past partnerships to see if they have worked with brands similar to yours.
4. Review the influencer's content to ensure it aligns with your brand values and tone.

Creating a campaign with influencers involves setting clear goals and expectations, determining compensation, and creating content that aligns with both your brand and the influencer's style. It's also important to?measure the ROI of your influencer marketing campaigns?to ensure they are effective.

• Engagement rate: The number of likes, comments, and shares an influencer's post receives.
• Reach: The number of people who see an influencer's post.
• Conversion rate: The number of people who made a purchase or took a desired action after seeing an influencer's post.
• Return on investment (ROI): The amount of revenue generated from an influencer marketing campaign compared to the amount invested.

Influencer marketing can be a powerful tool for eCommerce stores to gain exposure and credibility. By finding and vetting the right influencers, creating effective campaigns, and measuring ROI, you can leverage the power of social media to drive sales and grow your business.

4. Social Media Marketing (SMM)

Social media is a powerful tool for marketing your products and services, as it allows you to generate buzz and connect with customers on a personal level. The best part is that social media is cost-effective, making it possible for you to invest in organic posts or advertising at low costs.

To make the most of?social media marketing for your eCommerce business, it's important to choose the platforms that are best suited to your target audience. LinkedIn, for example, is ideal for reaching business professionals, while TikTok can help you connect with a wider audience.

Social Media Best Practices for Retailers to Keep in Mind:

• Use relevant hashtags: By using relevant hashtags, you can increase your reach and help social media users find content that's related to their interests.
• Post diverse content:?Posting a variety of engaging content, such as blogs, videos, and infographics, can help keep your followers interested and engaged.
• Audit your social media profiles: Regularly auditing your profiles can help you make sure you're using your resources effectively and reaching as many customers as possible.
• Use a consistent tone and voice: Your brand voice should remain consistent across all of your marketing channels, from TikTok videos to Instagram infographics.
• Post content consistently: Having a posting schedule can help ensure that you're providing your followers with engaging content without overwhelming them.
• Engage with your audience: social media gives you the opportunity to connect with your customers on a personal level, so be sure to respond to direct messages and comments in a timely manner, especially if someone is experiencing a customer service issue.

5. Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising Campaigns

Pay-per-click advertising can give you faster results compared to organic methods, but it can also be (much) more expensive.?Depending on your market and keywords, you can end up paying anywhere from $2 per click to even over $30+ per click back to your website!

There are different types of PPC advertising, including Google Ads and social media advertising, which offer a way to get your brand in front of a large number of people, based on your strategy and budget. Choosing the right platform is crucial for the success of your PPC campaign.

For?social media PPC advertising, your ads will appear in a user's feed, whereas Google Ads allows you to place ads on the search engine results pages and websites that are part of the Google Display Network.

The unique aspect of PPC advertising is that you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, making it an efficient way to advertise your eCommerce store to a wider audience.

However, setting up and?optimizing a PPC campaign?requires careful planning and execution. You need to choose the right keywords, write compelling ad copy, and create relevant landing pages to ensure that your ads are effective. Additionally, you need to continually monitor and adjust your campaign to optimize your ROI.

You need to set a realistic budget for your campaign and choose a bidding strategy that aligns with your goals. The two most common bidding strategies are cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-impression (CPM). Also, you can chose between setting up search campaigns vs display campaigns.?Search campaigns will cost more, but typically bring more qualified buyers, whereas Display campaigns are less expensive, bring much more in terms of clicks but tends to be less qualified. Planning all of this out, experimenting with these different types of campaigns, then reviewing the results can take time, but it is imperative so that you don’t end up wasting your advertising budget.

By setting appropriate budgets and bids, eCommerce stores can maximize their ROI from PPC advertising.

Let's Wrap This Up

Digital marketing plays a crucial role in the success of any retail and eCommerce business. By implementing the right mix of marketing strategies, you can increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your store and website, and ultimately boost sales.

Remember that these strategies are not one-size-fits-all, so take the time to experiment and find what works best for your business. If you need help with your?digital marketing?efforts, our team at Celerant is here to assist you. We offer?all-in-one retail software and digital marketing services?to help you grow your business. Contact us today to request a demo of our software or schedule a consultation with our team.