How To Harness The Power of Content Marketing For eCommerce
According to Siteefy, organizations saw a 6X increase in conversions when they used content marketing.
In the digital era, content is king.
Still, it's crucial to remember that the key to a successful content marketing strategy is consistency. Produce high-quality content regularly, and make sure your audience sees it before they search for the same information elsewhere.
In this substack, I'll discuss some ideas on how you can improve your current eCommerce conversion rate (ECR) by creating better content that resonates with your target audience.
Make sure your content and products work hand-in-hand.
Content marketing is not just about blogging. Content can be a video, podcast, infographic, or another format that helps you convey your message to your audience.
The objective is to help customers understand how you can solve their problems and provide a solution that works for them.
Offer proof that your product works.
To increase conversions, you need to show proof that your product works. Let's face it: it's not enough to say something works. People want proof that what you are saying is true and accurate.
Here are some ways to offer proof:
Showcase your product in action. Include photos and videos of the products being used by customers or in actual use on real projects.
Display your customer reviews. Let users know that others have had success with your product by showing them what others have said about their experience using it.
Incorporate testimonials and reviews from experts who can vouch for the efficacy of the products they recommend or sell—primarily if they have previously written books, blogs, or articles on a related topic (e.g., weight loss).
Paint a picture of how your product will improve their lives.
When writing a piece of content, think about how you can effectively describe how your product or service will make someone's life better.
For example, "Buying this product will take the stress out of your day." Or, "If you buy this product, it will help you reach your goal of being a better parent/employee/self-starter."
You can also use these statements to describe how the product will make them feel: "Buying this item feels like an investment in yourself."
Or, "When you buy this item, it feels like an indulgence."
Using feelings as part of your content strategy helps people relate to what they are reading and gives them an idea of what type of experience they might have from buying your product.
Consistent content builds trust, which is a catalyst for brand awareness and loyalty.
Feel free to show some personality.
I’m not saying you should get too quirky, however, it can help show your customers that you're human. They'll connect with you more personally and trust your content more if they can see their own experiences reflected in what you're saying.
Invariably, you want to give them a reason to trust you and believe that the product or service will also work for them.
Suppose your customers feel like they know who's talking at all times and feel like there's a natural person behind everything. As a result, they'll be much more open-minded about what is being presented in content marketing strategies.
Make it easy for people to buy the product through your content.
Include a link to your product page.
Integrate a link to your sales page
Add a link to your checkout page.
In other words, make it super easy for people to buy the product through your content.
You can do this in two ways: either include links directly in your blog post or include them as 'Call-To-Actions' at the bottom of each blog post.
Either way works fine, but I like using CTAs because they have more impact on readers.
Do the research - see what else is out there.
This is the most important thing you can do to build a successful content marketing strategy. It would help if you saw what works for other companies and what doesn't work for them to find out how you can improve your content.
For instance, if you notice that many companies are using animated gifs on their websites, then it might be worthwhile for you to create some animated gifs for your site.
Create a sense of urgency
You can achieve this in several ways, including:
A countdown timer leading up to the sale or event date.
A limited-time offer (e.g., "These shoes will sell out soon.")
The scarcity principle (e.g., "Only 24 left in stock.")
Creating a sense of urgency effectively creates social buzz and gets people talking about your product.
How often should you blog?
The first step to boosting your revenue with blog posts is to post at least three times a week.
In addition to posting regularly, make sure each post has some call to action.
You want readers to click on links in the article and take action on what they read—whether buying something or signing up for an email list.
Finally, remember SEO. Take time before writing a new post, and ensure that the keywords used are relevant to your topic and easy for search engines like Google and Bing to understand.
Content marketing is a long game
You need to be in it for the long haul to see results.
It usually takes a minimum of seven months before you start seeing real growth and engagement on your site, so keep going even if you don't see results immediately.
The good news? Once you're in, you're in for good!
The longer you stick with content marketing, the more likely your audience will keep coming back because they love what they see from you and know they can depend on your site to deliver great content consistently.
Use these additional tips to improve your content marketing strategy and increase eCommerce conversions.
You've got the basics down. Here are a few more tactics to make your content marketing strategy more effective:
Create valuable videos that answer questions your audience has about your products or industry.
Post infographics with statistics and fun facts about your business's offerings.
Post photos of people using your products in their everyday lives.
Write articles that create thought leadership in your niche and also by sharing your opinions or perspectives on a hot topic.
In summary
I hope this substack has helped you to understand the significance of content marketing. As you've seen, it can be a powerful tool for your eCommerce business.
There isn’t any question that an effective content strategy converts more sales and customers by combining persuasive copy writing, beautiful imagery, informative graphics, and engaging videos.
Keep creating, get it right, and your eCommerce business will reap the rewards from a successful content strategy.