5 Content Marketing Tips for eCommerce Success

• Thursday, January 5th, 2017
• Blog
• one response

Content marketing is no longer the new shy kid who tries to get some friends; it is here to stay. Its efficiency has been proven and it has also been established that it can change your business, no matter what field you’re in. Most eCommerce owners believe that great pictures and huge chunks of money poured into Facebook Ads and Google AdWords will help them reign supreme. However, content marketing is a much easier way to achieve eCommerce success.

Today’s shoppers can no longer be fooled by false ads and claims that your products are the best. They are tech-savvy and they do thorough research before buying something. If you use content marketing wisely, you can easily help them move forward on their buyer journey. Here are my tips for eCommerce success with content marketing:

1. Pay Extra Attention to Your Product Descriptions

Of course, the basic product info is vital: people need to know how much it costs, its size, weight and technical specs if any. But they also want to know how they can use a certain product, what can it be matched with and, last but not least, they want to feel good about buying it. So don’t shy away from writing detailed descriptions that speak about the product’s point of difference. Go even further and suggest products it can be matched with. For instance, if you’re selling smartphones, suggest a phone case for each model; for shoes, suggest a matching handbag and so on.

If you choose to write a 2,000-word description for SEO purposes, make sure it does not get in the way. Add a “Read more” button after the first paragraph, so that people who have already made the decision to buy and don’t need to read all that can easily scroll through the product page.

2. User-Generated Content Reigns Supreme

Both search engines and potential buyers place great value on reviews. Having as many reviews as possible for a product is a great way to build trust and to make said product even more wanted. If a product has no reviews, it might mean that no one ever bought it, so why should you? However, not everyone has the time to write a review after each online purchase they make, so it’s your job to entice them to do so. Here’s what you can do:

• Send them an email a few days after they receive their parcel asking them to leave a review
• Connect your e-shop with your social media channels – for most users, it’s easier to leave a review via Facebook or Twitter than to go back to the online store, login and so on.
• Set up a loyalty program: “Leave 5 reviews and get 10% off your purchase”.
• Offer rewards: “Share your review via social media and get 10% off your next purchase or a surprise gift”.
• Leverage the power of the community: “10 people told us they loved this product. What’s your opinion?”

3. Go Visual

By 2017, 67% of the online traffic will come from videos. People love watching funny videos, how-to videos, presentations, and so on. Thus, try to add as many videos as possible: for tech products, how-to videos are a great eCommerce content marketing strategy; for fashion items, add video look books, commercials from the brands you’re selling and so on.

Photos shouldn’t be neglected either. Aspirational photos, outfit suggestions that center around one of your products, regular people using your products – all these are both enticing and sharable.

If you are truly serious about your eCommerce content marketing, ask people to submit their own photos and videos using/wearing your products. You can make it a fun contest with a large prize at the end or offer smaller rewards (like discounts for the next purchase) for every submission.

4. Use Powerful CTAs

Online shoppers are typically in a rush and, as previously stated, most of them have done the bigger part of their research before getting to your product page. Thus, you need to make it easy for them to complete the purchase.

Make sure that the CTAs are placed in a visible spot. The “Buy now” button should remain in sight even when the buyer scrolls up and down – make sure to optimize this for mobile users. Most importantly, on a product page, all the CTAs in visible places should only refer to that product and that product alone. If you want to suggest a matching product, do it at the end of the page, on the checkout page and/or send it in a separate email along with order confirmation.

If you’re running special promotions, let your buyers see that. Replace “Buy now” with “Buy now – 60% off”. Similarly, if you’re product is running out of stock add “Last chance” to the buy button. The main goal is to create a sense of urgency – make people feel like they can’t pass up on such an opportunity.

5. Be Useful

Whenever you are writing something, think about who you are writing for. What does your customer need to know? What is the vital information he needs? What are the “nice-to-have-but-not-crucial” facts? All your content should answer these questions, in that order, whether it is a blog post or a product description on your eCommerce store.

Before hitting publish, look over the copy again and ask yourself this: “Does it have all the information?” You don’t want your potential buyer to run to another website looking for extra specs or for product reviews. Make sure you are a one-stop shop. Similarly, don’t overcrowd your copy and break it into small paragraphs and subtitles – most people (those who shop from a mobile device) won’t read the whole text. They’ll just skim it, so make it easy for them to find the information they need.

Need help with your eCommerce content marketing strategy? It’s just a click away — click here to get in touch.

Adriana Tica

Adriana Tica is an expert marketer and copywriter, with 10 years in the field, most of which were spent marketing tech companies. She is the Owner and Founder of Idunn. In October 2019, she also launched Copywritech, a digital marketing agency that provides copywriting, SEO content writing, and strategy services to companies in the tech industry.