Saying someone “can’t see the forest for the trees” implies they’re losing sight of the big picture by getting hung up on details. While it’s important to be detail-oriented in e-commerce, you never want to lose sight of the grand scheme of things. Failing to see the overview (branding, customer loyalty, and long-term growth) because you’re only focused on specifics (conversions) can hurt your online store in the long run.
For example, it’s important to consider content creation. Here are four content marketing ideas for e-commerce stores to boost brand awareness, thought leadership, Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and yes, conversions.
Blog Posts
A blog is much more than just an optional “bonus” section of your website; it’s a way to build site authority and capture traffic. Remember, you’re producing content for two audiences: people you have identified as your target audience and search engines. As Practical Ecommerce explains, the content should adhere to SEO best practices (like including keywords in title and body content and sticking to a regular posting schedule), and it should cover topics that help, engage and delight your specific audience. Operating this way, your blog will never enter “fluff” territory because you’ll provide genuine value to customers, both new and returning.
How-To Guides
If a blog post is like a modest entrée, a how-to guide is more like a three-course meal. These information-packed pieces should focus on delivering serious long-form value. While you may post it chapter by chapter over time, the final product will be thousands of words (often over 3,000 words) and include helpful photographs, links, and step-by-step instructions. This is a great way to demonstrate your knowledge within your industry and drive people to your product pages in a natural way.
An outdoor gear store may ask a famous wildlife expert and YouTube personality to create a guide for safely camping in the mountains. A company specializing in eco-friendly baking supplies could post a guide about making the transition to vegan baking, including popular ingredient substitutions and how to stock up on a budget. A clothing company could post an in-depth how-to article on how to determine the perfect fit for various garments in both U.S. and European sizing. Think about what your shoppers may be searching and be the brand to provide that useful content.
Infographics
Infographics are the dessert of the content world: short, sweet and to-the-point. They’re fun to look at, easy to digest and simple to share. Creating key infographics can help bolster your short-form content strategy and earn you plugs in other blog posts and on social media.
Influencer Guest Posts
Content helps drive traffic to websites, where enterprise e-commerce platforms are ready to handle the rest (like helping shoppers navigate to product pages and checkout smoothly). More eyeballs on your content mean more traffic and more conversions down the line.
And how can you generate interest in your content to kick off this beneficial process? Pair up with industry influencers to spread the word. As Crazy Egg points out, “This broad group of people can be made up of experts, journalists, investors, CEOs, writers and etc.”
You can go about this in several different ways. Develop relationships with these important people over time—via social media, email or networking events—and ask them to post your content. Or, you can compile content featuring input from one or more of these influencers. When you publish the content, be sure to tag them. Chances are, they’ll repost on their social media channels since it’s a mutually beneficially endeavor.
Those are just four content marketing ideas for e-commerce stores. The sky’s the limit when it comes to quality content. Just make sure you don’t neglect or backburner it because it’s not an “instant earner.” The long-term payoff for an online store is well worth the effort.
good articles. thanks you