Posts Tagged: Ecommerce
Should you do video marketing?
Think with Google recently posted the article New Data Shows Online Video Ads Drive Consideration, Favorability, Purchase Intent, and Sales. We’ve already seen motion as a medium in the rise and growth of Periscope, Facebook Live Video, Instagram Video and Vine. Not to mention YouTube continuous growth – with a ROI that is higher than on TV in various categories. In the article, Google shares data from two recent studies that shows just how much YouTube can move the needle on brand metrics across the consumer journey—from consideration and favourability to purchase intent and sales.
According to a survey conducted by Nielsen, 64% of marketers plan to increase their focus on video content. Brands and marketers have reason to embrace video, not only because it allows them to have a stronger connection with their audience, it’s also proven to have higher engagement. In other words – in 2016, video needs to become a bigger part of every company’s content and marketing strategy. Now’s that time to start thinking about reallocating your digital marketing budgets.
So should you do video marketing? The answer is probably yes.
E-commerce Marketing
Speaking of digital trends, I just came across this e-commerce marketing guide from Veeqo. They’ve summarized eight strategies for paid online channels for 2016 that you can use for your online business. Some may work perfect for you, other won’t – take a little time to think what’s relevant for you and make it count.
Read the post What are the best marketing options in 2016 and what can I do? here!
Cyber November Thoughts
This season is actually the first I’ve tried doing online marketing campaigns for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It was fun, so I thought I’d share my results. I did a few different campaigns for different objectives, working especially with email marketing and Google’s (text) Ads. One of them was a simple 3 for 2 discount on all products with a unique promo code.
And the results? I was surprised to see that the conversion rate increased by 1.5%. So did the traffic. And the revenue. We barely lost any profits since the offer just topped of our regular multi-buy offer (no scam, obviously). The weekly turnover doubled. First, for the week ending with Black Friday. Then, the week starting Cyber Monday. Why? Because we managed to reach both old and new customers with an offer just as good for both segments. We reached our loyal customers who likes our stuff and wants more, we reached spontaneous shoppers who like a good deal and we caught the ones who missed out on Black Friday, and have them come back for Cyber Monday. Or for more, it seems. Because the very best part is that the traffic and sales continue to increase steadily. Did I mention that these two days were part of a holiday email marketing series? This means that we keep offering good news and offers. So far so good.
Here’s a very brief list of what I did:
Newsletter
Integrated both Black Friday and Cyber Monday in a series of holiday newsletters (that was of coursed cross-posted in all social media) and scheduled them for 23.59. I also set up reminder automations for unpoens (a bit risky, but worth it if you’re usually non-spammy)
Adwords
Separate, branded campaigns promoting the offers and adding a text add-on on all campaigns scheduled only for Black Friday Cyber Monday.
On-page
Overlay/pop-up with the offer for all new visitors, not coming from any of the sources above and offering them even better deals if they sign up for newsletter.
Even if you don’t have a big budget, I’d definitely suggest to spend it on limited offers like these. They drive traffic and they convert like crazy. We’ve had similar deals before – we even have a permanent multi-buy offer that’s pretty generous to begin with. But people buy, because they want to buy. And they want to wait until Black Friday, or Cyber Monday, then Cyber November. That’s what marketing does. Another post of how to keep (and care for) your customers after the holidays is coming up.
My online shopping behavior
I do a lot of online shopping, mostly because I hate going through crowded stores to try things on in tiny fitting rooms. There are several types of online shopping behaviours, and I would characterise myself as spontaneous but picky. I either now exactly what I want before I start looking, and rarely find what I’m looking for. Or I just stumble across something; on a blog, in a newsletter or on Pinterest. Then I will enter my PayPal details before I even browse through the page. I am a spontaneous online shopper. But I always do try and go to the brand’s own online shop. The first thing I look for is their return policy – can I make a free return if the items don’t fit? If yes, I will look for free shipping and hopefully get it. This would be my shopper’s threshold – will my impatient and/or laziness be worth whatever I spend on shipping?
The other week, I ended up buying a pair of jeans online. That’s a first. I had a very pleasant online shopping experience on Dr Denim – from the browsing to the unboxing. I actually bought two pairs of high wasted jeans (and a tee to cover the free shipping range), but ended up sending back two items. (Apparently, crop tops can be a little too short, who knew?) Now I’ll just wait and see if their customer service is as good. I sent them an email two days ago and still haven’t heard back, so I guess I’ll have to get back on that one.
Update: got an email from their customer service team today, so all-in-all: great shopping experience!
Inspiring E-commerce: Lazy Oaf
This London based fashion brand was founded by designer Gemma Shiel in 2011 and now it seems ever-expanding. The brand is 100% built upon Gemma’s quirky, bright prints that often have a little twisted sense of humor. The collections are notoriously colorful, cartoon-focused; always with an element of weirdness. They have found the perfect combination of nostalgic prints with and cool, streetwear silhouettes.
So what do we have here? We have two young, super cool people; one on a pink backdrop, the other in pink hair. What’s not to love here I wonder. But to break it down, what I do love is how all online channels are built around these strong images, keeping the rest simple. You can’t go to their website and not be happy, it’s simply fun just to browse and look at. You want to see more. And you will! The images are incorporated everywhere, they have amazing product shots mixed up with fun still images, lookbooks, an updated blog and an instagram feed including their fans. Combined with their top-notch social media channels of – yes – more images. The essence of the brand – young, fun, bold, colorful – is incorporated in every little bit of online communication. What can I say, I love Lazy Oaf.
New Google-algorithm: Mobile-friendly
This spring, Google will start to favor mobile-friendly websites directly in the search results. Meaning having a responsive web design is not only a necessity for your on-page experience (i.e: conversion rates) but the organic search traffic on mobile devices. So – make sure to read and implement Google’s Mobile Optimization Guidelines (if you’re not sure – they have an excellent testing tool).
On April 21, this new ranking algorithm will start affecting the order of search results directly. And in Google’s words, the change will have a “significant impact” on search results for mobile searchers. How this will affect your e-commerce business depends on what this “significant impact may be, and what your mobile search performance is today. For some, resolving these issues could be a really simple while others may need to do a total re-design.
Now is the same if any to re-evaluate your brand’s online presence, to implement a cross-channel and device strategy.
Inspiring e-commerce – Glossier
I continuously (and thoroughly) browse the internet for inspiration. Not just for fun or to kill time, but for work too. Right now for example I am looking for nice designs for an upcoming project and this brand continues to impress me. What I like the most is: their imagery, how they display their products, the typography and that they incorporate emojis in their online copy. They have great content that is both valuable and likeable for me as a potential customer. They make me wanna buy beauty products, something that I have absolutely no interest nor knowledge in what so ever. Kudos! Needless to say, this comes across on all platforms.
Their USP, being “girl-powered” and re-thinking beauty really comes across. And I do love girl-power, pastel color palettes and cute online copy.