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The Power of Referral Marketing: Best Practice Examples

January 17, 2023January 20, 2023Digital Marketing, General Marketing, Referral MarketingLeave a Comment

In this article, we’ll explore what referral marketing is, how it can be used, and which brands have been highly successful in using this respective marketing strategy.

What is a referral marketing program?

A referral program is a marketing strategy used by e-commerce businesses to encourage existing customers to refer new customers to the business. This can be done by offering incentives, such as discounts or free products, to customers who refer new customers to the business.

There are several benefits to implementing a referral program in an e-commerce business. Firstly, referral marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to acquire new customers. By offering incentives to existing customers, businesses can encourage them to refer their friends and family to the business, which can lead to a significant increase in customer acquisition.

Additionally, referral marketing can also lead to an increase in customer retention. When existing customers refer new customers to the business, they are effectively vouching for the business, which can lead to increased trust in the brand. This can lead to increased customer loyalty, as customers will be more likely to return to the business in the future.

Another benefit of referral marketing is that it can lead to an increase in brand awareness. When customers refer new customers to the business, they are effectively spreading the word about the business to their friends and family. This can lead to increased visibility for the business, which can ultimately lead to more customers.

What referral marketing offer mechanisms can be used?

When it comes to implementing a referral program, there are several different strategies that businesses can use. One popular strategy is to offer a discount or free product to customers who refer new customers to the business. This can be a simple and effective way to encourage customers to refer new customers.

Another strategy is to offer a rewards program, where customers can earn points or cash back for referring new customers to the business. This can be a more complex strategy, but it can be highly effective in encouraging customers to refer new customers.

Another strategy is to offer a customer referral program through social media platforms, such as Facebook or Instagram. This can be a great way to reach a larger audience and can be particularly effective for businesses that sell products that are popular on social media.

Basically, a referral program is a powerful marketing strategy for e-commerce businesses looking to acquire new customers, increase customer retention, and increase brand awareness. By offering incentives to existing customers to refer new customers to the business, businesses can effectively leverage the power of word of mouth to grow their customer base and increase revenue. With the right strategy in place, referral programs can be a highly effective way to drive growth and success for e-commerce businesses of all sizes.

Which brands have launched successful referral programs?

Dropbox

One of the most successful referral programs in recent years was launched by Dropbox. The company offered existing customers an additional 500MB of storage space for every new user they referred to the service. This strategy proved to be extremely effective, with Dropbox reporting that 35% of its new users were referred by existing customers. This referral program helped Dropbox to quickly grow its user base and gain a competitive edge in the crowded cloud storage market.

Uber

Another company that has had great success with its referral program is Uber. The ride-sharing company offers existing customers a free ride credit for every new user they refer to the service. This strategy has helped Uber to quickly grow its user base and become one of the most successful ride-sharing companies in the world. In addition to its referral program, Uber has also implemented referral marketing campaigns on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, which have also contributed to its success.

Airbnb

Another company that has had great success with its referral program is Airbnb. The company offers existing customers a credit for every new user they refer to the service. This strategy has helped Airbnb to quickly grow its user base and become one of the most successful online marketplace for renting homes.

Evernote

Yet another company that has had great success with its referral program is Evernote. The company offers existing customers an additional month of premium service for every new user they refer to the service. This strategy has helped Evernote to quickly grow its user base and become one of the most popular note-taking apps.

Key factors for succeeding with referral marketing

A key factor that has contributed to the success of these referral programs is the incentives that are offered to existing customers. By offering valuable rewards for referring new customers, these companies have been able to effectively motivate their existing customers to spread the word about their services. Additionally, the referral programs are easy to understand and simple to participate in, which has also contributed to their success.

Another important aspect that has contributed to the success of these referral programs is the way in which they have been integrated into the overall marketing strategy of the companies. For example, Uber and Airbnb have effectively used referral marketing campaigns on social media platforms to reach a larger audience and drive more referrals. Similarly, Dropbox has integrated its referral program into its user onboarding process, making it easy for new users to refer their friends and family to the service.

In conclusion, referral programs have proven to be highly effective for many online companies. Companies such as Dropbox, Uber, Airbnb, and Evernote have had great success with their referral programs, which have helped them to quickly grow their user base and gain a competitive edge in their respective markets. By offering valuable incentives to existing customers, making the process easy to understand and integrating referral program into the overall marketing strategy companies can achieve great success.

The Basics of Ahrefs: How To Use Ahrefs for SEO

January 17, 2023January 20, 2023Digital Marketing, General Marketing, SEOLeave a Comment

Ahrefs is a powerful tool for analyzing and optimizing websites. It offers a wide range of features that can help you improve your website’s search engine rankings, drive more traffic, and increase revenue. In this article, we will discuss some of the key features of Ahrefs and how to use them to improve your website’s performance. If you want to know about other SEO Tools that you can explore, I suggest you explore these articles: Best Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tools For E-Commerce and Which SEO Tools To Use in 2023.

Keyword Research

Ahrefs has a keyword research tool that allows you to find the best keywords to target for your website. You can enter a seed keyword and Ahrefs will provide you with a list of related keywords and their search volume, CPC, and competition. With this information, you can determine which keywords are most valuable to your business and optimize your content accordingly.

Site Explorer

Ahrefs Site Explorer is a tool that allows you to analyze any website’s backlink profile, organic search traffic, and top organic search keywords. With this information, you can identify which websites are linking to your competitors and reach out to them to secure backlinks for your own website. Additionally, you can also use the Site Explorer to identify which pages on your own website are generating the most traffic and optimize those pages for better performance.

Content Explorer

Ahrefs Content Explorer is a tool that allows you to search for content on any topic and find the most popular and authoritative articles. With this information, you can identify which topics are currently resonating with your audience and create content that addresses those topics. Additionally, you can also use the Content Explorer to identify which pieces of content are driving the most traffic to your competitors’ websites and create similar content for your own website.

Position Tracker

Ahrefs Position Tracker is a tool that allows you to track your website’s search engine rankings for specific keywords. With this information, you can identify which keywords your website is ranking well for and which keywords you need to optimize for better performance. Additionally, you can also use the Position Tracker to track your competitors’ search engine rankings and identify which keywords they are targeting.

Alerts

Ahrefs Alerts is a tool that allows you to set up notifications for specific events, such as when a competitor’s website gains a new backlink or when a specific keyword’s search volume changes. With this information, you can stay on top of the latest developments in your niche and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Domain Comparison

Ahrefs Domain Comparison tool allows you to compare your website’s backlink profile, organic search traffic, and top organic search keywords with your competitors. With this information, you can identify which areas your website is outperforming your competitors in and which areas you need to improve.

Batch Analysis

Ahrefs Batch Analysis tool allows you to analyze up to 200 URLs at a time. With this feature, you can quickly analyze a large number of pages on your website or your competitors’ websites and identify which pages are performing well and which pages need to be optimized.

In conclusion, Ahrefs is a powerful tool that can help you improve your website’s search engine rankings, drive more traffic, and increase revenue. By using the various features of Ahrefs, you can perform keyword research, analyze your website’s backlink profile and organic search traffic, create content that resonates with your audience, and track your website’s search engine rankings. Additionally, by setting up alerts and using the domain comparison and batch analysis tools, you can stay on top of the latest developments in your niche and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Which SEO Tools To Use in 2023

January 17, 2023January 20, 2023Digital Marketing, General Marketing, SEOLeave a Comment

Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial for any business that wants to be found online. As we head into 2023, there are a number of SEO tools that can help businesses improve their search engine rankings and drive more traffic to their websites. Here are some of the best SEO tools to use in the coming year.

1. Google Analytics

First on the list is Google Analytics. This free tool from Google allows you to track the performance of your website, including how many visitors you’re getting, where they’re coming from, and what pages they’re visiting. With Google Analytics, you can also set goals for your website and track how well you’re achieving them.

2. Semrush

Another essential SEO tool is SEMrush. This all-in-one marketing toolkit allows you to track your search engine rankings, analyze your competitors, and identify keywords that will help you improve your search engine rankings. SEMrush also offers a variety of other features, including backlink analysis, site audit, and content marketing tools. For more information about Semrush and its functionalities, you can explore the following article: The Basics of Semrush: How To Use Semrush for SEO.

3. Ahrefs

Thirdly, Ahrefs is a powerful SEO tool that allows you to track your backlinks, analyze your competitors, and identify keywords that will help you improve your search engine rankings. Ahrefs also offers a variety of other features, including site audit, content research and a keyword explorer. For more information about Ahrefs and its functionalities, you can explore the following article: The Basics of Ahrefs: How To Use Ahrefs for SEO.

4. MOZ Pro

Another important SEO tool is Moz Pro. This all-in-one SEO platform allows you to track your search engine rankings, analyze your competitors, and identify keywords that will help you improve your search engine rankings. Moz Pro also offers a variety of other features, including link building, site audit, and keyword research tools.

5. Majestic

A fifth tool is Majestic, a backlink analysis tool that allows you to track your backlinks, analyze your competitors and identify new link building opportunities. Majestic also offers a variety of other features, such as the ability to track historical data, and a link intelligence API that allows you to integrate the tool into your own workflow.

These are just a few of the many SEO tools that are available for businesses to use in 2023. When selecting which tools to use, it’s important to consider your budget, the specific needs of your business, and how easy the tools are to use. By using a combination of these tools, you’ll be able to gain a deeper understanding of your website’s performance and take steps to improve it.

In conclusion, SEO is a vital aspect of digital marketing and staying ahead of the curve in 2023 will require the use of the right tools. Google Analytics, SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz Pro and Majestic are some of the best tools available to improve your website’s search engine rankings and drive more traffic to your website. These tools offer a variety of features and functionalities that can help you understand your website’s performance, analyze your competitors, and identify new opportunities for growth. By selecting the right tools for your business, you’ll be able to take the necessary steps to improve your website’s search engine rankings and drive more traffic to your website in 2023.

How To Build A Startup: 10 Entrepreneurial Learnings to Consider

October 26, 2022January 20, 2023Digital Marketing, Entrepreneurship, General MarketingLeave a Comment

Building a company from scratch can be highly exciting and terrifying at the same time. The path of entrepreneurship is unique for everyone, and the journey from creation to success varies from individual to individual. However, based on all the entrepreneurial brand launches we’ve had at Blazar Capital (a Copenhagen based D2C brand incubator), and based on my own entrepreneurial journey with co-creating Blazar Capital a well as other brands, there are some determinants that I believe are of utmost importance in order to increase the probability of creating a successful business – regardless of whether you are a first time, second time or third time entrepreneur. This article does therefore serve to go through how to build a startup from scratch based on reallife entrepreneural learnings.

1 – Passion is everything

Being passionate about what you are doing determines whether you will succeed or not in your entrepreneurial endeavors. Period. For most, entrepreneurship is not a sprint, and it’s not ‘just’ a marathon – it is an extreme sport. This means that if you don’t have the necessary passion, drive and energy towards the project you’re pursuing, the probability of your energy dissolving and you burning out will just become larger the further you get into the project. There’s no such thing as an easy path to entrepreneurial success, and I’ve rarely met any entrepreneurs who haven’t faced major challenges and struggles along the way during some stages of their journey. This is where resilience, persistency, and relentlessness come into the picture – something which isn’t easy to uphold if a genuine passion for the project isn’t present. However, there must be a balance between your passion and the business opportunity you seek to capitalize on. Even if the passion is there, one must ask themselves whether entrepreneurship is the right thing to pursue in the first place, and whether the business idea itself is objectively justified by the business opportunity itself. If you don’t have the passion to dedicate everything to your project, then it might not be worth exploring much regarding how to build a startup in the first place.

2 – Focus on the team

When commencing your entrepreneurial journey, it is essential that you have the right team and partners around you. If you are looking to build a startup together with others, it is important that you carefully select the right partners from the beginning. There’s no doubt that it is always a good idea to find one or more co-founders who have a complementary skillset to yours, rather than co-founders who possess a similar or closely related skillset. You have to remember that building a business from scratch requires a lot of interdisciplinary workstreams to be pursued, and in most cases, you won’t have the skills and/or experience to do everything by yourself – especially not when the company starts to develop and grow in size. Hence, a team that complement each other’s knowledge, skills and experience is important. And don’t forget, although entrepreneurship can be emotional and challenging, it is also one of the most engaging and fun endeavors you can experience – so make sure that you have people around that you’ll have a great and memorable time with, both during and after working hours.

3 – Establish an execution culture

Continuous execution is paramount for building momentum in a startup – especially in the early phases of the journey. In order to build an effective and efficient organization from a cultural perspective, you must combine a continuous strong sense of urgency in the daily execution with a concurrent ability to prioritize adequately and give the important workstreams and decisions the right attention needed to derive the desired outcomes. Having a holistic overview of all activities in the business, while prioritizing and executing based on an ‘impact-first’ principle will make you operate more effective and efficiently. Perfection is, in my opinion, the true enemy of execution. So even though several workstreams and areas of focus need to be done in a ‘thought through manner’, where deep thinking and execution must go hand in hand, operating based on the 80/20 pareto principle is still of value in the early stages of a startup to ensure that the ball keeps rolling. Everything does not necessarily have to be 100% spot-on in a startup before you can execute the next important workstream or project.

4 – Understand your playing field

Believing that you have a good idea, while having a strong passion for that idea is as mentioned in point one of utmost importance; however, understanding the business opportunity itself is in my opinion of equal importance. Jumping into the life of entrepreneurship is a big step, so before taking the leap, make sure that you have conducted a comprehensive market analysis in relation to your idea, so you are sure that your idea and concept has a ‘reason to be’. If you are jumping into a market where there is little to no demand for your product or service, or where creating the marketing itself will be a highly comprehensive journey, then it might be healthy for you to take a step back to reflect and re-think the project you’re about to pursue. What might have been a good idea during a brainstorming session or a eureka moment during your sleep might not be that fruitful of an idea after all once you understand the opportunity more objectively and quantitatively.

In my opinion, it is ideal to ensure that your idea is organized around a product or service that operate in a large and growing market, where you can position yourself as a unique alternative to your competitors. You can get an understanding of your market by reading different industry and market reports online, talking to industry experts, or talking to some of your potential customers. Moreover, I believe that you have a strong advantage if your product or service solves a problem and has a high repeat purchase rate, regardless of which industry you operate in, and regardless of whether your idea is product or service-based.

5 – Establish a thought through business model

Make sure to establish a strong business model and strategy that you believe will create value for your customers based on your initial market analysis. Regardless of which type of company you are building, you must ensure that your business model is competitive and that you have a clear positioning relative to your competitors. Establishing a company has technically never been easer from a development point of view, but never been harder from a competitive point of view – so although you might have a smooth process in terms of going from nothing to something, and although you might have a clear plan of execution ready, the positioning and business model of your brand will be essential to gain a competitive advantage relative to other players in the industry.

6 – Create a clear sales and marketing strategy – and test

Establishing a comprehensive sales and marketing strategy helps you get a more clear picture of what it is you want to communicate to your potential customers and how you want to do it. It is always a good idea to test out many different marketing channels and sales strategies in the early stages of your business to understand where you get the highest return on your investments. Of course, the extent to which you can test different marketing strategies in the early phases of your journey depends on the capital that’s available in the business. Try different channels both online and offline, and pursue a data-driven approach to get an understanding of where the performance is the highest based on your core metrics that you define in advance of your tests.

Some channels that can be tested out as part of your marketing strategy could be search engine optimization, pay per click marketing, programmatic display marketing, social media marketing (organic and paid, referral marketing, e-mail marketing, affiliate marketing, influencer marketing and ambassadorships, public relations, offline marketing (based on an out of home approach), and the like.

7 – Find the right investor for both capital, network and knowledge

If your objective is to establish a business, where external capital will be a core lever for your prospective growth, then it is highly recommended to spend a significant time on finding the right investor – not just from a capital allocation point of view, but also from a knowledge and competencies point of view. Make sure that the investors that you involve in your business are able to support and advise in core aspects of your business, and always work towards not selling off equity too cheap throughout the journey – keeping in mind the right balance between when to commence the fundraising process and when capital will run out. Pushing the fundraising process to the very last minute to maximize the share value can also back-fire as you might end up against a wall when time is running out. The longer you can bootstrap the business, the more value you can create over time to raise capital from the ‘right’ investor.

If you raise too much capital too quickly, you risk giving up a large share of your company’s equity at a too early stage – which hence might reduce your control of the business. The lost control can potentially be to the point where you no longer feel it’s your business any longer. This will most likely impact your motivation negatively, thereby affecting the performance in a down spiraling trajectory. So in general: Avoid raising capital too early, at too low valuation and from investors who you don’t believe fit in the organizations. I’ve met many founders who made such mistakes in the past, and it can really tend to impact the motivation negatively, which is unhealthy in an entrepreneurial journey considering how hard and long such journey already is.

8 – Spend money as if you were one financing round earlier on your journey

Even though you might be raising a large amount of capital during some stages of your entrepreneurial journey, it is important not to burn more than what is necessary. It can be tempting – and easy – to simply start increasing your marketing spend, your branding budget, your product development budget, hiring more employees, etc. in order to see the topline grow on the short term. However, doing this on the basis of a large continuous burn is simply just not sustainable, and neither is it acknowledged to the same extent to what we saw in the years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using capital based on the mindset that you are one round earlier that what might be the case in reality is therefore something that I highly recommend. So if you have raised a Series A, operate as if you had raised a seed round. If you have just raised a Series B, operate as if you had just raised a Series A. Deploy capital thoughtfully, in all avenues of the business.

9 – Drive your organization as if the time is running out

The time you have to drive and scale your organization is precious, which is why building a performance driven culture – in my opinion – is very valuable if you want to out-run your competitors. Developing a culture where people are working efficiently and almost are feeling as though “time is running out” can have a fruitful impact on the performance of the business. Of course, this is not meant in a way where people in the organization should feel as if they are under pressure – it is meant in a way where everyone in the organization run as fast as they can because they genuinely want to win the game. All value adding customer-facing initiatives which drive growth should always be deployed as quickly as possible after the employee(s) responsible for the change are comfortable with it being released – there’s no need to postpone such initiatives as it will just delay the launch of the next value-adding project. Of course, there will always be schedules in place, campaign plans to be followed, operational structures to considered, etc., but the mentality should always be that value-adding initiatives cannot get released too early.

10 – Build the right safety net before taking the entrepreneurial jump

This point is for the first time entrepreneurs. For the ones who are considering how to tackle there career from university and onwards. It’s a point that will not be applicable for all, but something which I personally found important: Build an academic and professional safety net before taking the entrepreneurial jump.

Of course, neither education nor experience is a prerequisite for becoming a highly successful entrepreneur. We all know about the university dropouts who anyhow became billionaires and changed the world in one way or another. However, I do believe that having an education and some professional experience gives you a strong advantage when jumping into the life of an entrepreneur. This is due to the following reasons:

You will be better equipped to establish and grow a startup due to the knowledge you bring from your education and/or your previous professional experience (assuming your experience has been relevant in regards to your entrepreneurial endeavor);
You will have more “ice in your stomach” as you will always have a safety net to fall back on in case your business fails (the worst case scenario suddenly isn’t that abad); and
You will be a “safer” choice for investors, business partners, and the like to work with, increasing your chances of success a bit further compared to if your academic and professional backpack were to be empty (this is of course mostly valid

Moreover, I believe that the future of entrepreneurship to a large extent will become academic. Many of the highly demanded industries in which entrepreneurs are trying to build businesses are very complex – and hence require that you have a strong technical and professional background. That is regardless of whether you are building a business within E-commerce, DeepTech, FinTech, Analytics, MarTech, or the like. The academic experience will not necessarily have to come from universities – we see more and more talented individuals who’ve built their knowledge through available content on the internet, online courses, coaches, mentors and the like.

The Case for Incorporating More Marketplaces in Your Marketing Mix in 2022

March 20, 2022January 20, 2023Digital Marketing, General Marketing, InternationalizationLeave a Comment

If there is one thing the last couple of years in Digital Marketing has taught us, it is that relying solely on one or two marketing channels, is a bad (and potentially disastrous) business strategy.

Therefore, one must not sit and wait until CPC and CPM prices on marketing channels reach the sky, but rather consistently and vigorously test and explore alternatives to the already established marketing channels. Otherwise, what will eventually happen is that your margins will become their margins, due to the very nature of the auction-based systems.

The purpose of this post is to introduce you to a variety of marketplaces that can be incorporated into your marketing mix to both fuel growth and make your business less dependent on the big advertisement players in e-commerce (Facebook, Google, Amazon).

The Case for Online Marketplaces – in General

First and foremost, let’s take a look at why being present on online marketplaces (Amazon included) can be highly beneficial for your brand in the first place.

47% of digital purchases worldwide happened via online marketplace platforms. (Statista)
14% of consumers would prefer to shop at an online marketplace for a first-time purchase. (Statista)
37% would prefer to make repeat purchase at an online marketplace. (Statista

Now that shall be enough to convince any e-commerce owner or marketeer that taking a closer look at online marketplaces may not be a bad idea.

4 Online Marketplaces to Look Into Today (Amazon excluded)

ASOS

With distribution in over 235 countries and over 1650 brands listed on the platform, ASOS is very interesting marketplace to look into for fast-fashion brands. The median price of all brands on ASOS is USD $26, making it lucrative for brands those audience is looking for fast-fashion. The top categories on ASOS is jumpsuits, accesories, and shorts

Zalando

Another lucrative marketplace in the fashion space is the most visited marketplace in Europe with an average of 380 million visitors per month, namely Zalando. Although they are “only” distributing to 17 countries, the median price is relatively higher than on ASOS, at USD $48. The top categories on Zalando are shoes, dresses, and jumpsuits

Zalora

If you are looking for a stronger presence in the East, Zalora might just the marketplace you are looking for. It is the biggest marketplace in Southeast Asia and serve an average of 2 million customers month. They offer a wide range of categories from sportswear, fast fashion, to ethnicwear. The median price is at the same level of ASOS, at USD $26

Ebay

Moving a bit out of the fashion category, there is the second largest marketplace in the world, namely Ebay. The platform was initially focused on auctions and peer-to-peer selling, before transitioning to a model of online shopping similar to Amazon. The best-selling categories on Ebay is mobile phones & accesories, video games, health & beauty, and home & garden – so there is definately an opportunity to grab for brands in categories other than fashion here.

On a final note, there are many more marketplaces out here, and there is surely one or multiple marketplaces which your brand can benefit from – even though your product might serve a very niche category. As with everything else, remember to do your own research on the marketplaces and make sure that you are choosing the ones which are right for your business.

10 Largest International Online Marketplaces For Selling Your Products Globally

February 15, 2022November 16, 2022Digital Marketing, General Marketing, InternationalizationLeave a Comment

Before the COVID-19 epidemic, internet marketplaces were already thriving, and they’ve only accelerated their growth since. According to a recent survey, 62.5% of global online spending occurred on international marketplaces like Amazon and eBay last year.

If you want to sell items online internationally, you have never had a better time. From personal skincare and cosmetics to apparel, interior design and electronics, there is a market for virtually everything you might want to offer online through marketplaces.

In this publication, we’ll look at some of the greatest international marketplaces to sell your items as well as how you can make the most of your efforts.

Are you unsure where to begin your search for the best global ecommerce marketplace? Let’s take a look at some of the industry’s major players. Even if none of them are suitable for you, you’ll have a point of reference to build on.

1. Amazon

Amazon is the most well-known E-Commerce marketplace in the United States, pulling in more than $125 billion in revenue during the last quarter of 2020. Amazon provides a large delivery range for selling internationally by having an amazing shipping infrastructure that sends to over 100 countries across the world. The marketplace also has various local stores, allowing you to target consumers in specific markets through a more localized approach. They do, as an example, have a website for Japan (www.amazon.co.jp), for France (www.amazon.fr) and for Mexico (www.amazon.com.mx), meaning that using the standard .com isn’t necessarily the only way to go.

Amazon provides a variety of tools to assist sellers. You may fulfill orders yourself or choose Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and have Amazon handle all product storage, packing, and shipping for you. You also have international sales management tools, such as tax collection.

2. eBay

While Amazon is the most well-known online shopping site, eBay is the second largest internal marketplace in the United States. While it lacks the same number of followers as Amazon, if you’re selling niche items that are meant to appeal to consumers who frequent eBay as their preferred market, this might be useful. The demographics on which eBay thrives include people

One of the benefits of selling on eBay is that fees are lower than those charged by other global marketplaces, making the platform ideal for businesses on a tight budget. On average, eBay’s fees amount to 10% to 15% of your total sales volume.

3. Cdiscount

Cdiscount is a rapidly expanding France-based online market that now has ten million active users. Vendors may use it to establish a shop with no start-up costs and no sales restrictions. In addition, you can list new and used items in various categories, with no limit on the number of goods in your catalog.

Cdiscount provides on-demand fulfillment where you deliver the items to their warehouses when a new purchase is made. The company then sends the order through its logistics system in 24 hours. Cdiscount is a fantastic choice for internet retailers looking to expand into France because of all this.

4. Zalando

Zalando is a German ecommerce firm with operations in 23 different nations throughout Europe. Fashion is the most popular area for Zalando’s online marketplaces, which offer a diverse range of items in many categories.

Zalando also has a professional, multilingual support staff to assist with seller registration. Shop setup and product listing are straightforward and quick with their help. Merchants may use Zalando Fulfillment Services (ZFS) to tap into Zalando’s global connections, expertise, and markets. ZFS is composed of comprehensive warehouse locations across Europe and has logistics and operations partners in various European countries.

5. Rakuten

Rakuten is an e-commerce company that sells to over a billion clients worldwide and operates in more than two dozen nations. As a result, it has earned the moniker “the Amazon of Japan.” Rakuten has a number of features that set it apart from other foreign marketplaces.

R-mail – Rakuten’s proprietary e-mail tool – helps sellers create and maintain relationships with buyers globally so that they can become loyal customers over time. The site offers a help center with an ecommerce consultant who can assist you in your seller’s journey. The marketplace also has a cashback program called Super Points that may help boost customer loyalty on the site.

6. T-Mall

T-Mall, a subsidiary of the E-Commerce website Taobao, was founded in 2008 under the Alibaba Group. Its primary target market is B2C (Business to Consumer). T-Mall’s goal is bold and prudent, as the platform allows both Chinese and non-Chinese firms to sell their items in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. T-Mall distinguishes out from the competition thanks to its rigorous standards for quality and reputation.

When we consider the rankings of China’s top websites based on traffic volume, it is apparent that T-Mall leads the pack, even compared to China’s most popular search engine, Baidu. Chinese consumers spend an average of 7 minutes per day using the app, which is more than twice as long as they spend on JD.com, which is one of T-Mall’s major competitors in China.

7. Flipkart

Flipkart is a prominent ecommerce business in India that made $4.6 billion in revenue in October 2021. The site began as an online bookstore before expanding into other product categories like apparel, furniture, grocery, and travel.

Flipkart offers a number of reasons to sell on its market. It has a simple user interface and charges nothing to set up a merchant profile. When you list an item, you may reach out to over 200 million users. You won’t have to worry about how you’re going to deliver items to your clients when you sell on Flipkart. Flipkart’s fulfillment network of 10,000 delivery agents and 200+ pick-up locations guarantees quick delivery of your items while also allowing you to protect yourself from losses through its Seller Protection coverage.

8. Mercado Libre

The most popular ecommerce platform in Latin America is Mercado Libre. Mercado Libre receives over 650 million monthly visits, with Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico accounting for 80% of those visits, according to a Web Retailer study.

Mercado Libre is an all-around internet store that features a wide range of items. It enables merchants to sell products in more than 150 categories, including fashion, electronics, sports goods, house and garden, and smartphones and accessories. It is possible for foreign companies to take payments in US dollars and provide services in local currency. Accepted members of Mercado Libre’s Global Selling program can receive these benefits and more by listing and collecting payments in US dollars.

9. Lazada

Lazada is a major online marketplace in Southeast Asia that was established in 2012. It is available in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

As the leader in the E-Commerce ecosystem in Southeast Asia, Lazada has 155,000 merchants and 3,000 brands serving more than 550 million consumers through its marketplace platform. With more than 300 million SKUs available, Lazada has the most comprehensive selection of goods in numerous categories including consumer electronics, household items, toys, fashion, sports equipment, and food.

10. Blibli

Blibli is one of the most popular online marketplaces in Indonesia, with thousands of items available to purchasers from across 15 different categories. Because to its emphasis on selling genuine, branded items, it’s recognized for being a reliable vendor.

Blibli has a worldwide seller program to assist international vendors expand their operations in Indonesia. You may list products for free, but you must have a valid business registration and bank account to join the program. As an international seller, you can ship your items to Blibli’s fulfillment center, which delivers throughout Indonesia and provides 24 hour local-language customer service support.

The 5 most effective types of e-commerce offers and promotions

December 22, 2021November 16, 2022Digital Marketing, E-Commerce Optimization, General MarketingLeave a Comment

Running promotions and offering deals from time to time is very common within the consumer space, and is sometimes a necessity in order for your business to succeed in case your brand pull isn’t large enough for the business to run without any types of deals or promotions. The most popular and highly successful deal and promotion types will therefore be outlined in this article, so that you know what to consider when pursuing certain campaigns throughout the year. Please note, what we cover here are the deal / promotions types and structures, and not the campaign theme’s themselves. For information about which types of campaigns you can run throughout the year and combined with some of the offer types that are outlined in this article, I suggest that you read the following article: ‘The Complete E-Commerce Marketing Calendar for 2022‘.

Percentage discount

A percentage discount is flexible; you may give a specific percentage value off of a particular product or the entire purchase. You can grab your consumers attention by using smaller percentage discount values (such as 10% off or more), while bigger discounts (think +50% off or more) are ideal for large sales seasons like Black Friday or to simply liquidating slow moving unsold items.

If you sell goods on your Shopify store, I recommend choosing between giving a percentage or dollar discount for each item. Use a percentage price reduction if the item you’re discounting originally costs less than $200. If it costs more than $200, use a dollar discount instead. This approach helps customers see the most value for their money.

Dollar value discount

Offering a dollar-value reduction, such as $10 off, may make customers feel like they’re receiving “free money” rather than simply saving it through a percentage discount. There is no doubt that adding strong discount values to your site can increase the conversion rate and the overall revenue value quite substantially.

You can either make the offer permanent or contingent on how much a customer spends, for example, by offering $10 off orders over $100 and $25 off orders over $150 at the same time. The latter approach may help you increase the average order value by encouraging consumers to put more items in their carts to receive a bigger discount.

It’s important to remember that such strong percentage or dollar value discount campaigns can reduce your margins significantly, and your brand is also at the risk of being diluted if the discount values are too large, and/or if the frequency of your discounted campaigns are too high.

Buy One, Get One – BOGO

The acronym BOGO stands for “buy one, get one.” A BOGO discount might be expressed as “Buy one, get one 50% off,” whereas another option is “Buy two shirts at full price and receive the third for $10.” This deal format encourages customers to buy additional items and spend more than they had initially intended.

Free gift with purchase

Another excellent approach to increase sales is to provide a free gift with purchase. For brands which are hesitant when it comes to offering discounts, this is an excellent way of increasing conversions by framing the “discount” as a gift with purchase – it is essentially the same as a BOGO campaign, just framed differently. Offering items as gifts is also a great method to sell unsold inventory. This present can be a mystery or something that is transparent when purchasing; however, according to studies published in the University of Miami, offering a mystery gift with purchase has the potential to boost the conversion rate even further compared to if the gift is presented upfront, in certain industries.

I recommend including a free present when a purchase minimum is met. This encourages consumers to add more products to their cart, thereby increasing the average order value of the purchase. Furthermore, the Journal of Marketing discovered that individuals who received a product for free discussed it 20% more than those who paid for it — this is essentially also free word of mouth advertising!

Free shipping

Free delivery can be one of the most successful kinds of deals, and something that I would almost always recommend to do – as a fixed strategy. One of the primary reasons customers abandon their carts before finishing checkout is because of high shipping fees. While many shops always provide a free shipping option, offering limited-time discounts on shipping charges as a special promotion for those who don’t may be a smart idea. You may as an example always have free delivery if a certain threshold is met, and the from time to time have free delivery on all orders, if the conversion rate is to be boosted further from time to time.

An interesting fact is that customers are more likely to accept a free shipping incentive than a $10 total purchase discount, even if the cost of delivery is less. Even if shipping charges are lower than $10, customers may find a free shipping deal more appealing, and if the free shipping is dependent on a certain order value, you may use this as an instrument to increase the average order value. Making sure you have the appropriate ecommerce fulfilment approach in place so that the experience of the free shipping is smooth for the customer. A bad shipping experience can often result in bad reviews, and ultimately also in the customer not returning even though the products expectations are met.

The Complete E-Commerce Marketing Calendar for 2022

December 21, 2021November 16, 2022Digital Marketing, General MarketingLeave a Comment

This is a comprehensive list of holidays and retail marketing events that can be used in your campaign planning for the year of 2022. The breadth of events in the list below is quite significant, as it serves to cover a wide array of areas, industries, seasons, and geographies.

If you own an e-commerce company, you know how essential it is to have a promotional calendar in place in order for your website to be fully up to date and seasonally relevant, and for your marketing activities to be effective – thereby increasing the chances to achieve your sales objectives. The most successful businesses plan their sales and marketing activities far ahead of time. As you know, failing to plan is planning to fail!

This is exactly why I’ve compiled the most comprehensive month-by-month retail shopping event calendar that’s available – the holidays and events are based on national holidays, discounting seasons, awareness creation possibilities, a potential CSR focus, and the like.

All sales dates for Amazon sellers and E-Commerce store owners are included. So you’ll know exactly when and how to charm your consumers and boost your income in 2022.

January

January is one of the most popular months for online shoppers and sellers alike, as consumers search for ways to spend their Christmas money and use gift cards. Post-holiday sales entice savvy buyers looking for products at a good price. And this might be a fantastic way to get your brand in front of new consumers.

Also, most of us spend money on our new year’s resolutions. Veganuary and Dry January are excellent opportunities to promote your goods to customers who are looking to reach their new health objectives. Health supplements, beauty products, and the like also tend to perform very well in the month of January, and it is in fact the largest month of the year for many brands within these industries.

If your business has a presence in Japan, then Fukubukuro (a lucky bag campaign) also makes very much sense to explore, as the excitement on such lucky bags is quite significant.

Key dates in January 2022:

1st January – New Year’s Day
1st of January – Fukubukuro (Japan)
1st – 31st January – Dry January
1st – 31st January – Veganuary
2nd of January – National Science Fiction Day
6th January – National Shortbread Day
16th January – Religious Freedom Day
17th January – Blue Monday
17th January – Martin Luther King Jr. Day
21st January – National Hugging Day
24th January – National Peanut Butter Day
25th January – Burns Night
26th January – Australia Day
27th January – Chocolate Cake Day

February

February is a month where most January resolutions usually have been given up on, and the winter depression is likewise starting to peak in many geographies. It is, however, a month for lovers, footballers, and sweet tooths alike. From World Nutella Day to Super Bowl Sunday and Valentine’s Day – the opportunities are many. This month, you have the freedom to let your imagination run wild and take advantage of sales incentives on your best sellers to increase your income. However, there are also other more charitable events than can be used to promote your CSR initiatives, and can allow you to simply just give back to society: World Cancer Day, Random Act of Kindness Day, and the like are here some examples than can be considered.

Key dates in February 2022:

1st February – Chinese New Year (Year of the Tiger)
1st – 28th February – Black History Month (United States and Canada)
1st – 28th February – LGBT History Month (United Kingdom)
4th February – World Cancer Awareness Day
5th February – World Nutella Day
6th February – Yorkshire Pudding Day
9th February – National Pizza Day
13th February – Super Bowl Sunday
14th February – Valentine’s Day
15th February – Singles Awareness Day
17th February – Random Act of Kindness Day
20th February – Love Your Pet Day
21st February – Presidents’ Day (United States)

March

Many people are looking forward to the first days with temperatures above 20 degrees, which many hope will be followed by more pleasant weather. So, why not use this happy mood to send out some emails on International Women’s Day or Mother’s Day to remind your customers of your store and encourage them to buy presents for their loved ones? You may also use Saint Patrick’s Day to your advantage by including (green) color in your advertisements. March is also the month where many brands in especially fashion and accessories launch their Spring/Summer 2022 (SS22) collections. What else is there to do if that isn’t a broad opportunity to mix things up?

Key dates in March 2022:

1st March – Shrove Tuesday
1st March – St David’s Day
1st March – Pancake Day
2nd March – Ash Wednesday
3rd March – World Book Day
3rd March – World Wildlife Day
8th March – International Women’s Day
10th March – Popcorn Lovers Day
13th March – BAFTA’s
17th March – St Patrick’s Day
20th March – First Day of Spring
21st March – World Poetry Day
23rd March – World Puppy Day
25th March – International Waffle Day
27th March – Mother’s Day (United Kingdom)
27th March – BST starts

April

After a quarter (Jan-Mar) with a wide array of large campaigns ranging from Chinese New Year to Valentines Day and the launch of SS22, April is a month with various smaller holidays that can be used as campaign opportunities. April Fool’s Day is a great chance for you and your brand(s) to demonstrate how inexpensive your goods might be. If that isn’t your thing, you may focus on selling Easter presents to customers in the week before Easter Sunday instead. Earth Day is also a great opportunity to promote your sustainable initiatives at a great extent – many brands are even using April to celebrate ‘Earth Month’.

Key dates in April 2022:

1st April – April Fool’s Day
1st April – Diversity Month
3rd April – Ramadan Begins
7th April – World Health Day
10th April – Siblings Day
11th April – National Pet Day
15th April – Good Friday
17th April – Easter Sunday
18th April – Easter Monday
19th April – Bicycle Day
21st April – National Tea Day
22nd April – Earth Day
23rd April – St George’s Day
23rd April – World Book Day
28th April – National Superhero Day
29th April – 5th May – Golden Week (Japan)

May

With temperatures hitting the 20-degree mark on a regular basis, why not rejoice the return of summer sentiments with World Cocktail Day, which has been long awaited? Alternatively, if drinking isn’t your thing, you may send your customers back to the kitchen with shopping products around National Biscuit Day or World Baking Day. If your brand is based in the United States or Canada, then Mother’s Day is also a great option.

Key dates in May 2022:

1st May – End of Ramadan
1st May – Mental Health Awareness Month
1st May – Labour Day (United Kingdom)
1st May – World Laughter Day
2nd May – Early May Bank Holiday (United Kingdom)
4th May – Star Wars Day
5th May – Cinqo De Mayo
7th May – National Fitness Day
8th May – Mothers Day (United States, Canada and Australia)
11th May – National Eat What You Want Day
13th May – World Cocktail Day
16th May – International Day of Light
17th May – World Baking Day
20th May – World Bee Day
25th May – World Wine Day
29th May – National Biscuit Day
30th May – Memorial Day
31st May – Spring Bank Holiday

June

June is the month when our retail marketing calendar gets busier. Father’s Day, World Environment Day, National Beer Day, and the beginning of summer are all significant dates to remember during this period. If you’re ready to participate in a month-long campaign, why not sponsor your local LGBTQ pride community to help promote your business?

Key dates in June 2022:

1st June – Global Day of Parents
1st June – 30th – LGBTQ Pride Month
2nd June – Spring Bank Holiday
3rd June – Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday
3rd June – National Donut Day
5th June – World Environment Day
11th June – World Gin Day
14th June – Flag Day (United States)
15th June – National Beer Day (United Kingdom)
19th June – Father’s Day
20th June – Juneteenth (United States)
21st June – International Day of Yoga
21st June – Summer Solstice
21st June – Beginning of Summer
21st June – World Music Day
22nd – 26th June – Glastonbury Festival
25th June – Midsummer’s Day
27th June – Wimbledon Starts (ends 10th July)

July

July may appear to be a relatively quiet month if your products aren’t seasonal towards this period (i.e., sunglasses, bathing shorts, BBQ equipment, etc.); however, you should take advantage of it to replenish your stock and develop marketing strategies for the following school season. You may still engage your consumers in July by utilizing World Chocolate Day or the start of the school holidays as a hook for sales campaigns.

Key dates in July 2022:

1st July – Canada Day
2nd Jule – Made in the United States Day
4th July – American Independence Day
6th July – International Kissing Day
7th July – World Chocolate Day
11th – 12th July – Amazon Prime Day (Estimated based on 2021)
14th July – Bastille Day (France)
17th July – World Emoji Day
25th July – School Holidays (differs per school)
26th July – Back to School (ends early September)
30th July – Islamic New Year
30th July – International Day of Friendship
31st July – National Avocado Day

August

It’s all too easy to be caught up in the holiday spirit while your consumers are travelling and enjoying their days and weeks off. Thankfully, although people are travelling the world thin, the consumers are still active on the internet and browsing through products across most industries. However, you may need to become more precise about who you want to communicate with and target, as the campaign opportunities in August are limited, the consumer budgets tights (due to holiday spendings) and people still being distracted in the spirit of holidays.

Key dates in August 2022:

1st August – Summer Bank Holiday (Scotland)
1st August – Black Business Month
5th August – International Beer Day
8th August – International Cat Day
9th August – Book Lovers Day
19th August – World Photography Day
19th August – World Humanitarian Day
21st August – World Senior Citizens’ Day
25th August – National Burger Day
26th August – International Dog Day
29th August – Summer Bank Holiday

September

With most consumers returning from vacations, their children must return to school. That’s the ideal time to give your customers some special offers and price cuts. If you’re in the food business (or have a marketing team that’s creative), World Guacamole Day adds a little spice to things, or if you have products that compliments students, then launching a back to school campaign also makes very much sense. September is also the month where various fashion and accessory brands drop their Autumn / Winter 2022 (AW22) collections.

Key dates in September 2022:

1st September – Autumn Begins
1st September – Self Improvement Month
1st September – Friendship Month
5th September – Back to School (differs per school)
5th September – Labour Day (United States)
6th September – Read a Book Day
11th September – Grandparents’ Day
12th September – National Chocolate Milkshake Day
16th September – World Guacamole Day
17th September – Octoberfest Begins
27th September – World Tourism Day
30th September – International Podcast Day

October

October has a number of interesting ecommerce sales dates, including Diwali in India and Halloween where you can offer exciting offers such as mystery discounts. International Coffee Day is also an option to tie coffee samples to your deliveries if you want to raise the energy levels of your customers. You may also use this method with your vegetarian consumer base during World Vegetarian Day.

Pumpkin Day and Halloween are confirmed methods to run special sales and deals on seasonal items at the end of the month.

Key dates in October 2022:

1st – 31st October – Black History Month (United Kingdom)
1st – 31st October – Breast Cancer Awareness Month
1st – 31st October – Go Sober for October (Stopober)
1st October – International Coffee Day
1st October – World Vegetarian Day
4th October – World Animal Day
10th October – World Mental Health Day
10th October – Columbus Day (United States)
10th October – Indigenous Peoples’ Day (United States)
10th October – Canadian Thanksgiving
16th October – World Food Day
22nd October – National Nut Day
24th October – Diwali
25th October – World Pasta Day
26th October – National Pumpkin Day
29th October – National Cat Day
30th October – BST ends
31st October – Halloween

November

November is for many businesses the busiest, most thrilling, and anxiety-facilitating month of the year. There’s nothing else in the year that brings as much activity, excitement, or tension as Singles Day in China, or Black Friday in most parts of the world. Make sure your inventory levels and sales plans are well planned and ready for execution. The week leading up to Black Friday is just as hectic as Black Friday itself. Make sure your most popular items are marked down and advertised effectively, and ensure to stretch your campaign all the way to Cyber Monday, even if you don’t sell technology. Those occasions aren’t designed to give small discounts, but rather an opportunity for consumers to make some of the best bargains during the year. Since margins can be quite squeezed when discounting heavily, it is recommended that you organise your discounts around a ‘gift with purchase’ element, or through a ‘buy one, get one’ (BOGO) structure. For more about different offer / promotional types you can consider during discounting seasons, I suggest you read through the following article: ‘The 5 most effective types of e-commerce offers and promotions‘.

Key dates in November 2022:

1st – 30th November – Movember (Men’s Health Awareness Month)
1st November – World Vegan Day
5th November – Guy Fawkes Night
8th November – United States Mid-Term Elections
11th November – Remembrance Day
11th November – Singles Day (Mainly China, but starting to become global. Also known as 11:11)
13th November – Remembrance Sunday
13th November – World Kindness Day
19th November – International Men’s Day
21st November – FIFA World Cup Begins
24th November – Thanksgiving (United States)
25th November – Black Friday
25th November – Small Business Saturday
28th November – Cyber Monday
29th November – Giving Tuesday
30th November – St Andrew’s Day

December

You’ve hopefully hit your sales targets by now after a hectic month of Black Friday and potentially even Singles Day. And if you haven’t, don’t be concerned. Demand is still extremely high, as everyone searches for Christmas presents for their family members. Make sure you advertise and discount your most giftable items with a clear lead-time guarantee so that your consumers are aware of when they can expect their purchase to arrive prior to Christmas.

Key dates in December 2022:

1st December – Holiday Seasons Gears Up
3rd December – Make A Gift Day
4th December – National Cookie Day
12th December – Green Monday
14th December – Christmas Jumper Day
14th December – National Free Shipping Day (United States)
17th December – Super Saturday
18th – 26th December – Hanukkah
21st December – Winter Solstice
24th December – Christmas Eve
25th December – Christmas Day
26th December – Boxing Day (United Kingdom)
26th December – Kwanzaa
28th December – Bank Holiday
31st December – New Year’s Eve

How To Make Ads That Stop the Scroll On Facebook and Instagram

December 4, 2021January 20, 2023Digital Marketing, General Marketing, Paid Social Media MarketingLeave a Comment

One of your main priorities as an advertiser is to prevent people from scrolling past whatever you want to show them. There is obviously no chance that individuals will engage with your marketing materials through likes, comments, shares, and so on, unless people actually stop to take a look at what it is you have to tell them. Your creative material, your copywriting, and your purpose is here key to ensure make a relevant audience stop op and engage.

Consider it for a moment. People are undoubtedly browsing Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc., while they walk down the street or while engaging in other activities. Out attention span has become worse than that of a goldfish.. So, how can we as marketers grab people’s’ attention when their attention spans have become so extremely limited?

Here are 8 strategies that have worked well for me in order to make your advertising perform.

1. Using a Variety of Colours

On every feed, a wide range of colors will stand out. Although your brand might be minimalist by nature, or very limited in general when it comes to colours and the overall visual expression, there’s most often a way to fit a range of colours into the advertising without making it off-brand. Having standard, medium quality marketing material with no edge will most likely not make your audience stop nowadays.

2. High Contrast Photos

You may boost the contrast of any photo by 20-30% to instantly attract more attention to your ads. This strategy goes hand in hand with the more extreme colour selection in the content you create. The main point is really to make your material stand out compared to the average content out there.

3. Strong product focus

If you are differentiating your brand by having a selection of products that truly stand out, then make sure to showcase those products very clearly in your advertising. Combine it with some interesting colour varieties that fit into your brand, and make sure it’s of high contrast, then you will most likely make more people stop and actually engage with the content. Think of Apple. They tresure their design position more than anything, which is why the small nitty gritty details of all their products are shows very clearly in all their advertising material. When they promote their Apple Watch as an example, they might use some lifestyle images where they showcase it on people doing sports, etc., but their main content that they advertise will always be very high quality, close-up product shots – often composed through renderings, and showcased through video content.

4. Use of Spacing

If you want your items to be noticed, make sure there is adequate spacing around them, almost putting your products on a “pedestal”. Apple are once again world-class when it comes to portraying products in this way, and so are brands like Bang & Olufsen and Nike. If you think about it, the content they usually push – especially the product focused content – is never busy in its nature.

5. Power in The First 2 Seconds

When using video material in once advertising, it is of utmost important that the first 2-3 seconds (and even the first second) are super captivating and eye catching. Again, peoples attention span is very limited, so the more intriguing the first second of your video is, the larger the chance that you will make a user stop in his / her feed. If you have a master ad, or a couple of videos that you know are of good quality, then it is very worthwhile to make various versions of those videos, where you simply change the first 1-3 seconds from video to video, allowing you to make a proper A/B split test on which beginnings work the best.

6. Thumbnail

This point goes hand in hand with the aforementioned point. The thumbnail of a video is essentially what you see before the first second of the video is activated. Facebook videos are powerful, but some argue that the thumbnail is even more important. So make sure that you together with the first seconds of your video material also test out different thumbnails to evaluate if some perform better than others.

7. Symmetry

We humans are accustomed to viewing things in a vertical and horizontal perspective. Playing with the angles of photographs and aspects of your advertising may pique people’s interest in your material. Make sure that whatever you portray is aesthetically pleasing to look at – and this does also go very much hand in hand with point 4.

8. Happy Individuals

According to several studies, smiling individuals boost the appeal of your products / services considerably. We are naturally drawn to people who are happy, so take advantage of this fact in your marketing campaigns. I’ve personally not tested this at a great extent, but it’s indeed worthwhile to give it a shot.

Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and the like are highly visual platforms! With the aforementioned ideas, you can with a higher likelihood promote your products or services successfully. These suggestion can for many seem basic, but they should ensure that people will stop scrolling on their feed and click on your ads. You need to make your brand stick out in the abundance of content which is available on all social platforms nowadays, and the aforementioned 8 points can help you realise that.

An Overview of the Most Important Channels for Digital Marketing

October 5, 2021November 1, 2021Digital Marketing, General Marketing1 Comment

When it comes to ecommerce success, there’s a lot more to it than simply opening an online shop. Merchants must advertise their websites in order to attract visitors and, as a result, generate sales.

This is where digital marketing enters the picture. Digital marketing is a fantastic way to boost awareness of your brand and items, win back trust from customers, and encourage them to visit your online shop in order to make a purchase—and return again in the future for more goods.

When utilized intelligently, digital marketing is an extremely effective instrument for ecommerce companies. Start with a plan rather than spreading yourself thin and attempting all the channels at once. Consider your company’s objectives, budget, and target audience. Let’s look at how you can use digital marketing to promote your online business.

What is digital marketing, and how does it work?

Digital marketing is the process of advertising a brand, product, or service using either paid or unpaid online media. The practice of digital marketing covers the promotion of your ecommerce business across various internet platforms.

Brands don’t have to be the ones spearheading the message, as savvy internet businesses allow their consumers to speak for them. So, if a consumer posts an excellent review of your product or makes a positive social media remark about your company, these are all examples of digital marketing.

More than three-quarters of businesses use marketing campaigns to promote their brands on a regular basis. The most frequent marketing objectives for these firms are increased brand recognition, sales, interaction, leads, and money—all of which can be reached through intelligent digital marketing.

Creating a digital marketing strategy is fairly simple.

A comprehensive digital marketing strategy covers a variety of platforms. In general, the majority of businesses use a mix of social media advertising (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, etc.), E-mail marketing, search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), affiliate marketing and PR. The channels that are most effective for your company are determined by where your target audience hangs out, how much money you have to spend, and what business goals you want to accomplish.

Let’s take a look at how you may use some of the most popular and effective digital marketing channels to promote your online business.

Social media marketing

Social media marketing is an excellent technique to interact with existing customers and develop connections with new ones. The term “social media” refers to all of the platforms that are available, including Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok as well as niche sites like Twitch. The following are some of the most important social media sites to explore:

Facebook, with its 2.3 billion monthly active users
Instagram, with 1 billion monthly active users
TikTok, with more than 650 million users
Twitter, which has 206 million daily active users
Snapchat, with a total of more than 520 million active users
Pinterest, which reaches more than 450 million monthly active users

You may use each of these networks to create organic social media posts. Organic social media messages are postings on your company’s (or brand’s) profile(s) that aren’t paid advertisements. With organic updates, skewing more toward interesting content is usually a good idea. Unfollowing may be triggered if there are too many self-promotional

However, with organic postings, your reach and interaction are entirely reliant on algorithms. You should therefore use paid social media advertising to increase the number of people who see your social media content and guarantee more views and engagements. Each of the major platforms offers its own ad space in which you can purchase ads, and advertising is more or less the only way to facilitate scalable growth nowadays, as most social media platforms have limited the organic reach of business accounts substantially in the past years.

Email marketing

Email is a popular digital communication mechanism that people utilize to connect with each other and businesses. According to the Forrester Analytics: Email Marketing Forecast, 2018 To 2023 (US), email usage is increasing. More and more individuals are willing to sign up for businesses’ marketing emails, according to 96 percent of those aged 12 years and older.

Email is also a powerful tool for reaching out to people of all ages. In fact, email is preferred by more online users between the ages of 12 and 17 than Snapchat and Facebook.

You may deploy email to convey a mix of promotional and non-salesy material—newsletters with useful information on how to utilize your goods, special discounts for your email subscribers, early announcements, and access to special sales.

Build customer profiles and segment your list with email marketing software to craft personalized emails. Make sure to read the article which I’ve previously published about the best e-mail software solutions which are available at the moment.

Search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO)

The goal of search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) is to improve your website’s visibility and findability in online search engines. Paid methods are referred to as SEM, while organic, or non-paid, strategies are called SEO.

According to a study, internet firms will capture 35% of all traffic and 33% of the entire revenue through search engine result pages (SERPs). While there are many different search engines available on a global scale, Google has by far the most dominance due to its enormous market share. However, other engines like Bing and Yahoo do also have a decent global present.

You can use the Google Ads dashboard (Google Adwords) to run pay-per-click (PPC) advertisements in your targeted locations for keywords relevant to your goal. Depending on your objectives and keyword competitiveness, you may have a different budgets from one campaign to another. The most prominent Google placement are their Shopping placement, search, and display.

Content marketing

Content marketing is the practice of creating and/or curating content to promote your company. For some, content marketing takes the form of a blog. In reality, more than half of marketers use blogs in their digital marketing mix. Content is an important part of growing client loyalty, increasing brand recognition, boosting SEO rankings, and gaining authority in your chosen

Marketing automation

The term “marketing automation” refers to the use of technology to establish a sequence of rules that cause automated actions from your marketing solutions. Marketing automation might be restricted to a single platform or include integration across various technologies. For example, the Shopify App Store offers several marketing automation applications that you may install on your ecommerce site.

You may also use Shopify’s dashboard to start marketing automation campaigns. The post-purchase automation is one example of a marketing automation that most ecommerce businesses can use. You may utilize post-purchase communication as a method to nurture customer relationships and cross-sell other items, depending on your product and purchase, using personalized recommendations.

Remarketing

Remarketing, also known as behavioral retargeting, is a form of advertising that targets people who have previously engaged with your company’s brand. You may create retargeted marketing campaigns that are informed and tailored to your audience’s previous actions.

Consider this scenario: You’ve launched a collection of sunglasses for your store eyewear webstore. A few months later, you collaborated with another designer on a new sunglass design. You can remarket to the people who bought your first drop and show them that they already have an interest in what you’re offering.