24 Feb AltusHost Guide: Organizing Your E-Commerce Marketing Strategy in 2016

When it comes to e-commerce businesses, there is the constant issue of marketing. The World Wide Web is a fast-paced, ever-changing environment, meaning that some things that were a must last year could already be outdated and ineffective this year. There are new things coming out every day and this applies to marketing as well. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the huge number of options available for marketing your online store.

Every retailer’s job is to constantly increase sales. However, deciding which option suits a certain business the best can sometimes be difficult. Creating the needed products, paying for web hosting services, designing a website… These are all important things, but if you can’t find ways to attract customers, it will all be pointless.

Here are some of the best marketing strategies you should pay attention to in 2016. Some might be more effective than others, but this solely depends on how you run your business. The same rule applies when choosing a hosting provider that suits you the most.

Content marketing

We understand that content marketing was a widely used strategy. It still is, and it always will be very important. The way online retailers have used content marketing strategies over the past couple of years has changed a lot, and it’s expected that 2016 will be the year when this area of marketing will get refined even further. There are several effective new content marketing trends, and you need to get the most out of them, if you want your e-commerce website to grow.

Customers are paying attention to content more than ever before, but they are also becoming overwhelmed by and tired of generic SEO keyword content. The thing is, consumers are hungry for useful, specific and targeted content.

It’s pretty hard to stand out in an already crowded market. However, if an e-commerce business is able to get deep into its niche product lines and offer unique selling points, it can go really far and achieve great results with its content marketing strategy.

Instead of trying to compete in a wide niche that is already filled with amazing content, try and focus on a hungry market that is eager for someone to step up and provide comprehensive, specific and detailed content.

E-mail marketing still reigns

Everyone knows that content is king, but is this really the case for online stores? When it comes to e-commerce marketing the best form that beats all the rest is E-mail marketing. This is why there is an increased number of pop-up boxes that are being used for e-mail collection.

If you look closely you’ll can see these pop-ups on every major e-commerce site. A good way to use this strategy is to offer exclusive coupons or discounts to customers who give their addresses. This is something that’s starting to grow in 2016, and it’s expected to see even more growth. Collecting e-mails via pop-ups is very effective and can improve your results significantly, but don’t force it and do not sacrifice the design of your website in the process.

A well incorporated pop-up is still very annoying to most, but if you overdo it with pop-ups appearing on each and every page on your site, the results will only be negative, as you will drive people away from your online shop. E-mail marketing is the future, so don’t sleep on it.

The speed of your web site

Web site speed is also becoming one of the key factors that affects SEO and conversions. All online consumers want fast load time and they want it now. Nobody has the patience to wait 5 seconds for a page to open, and they are likely to leave and never come back again. Online consumers are a tough crowd, and they demand certain standards.

The speed of a website is especially important to all mobile users. People who browse stores using their mobile phones want to get the necessary information ASAP, and you cannot neglect these consumers, since they are slowly taking over the Internet. There are several factors that affect the loading speed of your website.

The first and most important thing is to get a proper web hosting service that can support your idea. Your website speed also depends on how much pictures or videos you have on it, and how many plugins or widgets you have installed. The important thing to keep in mind is to get a web host that can refine your e-commerce store, giving you the ability to improve your package once your site starts to grow.

Sophisticated social media tools

Most people pay attention to big social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and tons of other popular social media websites. Although there are a lot of people in these networks, they are not that effective for smaller e-commerce stores that have not established themselves as reputable brands. Instead, you should focus on sites like Badoo, Sportlobster or Yabberz. These social networks are very popular in their niches, and this is what makes them good tools for targeting audiences.

If you dig a little deeper, you can find the most popular trends to reach your target audience on big social platforms as well. Both Twitter and Pinterest have included sponsored posts that can segment targeted people, they have recently announced that they’ve made it possible for companies to sell and post their products directly from their sites.

While many think that Facebook is outdated when it comes to marketing e-commerce stores, it has sharpened its advertising tools, allowing brands to focus their campaigns better than ever, to help increase ROI.

It’s safe to say that 2016 is definitively the year in which many opportunities for online retail stores will arise. A lot of these things will shift and change, and the e-commerce businesses that manage to make the most of it are the ones that will adapt quickly.

This is our advice on how to successfully market an online retail business in 2016, but feel free to share your opinion and comment in the section bellow this text. Let us know if you agree or disagree, and why.