Content Marketing & eCommerce – A Match Made In Heaven!

Ever been stuck on I-405 at 8:30 in the morning, slurping down coffee while impatiently tapping your fingers on the steering wheel?

Yes.

Traffic is a nightmare. 

Unless you’re running an eCommerce website.

Then you want bumper to bumper traffic leading straight to your site.

In order to achieve this, traditional outbound marketing is only part of the puzzle. You also need to focus on content marketing. 

What is content marketing?

In the post below we’ll go over the basics of why content marketing works for eCommerce stores, discuss some statistics that show the value of a robust content marketing strategy, and provide you with a few tips to help you get started.

The Benefits Of A Content Marketing Strategy For Your Business

First, let’s start with a few of the benefits you’ll enjoy if you implement a content marketing strategy for your business. If you invest in content marketing, you can: 

• Share more about your brand’s values – It can be difficult to connect with customers purely through ads, product detail copy, and other sales-focused content. However, content that is less promotional in nature – such as blogs, podcasts, interviews, infographics – can help you share more about your brand’s values, what makes your store unique, and why your customers should shop with you. 89% of customers stay loyal to brands that share their values, so don’t underestimate the value of this!
  

• Educate customers about your products – 95% of B2B product/service buyers say they find online content to be trustworthy. B2C buyers can also benefit from educational, informational content. Using your eCommerce website, you can create user guides, “how-to” instructional content, and other original content that will help add value, and provide customers with all the information they need to make a buying decision – and to use your products once they arrive!
• Improve your SEO rankings – Content marketing is an incredibly powerful way to build up your organic SEO rankings. 57% of marketers have said that content creation is the best way to improve organic SEO.
  
  The value of SEO should never be overlooked. Because organic SEO does not require you to pay to rank up your website, any boost in your rankings is extremely valuable. You’ll benefit from increased traffic and conversions without paying for ads or search result placements. 

By focusing on content marketing, you can connect with customers and share your brand values, provide them with valuable information that will help as they make buying decisions, and improve your SEO – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. 

The Power Of Content Marketing By The Numbers: What You Need To Know

There are a number of reasons that content marketing is such a powerful advertising tool for your website, as we outlined above. But we don’t expect you to just take our word for it.

Below, we’ve compiled a few statistics that prove how effective content marketing can be for eCommerce entrepreneurs. Take a look, and see why you should start creating your own content marketing strategy. 

• 70% of consumers would prefer to learn about new products through organic content, rather than ads
• 84% of people expect brands to provide them with content that “adds value” and “entertains” them.
• 51% of content consumption is derived from organic search results
• 91% of consumers are prepared to “reward brands for their authenticity”
• 47% of internet users read blogs every day
• 82% of marketers who blog regularly as part of an inbound marketing strategy see an improvement in their ROI
• Inbound marketing, such as blogging and content creation, costs 61% less per lead than outbound marketing techniques, such as PPC (pay per click) and web ads.
• 93% of B2B marketers use content marketing as part of their marketing strategy
• 82% of customers feel “more positive” about a particular company after reading a piece of custom content

How Do I Get Started With Content Marketing On My eCommerce Store?

Wondering how you can take your first steps toward an effective content marketing strategy for your eCommerce store? Here is a brief overview you can use to get started.

• Decide who will be writing your content – First, you’ll need to determine who will actually write your content. The easiest (and cheapest) option is to write it yourself or to have one of your employees work on content for you (if applicable).
  
  However, about 44% of B2B marketers outsource content creation. Hiring a freelancer may be a good option for you if you don’t think you have the writing skills or don’t have time to create content yourself.
  
  Another option is to hire a content marketing firm to handle the entire process of content creation for you. This will cut down on the legwork you’ll have to do – but it can be pretty expensive. However, this may be worth it if you do not like writing or managing freelancers, or simply don’t have the time to handle content creation yourself.
  

• Research the competition to get inspiration – Next, it’s a good idea to take a look at competitors in your industry and marketing niche. See what kind of content they’re creating – if any – and use it as inspiration to develop a rough outline of topics and products that you can write about. You can also use their posts to get an idea of the tone and approach to writing that your customers will expect.

• Develop a content marketing strategy – Then, you’ll need to develop a content marketing strategy. This guide from Hubspot will be very helpful during this process. You’ll decide on your goal, define your target audience, audit your existing content, come up with content ideas, and devise an editorial/content calendar to keep your content creation efforts on track.

• Stick to your strategy, monitor your results, and make adjustments – Finally, you’ll need to write the content you planned, post it, monitor engagement, and see how your customers react. Remember that it can take time for your efforts to begin bringing in customers, so be patient. If you create high-quality, engaging content, you’re sure to find success!

Of course, this is far from a comprehensive overview of how to get started with content marketing. If you would like a more detailed guide to how to get started, we’d recommend Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley. 

It’s a quick, breezy read – and will set you up for success if you decide to write your own content and manage your own content strategy for your eCommerce website.

Know How To Use Content Marketing To Your Advantage On Your eCommerce Website 

If you invest the time and effort into creating a robust, well-rounded content strategy for your eCommerce website, you’re sure to improve your SEO, convert more customers, and build the reputation of your brand. So don’t wait. Take your first steps today, and start thinking about how you can incorporate content marketing into your strategy!