Congrats – you’ve successfully launched your online store! Now it’s time to get some traffic. This guide will help you get a jump on marketing your business effectively.
In this article:
Social Media
Explore your social media options wisely. Use platforms that best showcase your products to reach your target customers.
- Create pages for your business on social networks like Facebook and Instagram
- Spread the news about your store with friends – don't be shy about using your personal page to drive interest in your business page
- Set up and test a few ad campaigns on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook (if you’re a pro, check out Facebook Pixel)
Content
A good content strategy starts with the customer. Putting in the legwork ahead of time to find what your customers want will pay off in spades when you generate worthwhile content. Plan on giving more than you receive when you first start building your brand’s content portfolio.
- Create meta tags for individual products to improve SEO.
- Establish a presence in your field by answering questions on Quora.
- Offer to write a post for a specialty blog as a guest contributor.
- Start blogging about your products – this can also boost your SEO if you do it well.
- Get involved with your local community! You may be able to generate press if there’s an overlap between a newsworthy event and your business.
- Create videos – behind the scenes, lookbooks, testimonials, overviews, etc.
- Promote individual products with reviews to build trust with your audience.
- Build a database of user-generated content to use in future marketing efforts.
Emails is the most cost-effective way to reach your customers. Start building your customer base by getting to know your store’s visitors.
- Collect subscribers with pop-up email capture forms.
- Send emails regularly with info on new products, promotions or sales.
- Segment your subscribers (customers vs window shoppers) for better engagement.
Promos
Everyone loves a deal. Promotions, holiday sales, and new products are a great way to bring traffic to your store. Online store helps you provide special offers to increase your store’s sales.
- Give a discount for signing up for your newsletter.
- Start a rewards program for your loyal customers.
- Remember to offer discounts during the holidays.
Pay Per Click Advertising
Online marketing has taken over the internet. If you’re serious about driving traffic to your online store, you need to look into pay per click (PPC) advertising.