 Your new post is loading...
Your new post is loading...
Growing an ecommerce business often requires a broad set of skills. An online merchant may need to be equal parts bookkeeper, marketer, and developer. Fortunately many of the necessary skills can be developed online for little or no cost.
Here is a list of educational resources for online merchants. There are resources for specific subject areas, such as inbound marketing, coding, and mastering Google Analytics. There are also broad education sites, with many useful courses in business and technology, and many other topics.
Maintaining a steady stream of content that's unique and interesting to your target audience is a challenge. But with a big dose of creativity (and a little help from content idea generators), you can create content that's not only valuable to your market, but also stands out from the sea of information.
44 Fantastic Types of Content
There are tons of options out there for content you can create. Forty four content types are outlined below, so look through the list and see which ones would make a perfect fit in your marketing plan....
Macy’s has announced they will shut down 14 stores as part of a restructuring effort, citing a shift in how consumers shop. The retail giant notes that this is part of a broader plan to meet consumers where they are: online.
The closed stores will mean a reduction of 1,343 jobs and should be completed within the next few months. The news has the average layperson assuming the worst of the brand, but Macy’s is no JCPenney, no, this is a simple effort that is common for large brands. These closures represent only a fraction of the brand’s 790 stores across America....
Tis’ the season for pinning! Whether you are looking for a DIY ornament project or need the recipe to your favorite treat, Pinterest is one social media platform that allows you to easily find both. Beyond crafting and cooking, Pinterest is also one of the top resources for shopping this holiday season.
Recently, Curalate ran a study to detect the most popular item on Pinterest and found that a pair of J.Crew camping socks were the hottest item on the site. The study also showed that 3 out of the top 5 items in their study were sold out in the color that was pinned. Given the visual nature of Pinterest, it makes for an effective marketing tool for e-commerce and retail companies.Out of all the major social media networks, Pinterest users spend between $140 – $180 in the online check out as opposed to Facebook and Twitter users who spend around $60 – $80. To fuel the shopping machine, nearly 79% of department stores have Pinterest accounts and are running campaigns on the platform during 2014....
To understand how the best sell on social and earn a positive ROI on their social investment, we researched 100 of the top social selling e-commerce brands on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. For two weeks, we recorded each of their posts across six dimensions: 1. type (video, image, or text), 2. purpose (promote product or brand building), 3. copy, 4. whether it was linked, 5. whether it was original or user-generated content (including retweets and repins), and 6. posting time.
We then compiled this data and analyzed it for patterns. Here’s what we found to be the best practices for social posting that drives sales
Shoppers have always had different personalities. They are motivated to buy for all kinds of reasons, and their shopping strategies can be radically different.
In order to stay competitive in an increasingly challenging online ecosystem, marketers need to understand exactly what drives the behavior of the shoppers who frequent their online stores. Here are eight types of shoppers based on personality types and how marketers can provide the best online experiences to reach them...
For society, smartphones are becoming appendages. They may even be as important as breathing air! Ok, not really, but with Cyber Monday now a date on the holiday calendar, it is evident that our smartphones will influence how society shops.
A higher percentage of women than men shop online. Additionally, 30% of women use mobile devices to shop.
Throw in social media into this mobile online shopping melting pot and what do we get?
Let’s find out!
ShareThis's consumer sharing behavior report, which analyzed data collated from 52 million unique users registering more than 1.9 social signals, found that each travel share generates 18 click-backs - 40% more than other types of shares.
Furthermore, 10% of social media users share travel-related content and 19% of those who are in the process of planning travel share travel-related content.
While most travel-related social sharing takes place on Facebook and Twitter, the study reveals that users are most engaged with travel content on Pinterest, Blogger and email when in the throes of travel planning. Users still prefer to use a desktop computer for travel research, while smartphones are the preferred device for sharing....
All marketers are forever searching for that magical customer engagement recipe that will instantly transform their respective companies into massive retail entities. While this might not solve all of those problems for marketers, CrowdTwist recently published an illuminating e-book titled, 25 Loyalty and Engagement Stats You Need to Know, which outlines a plethora of key statistics and takeaway recommendations that can help boost revenue, spark customer engagement, and create customer loyalty.
Here’s a sneek peek at the e-book and those very important 25 Loyalty and Engagement stats....
Twitter is adding another feature to its fledgling e-commerce stable, today introducing Twitter Offers, which will enable advertisers to offer digital coupons within tweets.
Twitter users who see the tweets will be able to claim the offers by linking their credit or debit card accounts to Twitter. The discounts can be redeemed using the synced card, either online or in a retail store.
This brings some obvious benefits for retailers, who have long struggled to link digital marketing with retail sales....
Steven Althaus's moment of digital truth came this past spring. BMW's global director of brand management stood in front of top management, telling them the automaker was about to use a drift mob to help market their new car, the M325i.
Five professional drivers were set to go behind the wheel of the M325is and drift--or drive at high speeds, hit the brakes, and turn the steering wheel to spin the car abruptly--around a traffic circle in Cape Town, South Africa. Their aim was to simulate a flash mob; a staged but seemingly spontaneous performance.
BMW executives fired off questions to Althaus that veered toward disbelief. “I presented the idea of a drift mob and they said: 'Is this really going to work?' I had to say, ‘I don’t know. Nobody’s done it before,’” Althaus recalls....
Twenty years ago last month, a team of well-meaning designers, coders and magazine publishers inadvertently unleashed on an unsuspecting world one of the most misguided and destructive technologies of the Internet age: the web banner ad.If that is an exaggeration, it is only a slight one.
FThe first banner ads — those long rectangular ads at the top of a web page — looked innocent enough; a half-dozen spots for a variety of large companies, including AT&T, Volvo and Zima, they made their debut on HotWired, the web offshoot of Wired Magazine, on Oct. 27, 1994. People who took part in their creation say the first banners were a resounding success, garnering adulation from readers and advertisers.
But their success birthed a monster that went on to swallow the web whole and has created two decades of havoc. “It’s almost like a prank that was played by the technology industry on the media industry 20 years ago,” said Chris Dixon, a technology investor at the firm Andreessen Horowitz who has long lamented the reach and permanence of the banner ad....
Not only are you hectically hurrying to close out the year on a good note, you’re also pressured to produce your budgeted marketing plan for the year to come. It can often feel like the month itself is draining your very life force… but maybe it’s not just the month. Maybe, you have something stalking you from the shadows… Maybe something is steering you down dark paths you’d normally avoid… Maybe… you have a vampire in your midst, and nowhere would it be more apparent, than in your content.
Your content, you see, is a reflection of the lifeblood of your organization. It carries all the qualities, characteristics, and attributes that make your organization unique and valuable to your target audience. Certain dark forces, however, can eat away and this energy in your content. These marketing vampires can manifest themselves in multiple forms, so to swiftly slay these evil spirits, here are 5 of the most common vampire varieties along with their most effective weaknesses.
|
Women may always be a mystery to men, but that need not be the case for retailers. Here is a closer look at how female consumers are navigating the retail sector right now that can help you land more sales with women shoppers.
Who, what, when, where, why and how? These are the questions that every researcher seeks to answer. If your business needs to find success in its efforts at marketing to women, these are questions that can help provide insights about female consumers that you can use to shape your marketing strategies. Here are some research findings about women shoppers that made our list of things you should know....
Cashback industry leader eBates had a phenomenal year, returning $98,339,477 to consumers. Consumers are now embracing cashback programs and merchants are seeing the benefits of this powerful marketing strategy in driving sales. The future strength of the cashback industry is further reflected in the purchase of eBates for more than $1 billion by Japanese conglomerate Rakuten.
Suspicious Web traffic in the U.S. rose 36% sequentially in the third quarter of 2014, and bot traffic grew by 35%. Data released Friday identifies 55% of the traffic on retail sites as suspicious with 34% of traffic confirmed as bot. The data defines "suspicious" as non-human behavior.
U.S. retailers could waste about $4.6 billion of eMarketer's projected $11 billion spent on digital advertising this year on bot traffic fraud, estimates Solve Media. The company's latest Quarterly Bot Traffic Market Advisory focuses on U.S. retailers.
Solve Media CEO Ari Jacoby believes 2015 will become the year of verified human audiences. Media companies are "demanding to purchase only human ad traffic and viewable ads."
Brands waste millions of dollars annually. If Bloomingdale's spends $200 million annual in digital, "we estimate $68 million of that could be wasted on bot traffic," estimates Jacoby.....
There are hidden motivations behind a lot of the actions we take online, especially so with social media. The influence of friends and family has a big impact on what we click, view, share, and like.
Researchers have discovered some specifics behind why friends impact us the way they do. These insights cover the way we interact and reciprocate, the time we spend online, and the buying decisions we make. It’s fascinating to learn, and helpful for marketers to know, too.
Can you adapt some of these takeaways for your social media marketing? Keep reading to see what these studies say and how you might implement them into your strategy....
Among the key findings of the survey: - Blogs and newsletters are most valued by B2B buyers early in the sales cycle, when they are starting to learn about a topic and evaluate products/vendors.
- Whitepapers are most valued in the beginning and middle parts of the sales cycle, when buyers are attempting to understand a problem.
- Videos, webinars, and detailed tech guides are most useful toward the end of the cycle, when buyers are considering specific vendors and finalizing selection.
- 80% of buyers want to continue to receive content after a sale is completed...
We’ve learned by now that B2B marketing often involves targeting a market-savvy and knowledgeable audience. However, usually the selling business is full of knowledgeable experts as well, and quite often they rely on their experience and instinct to make marketing decisions “on a whim.” While there is no denying that industry experience is a powerful resource, B2B companies that rely on instinct rather than data run the risk of generating ineffective or even damaging, marketing strategies and campaigns.
Remember the difference between B2B and B2C consumer buying habits. Do B2B consumers generally make purchases on a whim? Most likely no. Therefore, should your marketing be done on a whim?
Here are some examples of how to conduct data driven marketing and apply it to your marketing strategy.....
According to eMarketer’s latest forecasts, worldwide business-to-consumer (B2C) ecommerce sales will increase by 20.1% this year to reach $1.500 trillion. Growth will come primarily from the rapidly expanding online and mobile user bases in emerging markets, increases in mcommerce sales, advancing shipping and payment options, and the push into new international markets by major brands.
In 2014, for the first time, consumers in Asia-Pacific will spend more on ecommerce purchases than those in North America, making it the largest regional ecommerce market in the world. This year alone, B2C ecommerce sales are expected to reach $525.2 billion in the region, compared with $482.6 billion in North America....
In 2015, Facebook is changing the way the News Feed works for its users. These changes will specifically affect brands and the way they conduct Facebook marketing campaigns through their Facebook Pages. These changes can affect your company’s social media marketing plan, so to help your business adjust, we have outlined some common questions and their solutions. It’s time to prepare for the Facebook changes in 2015 and develop a Facebook marketing plan to expand your reach....
... News UK may have originally set out to disprove certain preconceptions about the difference between print and digital ads, but Abba Newbery, director of ad strategy for the company felt it was perhaps pricing that needed to change.
“This research challenges the common held belief in our industry that people behave differently based on which platform they are consuming content. What it actually shows is that behaviour is driven by content and not platform,” she said.“
If memory encoding for ads on print and tablet are the same despite people spending shorter time on tablet ads then maybe news brands should be charging the same?”...
Who are today's brightest marketers? Which brands—and agencies—stand out among the rest?Look no further than MarketingProfs' 2014 Bright Bulb B2B Award winners, who were announced by MarketingProfs chief content officer and best-selling author Ann Handley and comedy writer and emcee Tim Washer at the B2B Marketing Forum in October.
Rather than just give you a short and sweet list of winners, we pulled together this summary of what they did and why we think each winner is awesome....
A question we get asked all the time at HubSpot; and the answer? We obnoxiously respond with a question, in fact, multiple questions – are your personas hanging out on social networks? And if so, which networks?
Who in your organisation is responsible for managing your social presence; is it marketing? Sales? Both? How much content do you have to share on social? Is it enough? Is it the right content?
I could go on and on. However, it’s not until you can answer these questions, that you can then start to create an effective social strategy that will answer the original question proposed....
... It’s so easy to forget where we were 11 months ago as a company. Inbound marketing with HubSpot has completely transformed the way we do business and how we create new customer relationships.
In fact, this exercise of reporting has been good for me, because I quickly forget how things used to be. The results, reports, and data are awfully compelling....
|
Useful learning and training resources for e-commerce marketers.