Running an e-commerce (online) business in 2021 may be more delicate of an operation than it has ever been before. Current events have moved more people to rely on virtual businesses to get what they want and get things done. That means a lot of competition.
How do you stand out? What methods can you use to get your business to really reach your potential customers?
One way to do this is with a powerful content marketing strategy. Content marketing refers to the use of different forms of content to bring an audience to you including factors such as SEO keyword use, creating content that encourages readers to purchase or take an action like going to your website, and so on. This is one of the many tactics you can use to help your products or services to be seen by your ideal customers. But this really only applies if you tackle your content marketing plan in the right way.
Here are six worthwhile “do’s” and “don’t” to use and consider in your 2021 approach.
3 Things To DO
If you aren’t using these tips already, we suggest you start incorporating them into your content marketing plan now.
- Use customer data to make the most of your content. It pays (literally) to know your audience. Understanding factors such as age range, income, and interests of your most common audience members can help guide how you create content in order to increase the impact that it has. Not only will this help your content reach the people you want it to reach, but it will also help turn them into purchasing customers.
- Create evergreen content. If you are writing content for your business, you need to make it as evergreen as possible. Evergreen content can be used continuously and repeatedly because what it discusses always applies to the here and now rather than being dated by certain events. While using current events is okay in some circumstances (ie. tying in your latest blog to a current event reported in the news) you don’t want this to be your primary type of content. While this is okay for some content, using current events for all of your content makes it, to be blunt, disposable. People won’t go back to reference a page that talks about Christmas in mid-July!
- Focus on how your product or service meets the customer’s needs. People are looking for products or services that serve their wants and Make sure you show them that what you have to offer is going to be the ideal solution. For example, if they are purchasing your face lotion, write content about how it can help their skin and other ways it benefits them. If you are looking to sell a service to another business, show how it will help them grow and thrive. Don’t just boast about how great of a company you are; focus more on how what your company does serves the needs of your customers and clients.
3 Things You DON’T Want to Do
You want to improve how content marketing helps your business. Sometimes that means knowing what to avoid. Here are three key things that you want to steer clear of in your content marketing plan this year.
- Use fear mongering. Fear can be a good motivator in some cases. Think of how many people voluntarily choose to run to stave off heart disease! But it only works as a motivator for content marketing in very specific situations. If possible, try to avoid using fear as a motivator to your customers to buy your product or invest in your business. It tends to drive more people away than it attracts.
- Go too far with SEO. Search engine optimization is a necessary part of any content marketing strategy. However, according to marketing pros like Neil Patel, you don’t want it to dominate your content. You can optimize your website content with two to three on-point keywords or phrases to boost your organic search results while keeping your content organic, but don’t overdo it. Content that is well-written is going to get a better response from the readers that it reaches compared to content that is built around keywords.
- Overload readers with industry terminology. Chances are you may be dealing with readers who don’t understand the ins and outs of your industry the way you do. Remember that face lotion example? You might understand the chemical make-up that goes into the product but your audience doesn’t need to know this. Instead, focus on what it does for them. Don’t overwhelm readers with technical terms and data that might go over their heads. Instead, focus on the results they are looking for to solve their problems.
These six Do’s and Don’ts are a great place for any e-commerce business owner to start when they are diving into the content marketing world.
Looking for help with your content marketing strategy for your e-commerce business? We can help tune up or dial in your marketing plan to give it the boost it needs. Contact RM Creative Services at info@rachaelmattice.com or visit our Contact page to get started.
Written by Brianna Fries, a California-based writer and editor. Find more of her work at briwritesthings.com.
