Using Content to Grow eCommerce Sales

MeetHeidi

MeetSam@Mallikarjunan

#ContentSells

Introduction to Inbound Marketing

Building a Content Strategy

Creating a Content Culture

Selling Better Using Content

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Table of Contents

Content and the Shopping Cart55

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What is Inbound Marketing?Creating Marketing That People Love

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What is Inbound Marketing?Creating Marketing That People Love

#inbound12

34%of US Adults who find informational blog articles about a product influential prior to purchase

- eMarketer

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80%of Americans age 18-34 are influenced by blogs when making purchase decisions

- Burst Media Survey, 2012

Blogging is An Investment that Grows

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Selling Better Using ContentMapping content to different phases of the buying cycle

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Mapping Mind & Methodology A cohesive experience that people love

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Attract: Build Specific Buyer Personas

Know YourCustomer

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Buyer Personas

Building Buyer Personas tell us who we are creating content for and why they will buy from us.

meet charlie.

Charlie Wants To Buy A Digital Camera

But he’s not sure which digital camera to buy

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90%of Americans go to search engines when looking for information prior to buying a product online.

- eMarketer

Charlie Needs to Learn More

And he knows just where to look…

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You Can Educate Charlie.

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34%of US Online Retailers plan to invest in blogging on their website this year.

- eMarketer

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Are my customers finding content about my product online?

Is the content that they’re finding mine – and is it on my website?

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Feature Content Throughout The Purchase Cycle

You Say Hello To Charlie

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37%*of companies using marketing automation to cross-sell and upsell

existing customers.

- Forrester Research

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Great Store Content Is Critical

Include brand name

Keywords to help sell: size, color, style, etc.

Generic terms bury you in search

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Detailed product names get you found

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Go from buried within 1.7 million hits to #2 rank on Google

“Creatine Powder” vs. “Musashi Arouse Pre

Workout Creatine Phosphate Blend”

Improve SEO and inform shoppers

Wear your “consumer” hat

Highlight details that sell in plain language

Do not be tempted by pre-written descriptions4

Detailed descriptions get sales

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http://www.bicyclesonline.com.au

• Thorough description• Bulleted features• Technology• “Compare to”

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Reviews Lift Sales

• 80% of consumers consult product reviews

• Featuring reviews increases conversion by 4.6% and sales by 18%

• Allow negative reviews: shoppers who read bad reviews convert 67% more

• Reviews come from Social Media- use Social Proof

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Anatomy of a Product PageProduct Page Best Practices

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Use product name everywhere

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Provide different levels of product description

Detailed description, summary, key feature bulletsMaximum info for shoppers = higher search rank

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Use the best images and video available

1/3 of time spent on your product page is on images; 67% of consumers rated image quality as very important

 

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Reviews

• Make sure the ability to easily review is built right in

• Date your reviews and constantly seek out fresh content

• Find and feature customer reviews from social media

• Video reviews really resonate with consumers

Empower shoppers to submit regular reviews

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Creating a content cultureHow to find content everywhere in your business

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See Content Everywhere

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Let Users Create Content For You

Cultivate and Curate Reviews

• Add a link on each product page for submitting reviews

• Ask for reviews from buyers as part of email strategy

• Cut down on spam by limiting reviews to buyers only

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Add Videos

• Consumers are 65-85% more likely to buy after watching

• Ask customers to submit videos of themselves using or talking about a product

• Create a video contest to encourage submission

Customers and your own

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Videos Help You Sell More

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Charlie’s research helps him pick a winner, and he adds to his cart…

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Content & The PurchaseNever stop selling

• Add to cart doesn’t mean your job is done

• Add mini product descriptions to in-cart and checkout screens

• Add positive product reviews to confirmation emails to reinforce decision

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… but Charlie gets scared and abandons his cart

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45%of Americans abandon multiple carts per month.

- PayPal

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But it’s not always about money, so don’t be in such a hurry to give away coupons…

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36.4%of visitors that abandoned their shopping cart engaged with their automated email campaign

- PayPal

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You eventually push the right button, and Charlie buys!

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Post-sale Follow Up Emails that generate more sales

• Blog article on Set Up• Social Community

Email• Net Promoter Survey• Accessories Blog

Article• Accessories Guest

Blog

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Charlie loves the experience, loves the product, and loves the community

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18%of US consumers have purchased a product because one of their friends follows or likes that product on a social network. - Ipsos

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If Charlie is Social, be his friend• Start with a simple

follow• Retweet His

Excitement• Introduce him to

others• Send him blog articles• Be authentic

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Why does social media matter?

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THANK YOU.

Questions?