Major brands know that they require more than an image and a description to close the sale. They realize that they need to sell a lifestyle, which means offering greater and better content in order to engage consumers. Jose Duarte, a long-time successful businessman from Costa Rica, has built a career out of retail and eCommerce, and shares some creative content ideas that will help any business owner attract new eCommerce customers.
Create native how-to content. Maintain a blog that highlights different products and shows how they have real-world applications. This will give consumers a perfect visual image of how the product can be used, adding credibility to the item’s purpose. This is a great way for a business to incorporate substance with the shopping experience.
Another popular method is to incorporate user posts into the product’s page, showing how consumers who have bought products are using them. “One of the best, and easiest, sources to gather information from customers is Instagram,” says Duarte. “Everyone likes to show off their recent purchases and Instagram’s tagging capability will allow you to easily track your products in the real world. There are applications today that will allow you to integrate Instagram and Facebook tags into your website, so take advantage of these to showcase your goods.”
User-made video content can be another popular method to show products being put to use. Create a channel on YouTube and share it with your customers. It is a great way to draw attention to the products and to allow clients to show off a little. This way, potential consumers can, once again, see the products in action. It’s possible to even reward customers with discounts or other promotions in order to convince them to submit their videos to be published. It requires virtually no overhead, making it an easy part of any eCommerce content strategy.
One method that is extremely valuable, especially for anything related to technology, is the inclusion of buying guides on the products’ page. Explains Duarte, “Allow your customers to peruse a tech tutorial before trying to convince them to make a purchase. The buying guide can educate users and include calls to action that are strategically placed in order to seal the deal.”
Some products are more difficult to purchase online than in a brick-and-mortar store. For example, it’s important to know that the shirt you’re looking at on a website will actually fit, helping avoid the hassle of having to return a product. More and more eCommerce sites, where appropriate, are making it easier for the shopper to determine if an item he or she is considering purchasing will actually fit. They are incorporating video demo models, as well as incorporating a “changing room” app, like those offered by Fitiquette and Fits.me, into their portal.
The video demo models are just that – a short video of someone modeling the item in order to allow consumers to see what it looks like being worn. The changing room apps are the latest technology and allow the consumer to create a customized virtual mannequin using the consumer’s dimensions. This way, the shopper can see almost exactly how the item would look. According to some reports, eCommerce sites that have incorporated the changing room apps are reporting that no items are being returned.
Utilizing a touch of creativity and lightheartedness can truly increase the shopper’s level of enthusiasm and desire to purchase. Says Duarte, “There’s nothing wrong with injecting a little humor into the product’s description, depending on the products being sold, of course. Humor is a great way to get visitors to return to the site, always knowing they will find something new and unique.”
Any Sales and Marketing strategy needs to be studied and tweaked constantly to ensure that it is functioning properly. These tips can be a great way to increase traffic and, ultimately, sales, but each business has to evaluate which are most effective for their operations.