The ACES Checklist for Effective eCommerce Blogging
Do you maintain a blog as part of the marketing strategy for your eCommerce site? If not, you are potentially missing out on valuable SEO, branding, and conversion opportunities. Whether you already maintain a blog on your ecommerce site, or are considering launching one, there are a few keystones of ecommerce blogging that you should keep in mind to get the most out of this valuable tool.
Audience
As an eCommerce business owner, you should know exactly who is in your primary demographic. In other words: Who exactly is your customer? This may seem quite elementary to some seasoned online retailers, but when it comes to effectively marketing your ecommerce business, this information is the key component. The more specifics about just who your customer is, the better. How old is he or she? What social media platform is he or she most active on? How likely is he or she to share content on social media? What type of content does he or she find most engaging? Etc.
It is with this clear image of your core customer in mind that you should approach writing copy for your blog.
Content
Content-driven blogging has an excess of benefits. Articles that include added content such as infographics, videos, product images, etc. are much more likely to be noticed, read, and shared by consumers. Get creative with your content!
Consider including how-to graphics or even YouTube videos showing the uses of your most popular product. Be creative! There is no limit to the kind of content you can produce for your blog.
If you are tuned in closely with your customers, you may even want to feature contest winners or customers who have created their own unsolicited content having to do with your products. This is one great way to tie in with the next important keystone of effective ecommerce blogging…
Engage
The most effective blogging for eCommerce will engage your readers in some way. Keeping in mind the first point (know your audience), think about employing a call to action in your next blog post. Ask for customer feedback, such as what products they love on your site, or suggestions for new products.
Solicit their ideas for new content. For example, if you are selling clothing, ask your customers what event they would like to hire a personal stylist for, then produce a demo video with styling tips for the most requested or creative event. No one knows what your target demographic wants more than they do, and customer input is a vast untapped resource in ecommerce!
Social
Make sure that content on your blog is highly shareable across social media platforms. If you are tapped into the desires of your target niche group, there is no reason why the focused, content-driven posts on your blog couldn’t go viral! A blog post with unique, high quality content is likely to generate the most shares on social media, which of course will result in increased page views and ultimately, increased revenue for your ecommerce business.
Have you had success with ecommerce blogging? Please share your tips and stories in the comments section.
