If this headline caught your attention, it means that you’ve come across at least one statistic showing how B2C and B2B marketers like you are embracing content to expand their ecommerce businesses. Here are two impactful pieces of data in case you need a refresher:
- 86% of B2C companies use content marketing as a part of their marketing strategy.
- 91% of B2B companies have already implemented content marketing in their strategy
While these statistics are encouraging, they fail to mention that the path to becoming an ecommerce wiz can be overwhelming if you’ve never created content at a scale. We're here to ease your concerns. Read on to discover our writers’ practical tips and strategies for creating and sharing valuable content that turns prospects into life-long customers.
1.) Create a keyword strategy to get on Google’s first page.
Copy that gets prioritized by search engines like Google is built around specific keywords that your audience is looking for. No matter how great, without keywords, your content and online store will remain “invisible” to your ideal customers.
A common mistake among ecommerce brands new to content marketing is guessing the keywords and key phrases their audience is searching for and mentioning those words as many times as possible within their content. This approach, called “keyword stuffing,” is not only ineffective, but it can also lead to Google removing your page from search engine results pages (SERPs) altogether.
Use keyword research tools to find keywords based on your industry, learn what keywords your competition is ranking for, and more. Some popular free options include:
- Google Keyword Planner
- The AdWord & SEO Keyword Permutation Generator tool
- Ubersuggest
- SEMrush (the free option)
2.) Gather all your content assets and decide how to make the most of them.
Content creation rarely starts with a blank page. Instead, it begins with identifying all the assets you already own and can use to design everything from blogs to graphics and social media posts.
Untapped content sources include press releases, company reports and interviews with stakeholders. Even something as simple as positive client feedback can be transformed into a compelling case study or a testimonial. This type of content is a marketing staple shown to boost brand credibility and sales. On average, sales pages containing testimonials see a 34% increase in conversions.
Similarly, the highlights of a business report can be repurposed into an infographic shared on social media. Easy and inexpensive to create, infographics can help you reach a bigger audience and improve site traffic by 12%.
3.) Determine who is going to brainstorm, produce and promote content.
Content governance represents a set of guidelines used to determine how content gets created and published. To establish a hierarchy for content production and oversight, take a good look at your staff members’ roles, workload and skills. You want to follow the editorial structure of a small media organization. This means, at minimum, designating a Chief Content Officer, a Content Director, a Content Manager and a Content Editor.
Content marketing is another key need. Building an in-house content marketing team, however, can be more expensive, more so than hiring highly-skilled professionals like writers, web designers and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) experts. In addition to cost savings, another benefit of outsourcing your content creating is that outside creators have a deep understanding of your competition and industry trends, giving you a data-driven, competitive advantage.
4.) Streamline the production process with an editorial calendar.
If you choose to tackle content on your own, the next step is to map out the content creation process, from idea to execution and promotion. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 53% of marketers found their content to be most effective when they followed a content calendar. More than a spreadsheet, your calendar should serve as a planning tool to consistently deliver fresh and relevant content to your audience, especially during peak ecommerce days, such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Search online for free content calendar templates that you can tweak based on your own needs. For example, you could specify the status of your content (In progress, Pitched, Scheduled, etc.), mention the author, the platform your content will be published on and even the buying stage of the customer journey (TOFU - Top of Funnel, MOFU - Middle of Funnel, BOFU - Bottom of Funnel).
Whatever you choose, leave some room for unplanned content such as industry news, new product releases, events and more.
5.) Choose a platform and a type of content to get started.
Big ecommerce brands like Salesforce are juggling a variety of content on multiple platforms. While that’s a great long-term goal to aim for, you need to set manageable, short-term goals. Understand what type of content your audience consumes and on which mediums. Choose the one that feels both doable to stick with and can make the greatest impact on your ideal buyers.
Going back to the first two sections of this blog post will help you pinpoint the right medium for your business. Maybe blogging is off the table, but you have the tools and the capacity to produce short product videos. Perhaps starting a series via LinkedIn Live Videos could help gain more brand authority. Looking to experiment? You could try podcasting or using TikTok.
Branch out to other types of content and/or platforms only when you’ve mastered the first one.
When done right, ecommerce content educates, entertains, and inspires customers to trust and buy from you. At Americaneagle.com, we have a team of writers who specialize in producing copy that continues to attract sales well past its creation point. By skillfully blending SEO with business storytelling, we’ve helped clients in agriculture, finance, healthcare and more, rank higher on Google, and positively influence prospects’ buying behavior.
Check out our content services. Together, we’ll write your ecommerce success story.
