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At its core, online content marketing is simply a form of communication. A way to connect with prospective and current customers to let them know about the products you sell. In today's eCommerce landscape, content marketing is all about the ways in which you communicate with your customers. In this eBook we divide content marketing into three channels: Visual: You convert sales by recording product demos on YouTube and showcasing product imagery on Pinterest. Social: Word of mouth about your products and business is spread through social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and crowd sourced content. Written: Instead of talking face-to-face with your customers, you reach them in the far corners of the Internet through blogging, online articles, and press releases. After viewing this eBook, you will: -Learn that today’s content is everything you publish on the web (i.e., images, pins, posts, articles, etc.) -Understand that visual content is more sharable and easier to consume than written content -Be able to start a business account for Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube
Citation preview
VISUAL CONTENT
SOCIAL CONTENT
WRITTEN CONTENT
PRESENTED BY: +PRESENTED BY: +
CONTENT M A R K E T I N G
U L T I M A T E G U I D E
F O R O N L I N E M E R C H A N T S
THE
TO
TABLECONTENTSOF
VISUALCONTENT
SOCIALCONTENT
WRITTENCONTENT
Pinterest .............................................
Facebook ............................................
Blogs ..................................................
YouTube ..............................................
Twitter ................................................
Articles ...............................................
Infographics .......................................
Crowd Sourced ...................................
Press Releases ...................................
Instagram ...........................................
Foreword ............................................ 03Introduction ....................................... 04
08192935
425261
698084
FOREWORDBYLISASUTTORA
At its core, online content marketing is simply a form of communication.
A way to connect with prospective and current customers to let them know about the products you sell.
And while the application of content marketing to eCommerce is rapidly growing, in the offline retail world, content marketing has existed for hundreds of years.
Peddlers, the earliest merchants, went from town to town showcasing and selling their goods.
They talked to their customers; sharing benefits, features, and tips to sell their wares.
• Their conversation was their content • Word of mouth, their social media • Product demonstrations converted sales
In today’s eCommerce landscape, what’s changed with content marketing is the way we communicate.
Divided into three channels, content is everything you publish on the web:
Visual. You convert sales by recording product demos on YouTube and showcasing product imagery on Pinterest.
Social. Word of mouth about your products and business is spread through social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and crowd sourced content.
Written. Instead of talking face-to-face with your customers, you reach them in the far corners of the Internet through blogging, online articles, and press releases.
But it doesn’t stop there...
Google rewards online merchants who have high-quality content on their
product pages, website, social platforms, and even marketplace product pages.
Long gone are the days when content marketing was a “nice to have.” In today’s competitive online arena, content marketing is a “must have.”
In The Ultimate Guide to Content Marketing for Online Merchants our goal is to show you step-by-step how to use content marketing to reach new customers, get more traffic, and make more sales.
We believe that content marketing should not be an intimidating, time consuming, or a begrudging “must do.”
It should be a natural extension of your business.
Something that flows freely through social channels, visual platforms, and the written word.
Content marketing doesn’t require perfection, rather it calls for authenticity; in your brand, with your customers, from the heart of your business.
In this guide we’ll show you how to find your voice, start creating high-quality content quickly and easily (without breaking your time or money budget), and give you practical, actionable tips for using today’s most effective content marketing channels.
The right content marketing is like compound interest. With every piece of high-quality content you publish to the web, your return on investment grows and grows.
CONTENT
Customers want content
“Today’s web is an endless 24/7 cycle fed by content and social actions. In this cycle, brands are realizing that content is currency.” – BRYAN RHOADS, GLOBAL CONTENT STRATEGY, INTEL
Google wants content
IS THENEW BRANDCURRENCY
Content feeds social media 69%
brand awareness
GOALS OF CONTENT MARKETING The top goals of marketers utilizing content marketing include
customer acquisition
lead generation
customer retention/loyalty
SOURCE: Blueglass
68%
67%
62%
SOCIAL CONTENT
3Today’s content is EVERYTHING you publish on the web
CONTENTCHANNELS
INCLUDES: FACEBOOK + TWITTER + CROWD SOURCED
INCLUDES: BLOGS + ARTICLES + PRESS RELEASES
INCLUDES: PINTEREST + YOUTUBE + INFOGRAPHICS + INSTAGRAMVISUAL CONTENT
WRITTEN CONTENT
VISUALCONTENT
THEOF THE
Visual content is the biggest content change for 2013 and beyond
Why visual?
RISEVISUALWEB
HUMANS ARE VISUAL VISUAL IS MORE SHARABLE TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENTS
• Humans prefer to see the message rather than read it
• About 65% of the population are visual learners
• The web is saturated with text
• Visual content is easier to consume
• Say more with less (a picture is worth 1,000 words)
• More computing power and bandwidth has enabled easier streaming of product videos and viewing of images
• 70% of web users consume content regularly via video
SOURCE: Visual Teaching Alliance + Online Publishers Association
WHAT
Pinterest is the 3rd largest social network
79% more likely to purchase pinned items vs. Facebook
+22% YoY
Pinterest is an online, visual content platform. It refers more traffic to external sites than YouTube, Google+, and LinkedIn COMBINED!
16 of top 20 users’ highest affinity categories are retail-related
Pinterest ranks 2nd on the Buying Power Index, second only to LinkedIn
M M M M M M M M M MM M M M M M M M M MM M M M M M M M M M
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
ISPINTEREST?
SOURCE: comScore + Steelhouse
> +( )+
3.4 billion monthly pageviews
30 million unique monthly visitors
2
PINTERST
Last year 70% of Pinterest’s more than 11 million users use Pinterest for shopping inspiration and to keep up with trends
IS ARETAILER’SDREAM
66% of Pinterest users regularly follow and repin retailers • Compared to 17% of Facebook users who use Facebook for purchasing inspiration
SOURCE: BizRate
WHO
80% 20%
Brands of all styles and sizes are on Pinterest
IS ONPINTEREST ?
Women make or influence 85% of all purchasing decisions
User demographics:
SOURCE: She Economy + Forbes
CAN IBUSINESS ACCOUNT?
HAVE APINTEREST
To create a Pinterest business account, visit business.pinterest.com and follow the steps. Once you have signed up, you will have a Pinterest account with your business name at the end of your custom URL. It will look like this: pinterest.com/yourbusinessname.
PIN IT
FROM PIN TO SALE
TOWIN IT
Pinterest drives sales on: • Marketplaces • Websites
PINNED TO PINTEREST
SOLD OUT ON AMAZONPinterest allows you to categorize your pins as: • Boards • Product showcases • Images from multiple sources • Exclusive offers and sales
Pinterest gives you the perfect chance to up your SEO ante. Your “Pin title,” description, and additional color commentary are not only indexed by Pinterest but by Google as well. So be sure to add quality information to your pin titles, including: the full product name, the brand name, and what the product might be useful for. Also include hashtags (e.g., #travel, #cooking, #kitchen, #running, etc.) for better indexing.
PINTERESTPRESENTS A
KIND OFNEWBOARD
PINTEREST BOARDS
PRODUCT SHOWCASE
IMAGES FROM MULTIPLE PLACES
Pinterest boards are themed. Each board is made up of a collection of pins. These collections can be anything from style to price range, color to electronic, or sale items to fun extras. When creating a board, use a mix of your products, other pins, or interesting content from around the web.
OPTIMIZEYOURPINTERESTPROFILE
VERIFIED ACCOUNT
Optimize your profile: • Link your website (and follow
the instructions to verify your URL with Pinterest)
• Add a company description • Add a profile image (e.g., logo) • Update your physical location • Connect to Facebook • Connect to Twitter
PINTEREST YOUNEEDTO BE
PINNING FROM YOUR WEBSITE
ISEVERYWHERE
Add Pinterest buttons • “Pin it” button to products • “Follow us on Pinterest” button to website
PINNED TO PINTEREST
Link buyers directly to your products
Add a Pin it button to every one of your products on your website. This will allow buyers to Pin to their own boards. You should also create Pins on your company’s Pinterest page and add them to appropriate boards. Pinterest followers will be able to Repin your items or purchase them by clicking directly to your product page with the URL on listed at the top and bottom of each Pinned item.
ADD PIN ITBUTTON
PINNED ITEMDESCRIPTION
COMPANY WEBSITE URL
THE
Connect with Facebook friends
Follow other Pinterest users
PINTERESTBUILDINGFOLLOWERS
Search by keywords and find other Pinners in your niche
Add the “Pin it” button to your products on your website
GUIDE TO
• Use high quality images • 192px–600px wide and up to 5,000px tall• Use a filename with keywords • e.g., bern-watts-bike-helmet-matte-black.jpg• Pin from an original permalink source• If you upload an image, be sure to add a link to • the appropriate content• Include analytics tracking in links as appropriate• Add a keyword-rich description • Limit to ~200 characters• Add price if appropriate• Also pin videos
BE PINWORTHY! A Few Tips to Achieve Pinvana
PINTERESTASSIGNMENTACTION
1. Set up a Pinterest for business account a. business.pinterest.com
2. Verify your website URL
3. Start pinning and building your boards a. Themed images b. Product images
GOALS
WHAT
SEO optimized videos can land your business on the
first page of Google for free
Descriptive product videos can boost your conversion rates 10-40% on average
48 of the top 50 online retailers are using product videos on their sites
YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine, second only to Google
ISYOUTUBE?
2
YouTube mobile gets over 600 million views a day
YouTube is localized in 39 countries and 54 languages
600 MILLION VIEWS PER DAY 600 MILLION VIEWS PER DAY 600 MILLION VIEWS PER DAY 600 MILLION VIEWS PER DAY 600 MILLION VIEWS PER DAY 600 MILLION VIEWS PER DAY 600 MILLION VIEWS PER DAY 600 MILLION VIEWS PER DAY 600 MILLION VIEWS PER DAY 600 MILLION VIEWS PER DAY 600 MILLION VIEWS PER DAY 600 MILLION VIEWS PER DAY 600 MILLION VIEWS PER DAY 600 MILLION VIEWS PER DAY 600 MILLION VIEWS PER DAY 600 MILLION VIEWS PER DAY
SOURCE: comScore + YouTube
1 trillionviews in
2011
YouTube is as social as it gets! The growth of YouTube has accelerated with the rise of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other social networks as it enables sharing of online video. For example, 500 years of YouTube video are watched every day on Facebook. Over 700 YouTube videos are shared on Twitter each minute. And, 100 million people take a social action on YouTube (e.g., likes, shares, comments, etc.) every week.
YouTube is the #2 search engine in the world
1 billion unique users visit YouTube each month
4 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube
100 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute
THEYOUTUBEEXPLOSIONVIDEO
YouTube has more video uploaded in one month than the three major United States television networks have created in the last 60 years. YouTube sees 70% of its traffic from outside the US.
SOURCE: YouTube
YOUTUBESEOMATCH
ANDTHE
GOOGLEMADE IN HEAVEN
Want to get your business on the first page of Google search results? Because video is heavily searched, Google prioritizes it in organic search results. This means that a YouTube video with proper SEO can land on the first page of Google search, for free. Forrester Research found that website sites that otherwise would have a difficult time achieving a first page ranking in Google are 53 times more likely to successfully achieve first-page ranking if their sites feature relevant video content.
YOUTUBECONTENT ISIMPACTFUL
YouTube is: • Free • Easy
Product review, demo, and unboxing videos are becoming more and more popular. Not only are retailers seeing the results, but consumers are getting more educated about the products they want to buy or have already purchased. Creating a video is easy, it does not have to be professional quality, and it doesn’t require expensive equipment. Descriptive videos that have been SEO optimized and include a link to your webstore to purchase the product will drive much more traffic to your website and can boost your conversion rates 10-40%.
CHANNEL SUBSCRIBERS
CHANNEL VIDEO VIEWS
CHANNEL NAME
YouTube content can be: • Product reviews • Product demos • Product unboxing • Product tips • SEO optimized
CHANNEL IMAGE
EMBEDDED WEBSITE URL
SUBSCRIBE BUTTON
PRODUCT VIDEO NAME
PRODUCT VIDEO VIEWS
CAN I
CHANNEL?HAVE AYOUTUBE
To create a YouTube channel, visit accounts.google.com/signup and follow the steps. Once you have created your Google account, you will have a YouTube channel with your business name at the end of your custom URL. It will look like this: youtube.com/yourbusinessname.
TYPESOFYOUTUBE
CONTENT TO PROVIDE
Quality video content includes: • How to/demo videos • About us/our story videos • Product comparison videos • Product review videos • Product unboxing videos • Product tips videos • Fun/entertaining videos
Making a video should be fun... and it is! Neither a high-tech studio nor high-tech equipment are needed to create an effective video for YouTube. You can use an iPhone (which has a high-resolution camera built in) to record your video. If you want to step up your production a little bit, purchase a 1/8” microphone adapter (an inexpensive option is the Audio-Technica ATR-3350 Lavalier Omnidirectional Condenser Microphone). You can also find a wide range of video lighting equipment on Amazon.
HOW TO/DEMO
• SHOWCASE THE PRODUCT • POST TO A BLOG OR WEBSITE
• HIGHLIGHT THE FEATURES • PIN TO PINTEREST
• BREAK DOWN BARRIERS AND DEVELOP THE KNOW, LIKE, AND TRUST FACTOR
• A HOT TREND IN PRODUCT VIDEOS • DRIVE THOUSANDS OF VIEWS
ABOUT US/OUR STORY
COMPARISON + REVIEW
TIPS-N-TRICKS
UNBOXING
FUN/ENTERTAINING
Drive as much traffic as you can to your videos and website with quality information that’s SEO optimized (remember this can land your video on Google’s first page of organic search for free). All videos must include: • A video title • A video description • Video tags
THESEO3TITLEDESCRIPTIONTAGS
Be seen! Your video title is considered one of the most important factors for video ranking on search engines and in YouTube search results. Start your video title with the main keyword(s), product name, and/or key product feature(s) then include a brand name (if applicable). As a best practice, your video title length should not exceed 45 characters (with spaces). Use a catchy title–many videos get watched because of how they sell themselves.
TITLE
TAGS
DESCRIPTION
PUSHYOURVIDEOSOUT
ONE VIDEO GETS AROUND
YOUTUBEASSIGNMENTACTION
1. Set up a YouTube channel (brand name) a. accounts.google.com/signup
2. Create your first video
3. Push your video out to: a. Facebook b. Pinterest c. Twitter d. eBay e. Website f. Blog
GOALS
WHAT
Visual representations of information, data, knowledge, or products
A huge opportunity for online merchants!
AREINFOGRAPHICS?
Highly shared content that is likely to go viral
Infographics tend to get picked up by the media
GRAPHICS
REI INFOGRAPHIC
CANTELL STORIES
Share tips on how to use your products
Promote a lifestyle or experience
Introduce people to new products
Be sure to credit the sourcesused in your infographics
T H E B E ST
SOURCES
INFOGRAPHICSCAN
ANYTHINGCOVER
INFOGRAPHICDESIGNRESOURCES
Check out these great resources for creating inexpensive, qualityinfographics: • infogr.am • piktochart.com • 99designs.com
INFOGRAPHICSASSIGNMENTACTION
1. Identify a topic for your infographic
2. Choose compelling information and images
3. Post the infographic and encourage sharing
GOALS
WHAT
Instagram is a smartphone app
Instagram is like Twitter with pictures
Facebook recognized the power of photo sharing, and they knew Instragram was doing it right. So they snatched them up for $1 Billion in 2012, adding a proven, successful platform to their portfolio, plus a nice chunk of market share.
Instagram is a visual sharing social media platform
Over 50% of the world’s top brands are on Instagram
ISINSTAGRAM?
SOURCE: Simply Measured + Interbrand
HOWTO USEINSTAGRAM
SHOOT IT EDIT IT POST ITCROP IT SHARE IT LIKE IT
INSTAGRAMASSIGNMENTACTION
1. Set up an Instagram account
2. Find your social media followers on Instagram and get in touch
3. See what other brands are doing
4. Shoot and post your own images to share
GOALS
SOCIALCONTENT
WHY
Is social media a nice-to-have or necessity? Necessity!
Increases the KLTC (Know, Like, Trust, and Convert ) Factor of your brand • Brands with consistent, interesting content build a following • Brands that engage with individuals create customers • Customers buy from brands they know, like, and trust
Differentiates you from the competition
SOCIALCONTENT?
Enables people to share and talk about your brand
Social media is here to stay! And it will only continue to get bigger. Therefore, putting in place a solid social content marketing strategy will position your business for the future. So create a plan to make social media work for your business!
DRIVE ANDTRAFFICCONVERSIONS
WHAT
25% of Facebook users are in the US
Facebook is available in 70 languages
Facebook users like and comment on more than two billion posts every day, over 250 million photos are uploaded every day, and 70% of local businesses use Facebook for marketing. Some might say that they are obsessed with Facebook, and with the reach you can gain for little to no cost, what’s not to love?
Facebook is a social networking service launched in February 2004
Facebook has over one billion active users, more than half of which use Facebook on a mobile device
ISFACEBOOK?
SOURCE: Mashable + HubSpot
COMMERCEVSMARKETING
Three ways to use Facebook in eCommerceCOMMERCE MARKETING DRIVE TRAFFIC
• Customers buy products on your Facebook shop
• Facebook hasn’t cracked the “Buy it on Facebook” code
• Debate continues over efficacy of Facebook as aplace to shop
• Brand Presence – KLTC factor
• Buyers check Facebook reputations for brands, product ideas, and buyingexperiences
• Send buyers directly from your Facebook page to your webstore, product listings on a marketplace, or to your pinterest page or other social media avenues
BUILDAFACEBOOK
BUSINESS PAGE
Interact with your customers with posts about: • Product tips • Product images • Product videos • Product reviews • Customer testimonials • Sales and discounts • Announcements • Industry stats
To create a Facebook business page, visit facebook.com and sign up using the provided steps. Next visit this page facebook.com/business/build for a simple step-by-step guide to create your Facebook business page. It takes just a few minutes to set up and its free. Once you have created your Facebook account, you will have a Facebook page with your business name at the end of your custom vanity URL. It will look like this: facebook.com/yourbusinessname.
COVERPHOTOPANORAMICORCOLLAGE
Cover photo restrictions: • Less than 20% can be text
Effective Facebook cover photos represent your brand and evoke feeling. Whether you choose to do a panoramic image or a collage, you should change your cover photo every few months. That said, be sure to market with your Facebook cover photo! Add a call to action (e.g., Visit our website or Like our page), promote a sale (e.g., Spring into Summer Event – Save 20%!), and add your website URL.
PANORAMIC COLLAGE
COLLAGE COLLAGE WITH WORDS
Facebook cover photos are displayed 851 pixels wide by 315 pixels high and can be a panoramic or a collage
Facebook profile pictures can be a logo (e.g., wordmark or icon) or product image.
PROFILEPICTURES
Facebook profile pictures are displayed 160 pixels square but must be uploaded at 180 pixels square
LOGO (WORDMARK) IMAGE (PRODUCT)
LOGO (ICON) IMAGE (PRODUCT)
LOGO IMAGE (PRODUCT)
When uploading your Facebook profile picture we recommend that you use a logo (or product image) that is easily viewed in newsfeeds (displayed at 90 pixels square). For companies on Facebook, the use of your brand logo as your profile image is the best paractice, unless your personal image is the face of your brand (then we recommend that you use that image).
USINGFACEBOOKIMAGES
All of your uploaded images or images your business has been tagged in appear in thePhotos tab (just under your cover photo) on your page
Other than the standard photo groups (e.g., cover photos, profile pictures, photos of me, and Instagram photos) you can create albums of selected images. These albums can be of related products (e.g., Video games), categorized products (e.g., Spring styles), events, conferences, or customers using, wearing, or buying your products.
Photos automatically group in albums: • Cover photos • Profile pictures • Instagram photos • Other created albums
PROMOTED
• PROMOTE YOUR POST TO REACH MORE PEOPLE ANDCHOOSE YOURMAXIMUM BUDGETAND AUDIENCE
• PROMOTED POSTS ARE PAID PROMOTIONS
POSTS
IMAGES EXAMPLESPROMOTIONS BLOGS VIDEOS
FACEBOOKON
• POSTS WITHIMAGES ARE SHARED 3X MORE THAN POSTS WITH TEXT ONLY
• IMAGES AREDISPLAYED 403 PIXELSSQUARE
• SPECIAL FACEBOOKONLY COUPONS ARE A GREAT WAY TO INSPIRE YOUR FACEBOOK AUDIENCE TO BUY
• THE FACEBOOK COMMUNITY LOVES EXAMPLES OF WAYS TO USE A PRODUCT
• THE MORE CREATIVE
AND INNOVATIVE THEY ARE, THE MORE THEY’LL BE LIKED AND SHARED
• MAKE NEW BLOGPOST DO DOUBLEDUTY BY SHARINGIT ON YOURFACEBOOK PAGE
• POSTS WITHVIDEOS ARE SHARED 10X AS MUCH AS A TEXT ONLY POST
SOURCE: Simply Measured + M Booth
People love to showcase and share their ideas, so ask your customers on your Facebook page to share their tips on using your products, or tips related to your niche – it will skyrocket your page’s engagement.For blog posts, link directly to new posts and you’ll build a following of people who look for your latest blog post announcements on Facebook. They will also Like and Share your posts! Always use an eye-catching photo in each blog post – these images get your blog post announcement noticed on Facebook.
DRIVE TO AND FROMTRAFFICFACEBOOK
Drive traffic from Facebook with customized tabs, including: • Other social media outlets • Specials, deals, or contests • Videos
To install Facebook Like buttons to any of your products, simply go to the following website and follow the instructions: developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like.
CUSTOM FACEBOOK TABS
ADD A LIKE BUTTON
ADD FOLLOW BUTTONS
Drive traffic from your webstore to Facebook with buttons: • Add “Like” buttons to your products • Add “follow us” social buttons
FACEBOOKASSIGNMENTACTION
1. Set up a Facebook business page and get your branded URL
2. Post 1-2 times a day 3-5 days per week
3. Add Facebook buttons to your website
4. Tell your customers about your page
5. Interact with comments on your page
GOALS
WHAT
Twitter added 1 million new accounts every day in 2012
More than 163 billion tweets to date
At the heart of Twitter are small bursts of information called “tweets.” Each tweet is 140 characters long, but don’t let the small size fool you—you can discover a lot in a little space. You can see photos, videos, and conversations directly in tweets to get the whole story at a glance, and all in one place.
Twitter is a real-time information network that connects you to the latest stories, ideas, opinions, and news about what you find interesting
175 million tweets in 2012
ISTWITTER?
SOURCE: Mashable + Twitter
WHYTWITTER?
Reach: • Other people retweet your content and spread your message to their audience
SEO: • Google and Bing index tweets and Twitter profiles
Promotion
Engagement
PROMOTION & ENGAGEMENT
Twitter makes it easy for users to have short, powerful interactions with their customers. Some customers will prefer to communicate with or follow you on Twitter rather than Facebook. There is a lot of business happening there. That is why it is important for every eCommerce merchant to have an active Twitter presence.
YOURBRAND
Create a header photo for your page 1252 pixels wide by 626 pixels high
Create a branded background image
Create a 160 character bio to describe your brand/what you sell
TWITTERPRESENCE
Find and follow the influencers in your niche. When searching for influencers, look at profiles of the people you follow (niche related) and then see who they follow. If you interact with these influencers they may follow you and then their followers may follow you, too.
PHOTO (LOGO)
BACKGROUND IMAGE
COMPANY BIO
HEADER PHOTO
TWEETYOURHEARTOUT
What to tweet: • Product tips and tricks • Sales, discounts • Product announcements • Ask questions/for opinions • Ask which of your products your followers like best • Tweet cool product pictures • Ask for retweets • Tweet recent blog posts • Tweet videos
Remember to use hashtags (e.g., #ecommerce) to assist in getting your tweets picked up in Twitter search. Also, Twitter makes it easy to reply to and retweet, making Twitter a perfect environment for sharing. Be sure to retweet when a customer says something good about your company.
ASK FOR RETWEETS
RETWEETSHOUTOUTS
USE HASHTAGS
SHOUTOUTRETWEETS
BUILDAFOLLOWING
Build your following with followerwonk.com: • Free or paid tool • Find people with interests in your products to follow • Search by product type or industry category • Search results are listed by number of followers
When you start to build your Twitter following, be sure to balance the number of people you follow with the number of people following you. You don’t want to go out and follow 2,000 people when you only have 25 followers because Twitter views that as a spam account.
See what’s happening: • search.twitter.com
TWITTERSEARCH
To use Twitter advanced search, visit twitter.com/search-advanced. For more tips on Twitter advanced search, see Twitter’s documentation: support.twitter.com/articles/71577-how-to-use-advanced-twitter-search#.
SEARCH
ADVANCED SEARCH
SEARCH RESULTS
ADVANCED SEARCH RESULTS
Twitter advanced search: • Trends • Influencers • Customers • Marketing ideas
DRIVE TO AND FROMTRAFFICTWITTER
To install Twitter Tweet buttons to any of your products, simply go to the following website and follow the instructions: twitter.com/about/resources/buttons.
ADD A TWEET BUTTON
ADD FOLLOW BUTTONS
Drive traffic from your webstore to Twitter with buttons: • Add “Tweet” buttons to your products • Add “follow us” social buttons
TWITTERASSIGNMENTACTION
1. Set up a Twitter page and get your branded Twitter handle @businessname
2. Post 1-2 times a day 3-5 days per week
3. Add Twitter buttons to your website
4. Tell your customers about your profile
5. Interact with tweets, comments, and direct messages on your profile
GOALS
Crowd Sourced Content
WHATCONTENT?
ISCROWDSOURCED
Turning customer comments into marketing
Passive: • Customers post to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, website, etc.
Active: • You solicit feedback from your customers and post to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, website, etc.
CREATECONTENTFOR
Dollar Shave Club (DSC) • DSC took a mundane
product and added humor • Spent $10K on a video • Nearly 10M views to date • Average CPC for “shave”
related keywords = $1 • DSC has the #5 rank in
Google organic search for the keyword “shave”
COMPANY COMPANY
CROWDSOURCING
CUSTOMERCUSTOMERCUSTOMER CUSTOMER
Let your customers know you want to hear from them, when you are generating content for crowdsourcing. When soliciting content from your customers, be sure to give them a platform to post freely (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and your blog).
CROWDSOURCEDASSIGNMENTACTION
1. Let your customers know you want to hear from them
2. Showcase your customers’ comments
3. Spotlight a “Customer of the Month”
4. Spotlight a “Product of the Month”
5. Ask for feedback from your customers
GOALS
WRITTENCONTENT
WHY
Written content is search engine friendly
Increases the KLTC (Know, Like, Trust, and Convert ) Factor of your brand • Brands with consistent, interesting content build credibility • Differentiates your brand from the competition • Enables people to share and talk about your brand
Written content drives traffic • Google rewards high-quality, relevant content • Creates inbound links
WRITTENCONTENT?
THE OF
Educate • Show your expertise with product reviews and helpful tips
Empathize • Create case studies that demonstrate an understanding
of what your customers have gone through or go through • “Katie had this problem until she bought product X” • “75% of new puppies have accidents in the house”
Entertain • Content doesn’t always have to be serious (think reality TV)
3E’SWRITTEN CONTENT
SEARCHENGINEFRIENDLYCONTENT
OLD SCHOOL CONTENT
NEW SCHOOL CONTENT
Google emphasizes that it wants high-quality content written for people, not search engines. And as search algorithms have become more sophisticated, the ability to “trick” the search engines into indexing low-quality content has diminished. Duplicate content with non-relevant backlinks will hurt the ranking of your site. Today’s winning content marketing strategy revolves around writing quality, helpful content that is valuable to your customers and makes people want to visit your site instead of someone else’s.
Blogs
BLOGGINGVSSOCIALMEDIA
Has social media replaced blogging? No!
Businesses don’t own their social media presence
While you must have a social presence, you own your business blog and you are not vulnerable to platform policies
The important thing to remember when thinking about blogging vs. social media is that both avenues drive traffic to your website and marketplace listings (and your social media outlets can advertise your blog while your blog can advertise your social media outlets). Both allow you to promote your products any way you want to and you can showcase your company in a way your website simply can’t.
MARKETPLACESELLERS
A blog is your home on the web to drive traffic to marketplace products
Get all the benefits of content marketing without building a full eCommerce website
Interact with your customers: • Build a mailing list • Sell directly from your blog
RUN YOUR BLOG ON WORDPRESS
Run your blog on WordPress (wordpress.org) • WordPress is search engine friendly • WordPress allows any theme/design • WordPress has tons of functionality
OWNYOURBLOG
DON’T HOST YOUR BLOG AT WORDPRESS.COM
DON’T USE BLOGGER.COM
DON’T host your blog at wordpress.com • You will not get your blog traffic,
wordpress.com will
DON’T use blogger.com
To own your blog, visit wordpress.org to download the free WordPress software. Then if you are a marketplace seller and do not have your own website, install your stand-alone blog on a top level directory (e.g., companynameblog.com) or if you have your own website, hang your blog off your eCommerce site (e.g., companyname.com/blog) and drive all of the traffic to your website. Then customize your blog using a theme. Find free themes here: wordpress.org/extend/themes. And find paid themes here: woothemes.com.
Blog post best practices: • 500 words per post (longer is okay, but not too long) • Split into paragraphs • Use bullet points • One topic per post with one to two links to products (three at the most) • Use long-tail keywords to target your market • Blog consistently
TIPSBLOGPOSTTHATSELLSFOR A
The great blog post six: 1. Keyword rich title 2. Engaging image 3. Helpful, interesting content 4. Related to your market and your products 5. Descriptive text links to your product page 6. Keyword rich sub-title
6KEYWORD
TITLE
HELPFUL CONTENT
ENGAGING IMAGE
DESCRIPTIVE TEXT LINKS
MARKET RELATED
KEYWORD SUB-TITLE
BLOGPOSTTIPS
Your voice makes your message and your products memorable • What you say and how you say it carries through all your content
VOICECLEARGET ON YOUR
Speak on behalf of your brand with your content • There are many different ways to talk to the same audience
WHO’SYOURAUDIENCE?
THE OLD WAY THE NEW WAY
When finding your voice and writing to today’s web customer, look at their interests, passions, and what’s important to them. Try to think like your customer and ask, “What’s in it for me?” If you were reading a blog post on your website, what would you want to know? That’s the key to finding your target audience.
YOURMISSION...
What’s the spark that fuels the business?
Content should amplify that spark
Sell the sizzle and the steak
“At REI, we love to get outside and play, and we know first-hand the importance of quality outdoor gear... Whether you’re new to outdoor adventure or a seasoned pro, we gladly share our enthusiasm for our products—and the trails, slopes and waterways where we play” – REI MISSION STATEMENT
“Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis” – PATAGONIA MISSION STATEMENT
BLOG TIPSMARKETING
Register your blog with the blog directory technorati.com
Put together a blog editorial schedule
Outsource your blog if you don’t have the time or resources • odesk.com • fiverr.com
Elevate the personality of your blog. Really have some fun with it! Personality attracts customers like a magnet. Even if the same product is sold other places. Adding personality to your blog is a great way for your customers to get to know you and it can help your posts go viral.
BLOGASSIGNMENTACTION
1. Download Wordpress at wordpress.org
2. Create your first post and blog one to three times a week
3. Have blog posts pre-written
4. Respond to comments on blog posts
5. Use guest bloggers for diverse content
GOALS
Articles
ARTICLEVSBLOGPOST
What’s the difference between an article and a blog post? • Articles live on your website • Blog posts live on your WordPress blog
Articles keep people coming back for help and insights. And most importantly, articles on your website get you more love from Google.
Submit to quality article directories (not all directories are created equal) • ezinearticles.com
Don’t duplicate blog post and article content
Rework content for different platforms
DON’TDUPLICATE
Google penalizes duplicate content. So be sure to have different content for each platform. For instance, you might have a product you want to review on your blog. You could write an article around tips and tricks for that same product for your website. Similar content that has been sepearted and written up differently for the two platforms.
ARTICLESASSIGNMENTACTION
1. Rework blog content as articles
2. Submit articles to a quality article directory
3. Add pages to your website
GOALS
Press Releases
WHYONLINEPRESSRELEASES?
Press releases give your brand instant credibility
Press releases build inbound links from an authority site
Press releases get picked up by industry media
Press releases get picked up by industry bloggers
Press releases are no longer the old style press releases aimed at journalists. Topical online press releases enjoy high search engine indexing and leverage high search engine visibility. And the best thing of all is that online press releases remain in the search engines and can even be shared on social media platforms!
PRESSWORTHY
RELEASESNEWSOLD PRESS RELEASES NEW PRESS RELEASES
The web has changed the way press releases are distributed, as well as their purpose. Today’s online press releases serve more as news releases for a company, and are no longer reserved for only major announcements. Press release distribution via the web is affordable, allowing small businesses to get the word out about news in the company that is of interest to their customers and the media.
PRESS RELEASESTRUCTURE
Follow this press release structure: • Who (company name and
description) • What (brand name or
product category) • Why (problem or benefit) • When (season) • Where (location) • How (call to action)
It is great to write press releases for the products you sell on your website and on the marketplaces. If you choose to do so, be sure to include images and videos for much more visibility in organic search. This can drive traffic from the press release to your website, your product pages, and your YouTube channel.
WHO
WHY
WHAT
WHEN
WHERE
CALL TO ACTION
Paid: • prweb.com • prnewswire.com • businesswire.com
Free: • free-press-release.com • prlog.org • 24-7pressrelease.com
PR WEB FREE PRESS RELEASE
PR NEWSWIRE PR LOG
BUSINESS WIRE 24-7 PRESS RELEASE
HOWTO
PRESSRELEASESDISTRIBUTE
Check out press release websites for tips on how to produce solidpress releases
Paid services offer different release levels
Start with a free service and budget in a paid release for big events
PRESS RELEASETIPS
PRESSRELEASEASSIGNMENTACTION
1. Choose an upcoming event, sale, or product introduction
2. Write a release using the format in this presentation
3. Schedule one press release per quarter
GOALS
CONTENTSCALE
SOURCE: Forrester Research
Businesses must be content “Creators”
Groups in this scale include consumers participating in at least one of the indicated activities at least monthly
BE CONTENT CREATORS
For more content marketing information, visit: • lisasuttora.com • pinterestforecommerce.com • monsooncommerce.com
View all three content marketing presentations on the Monsoon Commerce YouTube channel: • Visual content • Social content • Written content
CONTENTFOLLOWUP
MARKETING
MONSOON COMMERCE WRITTEN CONTENT
LISA SUTTORA VISUAL CONTENT
PINTEREST FOR ECOMMERCE SOCIAL CONTENT
To supplement this guide, we have three comprehensive presentations on the Monsoon Commerce YouTube channel at youtube.com/user/MonsoonCommerce.
Monsoon [email protected]
Lisa [email protected]
Lisa Suttora is an eCommerce marketing strategist who helps online merchants define and implement the right content marketing strategies to reach new customers and convert more sales. Since 2004, as Founder and CEO of Lisa Suttora International and WhatDoISell.com, Lisa has worked with merchants in seven countries and over 2,500 niche markets to build thriving online stores.
Her step-by-step, easy-to-implement, marketing approach provides time-strapped business owners with a practical, doable method for getting the word out about their products and services. Lisa’s eye for innovation and trends, combined with strategic focus, have earned her frequent guest spots on radio, in print publications, and on stage at industry conferences. With her straight-talk and inspirational appeal, you can always count on Lisa to have her finger on the pulse of what works now!
Stay in touch with Lisa Suttora:
Monsoon Commerce is an eCommerce solutions company powering the online success of mid-sized merchants and multichannel retailers. Our integrated solutions allow you to easily manage inventory, orders, and fulfillment; sell more products in more places; and intelligently price products across channels.
Monsoon Commerce also owns and operates alibris.com, the premier online marketplace connecting millions of consumers to tens of thousands of independent sellers of books, music, movies, and video games. Our more than 20,000 customers, including 2,500 online merchants and multichannel retailers, commonly experience a level of success that is both impactful and enduring—at times, even transformational.
Stay in touch with Monsoon Commerce: