In 2019, it’s nearly impossible to build a successful ecommerce store without some kind of content strategy.
Consumers have practically unlimited options when it comes to choosing a product, and because businesses can rarely offer the lowest prices, or features and benefits that are unique to their products alone…
Business owners need to offer extra value and win customers based on brand.
I believe that most people, either consciously or subconsciously, do not distinguish product from brand. When we buy a pair of jeans from our favorite retailer, we’re biased to think that they fit better, feel better and look better because they come from a brand we like.
So how do you build this relationship in your customer’s mind — this association between your brand and your products?
You nailed it… through content.
And if you’re wondering how to build a content marketing strategy that complements your sales process…
I asked an awesome group of marketers and entrepreneurs how they balance organic engagement with direct response marketing.
Here’s what they had to do say.
Lindsay Marder – Co-Founder, DigitalStrategyBootCamps.com
An amazing thing that people neglect a lot of the time between direct response and selling is the goodwill aspect: Delivering value and content that allows your prospect to get to know you.
People want to learn who’s behind the product, who’s selling to them. So it’s really all about goodwill and value.
It’s fine to share your platform, share your mission, share your thoughts; use some of your ad dollars to boost that, to run an ad, to get that in front of people.
Show them that there’s more to your business than just the product. There’s personality and there’s mission and there’s value and there’s drive.
Nathalie Lussier – Entrepreneur & Speaker
We like to focus our social media efforts to build a relationship with our community.
From there, we get them onto our email list and into our courses, and that’s where we do more of our direct response.
In our emails is where we do a little more of our selling, on social media is where we do more of that relationship building with more personality and more storytelling.
Nate Hopkins – Serial Entrepreneur
Have someone who is getting in front of your audience on an ongoing basis and is able to both hit the very specific topics and the things that lure people in from that direct response mindset — like the “hook” if you want to call it that — and figuring out what’s the right place and time to actually introduce more direct response-style tactics.
As an example, creating 10 to 20 videos that talk about however many topics, and from there you can see which ones people really gravitate towards. And as you build a rapport, then you can figure out when you’ve built the level of trust where you can ask them for more of their time and send them down a more sales-heavy experience.
Zenovia Andrews – The MaxOUT Group, LLC
When we’re talking about creating balance between direct response and organic traffic… does it really exist?
I don’t think there’s a balance. I think you’ve really got to know your market, and you’ve really got to know what’s going to generate the leads that are right for your business, product and services.
Mara Glazer – Business Coach
Create all of your marketing as if you’re creating it for somebody who is a friend of yours…
Because there’s a whole different way that we communicate with our friends and the people that we care about, instead of necessarily when we’re thinking about selling something.
When you can do that — when you can craft your copy and your messaging and all your marketing for somebody that you know — you’re going to create engagement with your audience in a whole new way that a lot of people aren’t even thinking about, and it’s going to get them to pay attention to you.
Want to copy the content marketing strategy I used to build my $62 million Shopify brand?
I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog post.
Now, if you want to learn specific strategies that you can implement in your business to help fill out your content strategy and grow your brand…
Then check out my free webinar:
Build a Real Ecommerce Brand Using Facebook, Instagram & YouTube
Highlights:
0:01 The goodwill aspect
0:39 Build a relationship with our community
0:56 Getting in front of your audience on an ongoing basis
1:44 Know your market
2:00 Create engagement with your audience in a whole new way
