Shopify Tips: The 6 Best Marketing Methods for Your Online Shop

Through the years, businesses have been taking advantage of the many marketing tools that are available through a variety of existing channels. From TV and radio ads to newspaper columns and other printed media, there really has been plenty of ways to bring marketing efforts forward. Although these methods are still available at present, the advent of the Internet and the digital marketing strategies that it carried along with it has brought significant changes and made marketing as a business practice to the best level of awesomeness.

Shopify Stores and Online Marketing

The rise of e-commerce has opened the floodgate for offline businesses to expand towards the global market. It is the dream of every business person to serve as much customers as possible and e-commerce has made that dream a reality. Shopify for instance has been in the market for over 16 years and it has depended so much on all the available digital marketing methods. But what those methods are and how they do work have been a mystery to some that is why we are going to explain them in this article.

What are the best marketing methods for online shops and how do you implement them for your business so you can start seeing growth and earn back the return of investment that you’ve desired for so long? An idle business is a dead business and one of the ways that you can bring it back to life is to engage in online marketing and here are the best methods that are available at this time:

1. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO or Search Engine Optimization continues to be one of the best marketing strategies for online shops. It is done by ensuring that the site is optimized using keywords that are related to the industry or the type of product that you are selling. Optimization can either be done on product descriptions or there can be a dedicated blog where SEO can be applied on the articles that are being published in it. One strategy that you can apply is writing articles that are related to the product or those that will entice customers to purchase your product.

For instance, if you are selling women’s accessories, you can write articles that discuss what designs and stones are going to be trending this year. You may also write interesting content that explain the process of choosing earrings for certain face shapes and many other articles that are related to women’s beauty items and accessories.

2. Social Media Advertisements

This involves those FB Ads, and other social media ad campaigns that are available. FB ads have worked effectively and have helped several businesses grow exponentially over the years but the issue is it is quite expensive especially if you’re targeting a vast audience across several countries. FB ads still work even to this day and several shops still use it.

In fact, Facebook (which recently changed its company name to Meta) already allows FB pages, and even individual FB posts to be optimized using ads. That is how FB has changed through the years and it continues to improve for the better. Prices have gone up though that is why some popular brands just use FB ads for retargeting instead of making it a primary tool for customer acquisition.

3. Content Marketing (Videos, Blogs, etc.)

Another marketing strategy that works best for online shops is through the use of content. There are several types of content that you can use as you try to promote your product or brand and reach as much customers as possible. And with the popularity of TikTok and other video sharing services, creating video content for the purpose of promoting a product has become a common practice. But it’s not just those ordinary videos of any quality; you will need to make sure that you’re producing high-quality (close to professional) ones. Remember, you are creating content to entice customers and to spark interest about your product or brand.

Another method that you can use is through publishing of articles into your online shop’s blog section. Most themes and even Shopify’s default theme actually includes a built-in blogging engine so you can publish articles that are aimed at explaining what your brand is all about and which purposes can your product be used for.

4. Affiliate and Other Reward Programs

Marketing isn’t just aimed at acquiring new customers. It must also try to retain customers and encourage brand loyalty. This is true especially for older shops that have already collected a long list of customers with a large number already being loyal to the brand. But how you do identify which customers are loyal and which ones are still on the process of becoming loyal ones.

Normally, it is those customers who have made 2 or more purchases of the same products from your shop that you can consider as loyal customers. They love your brand because you were able to serve their needs well and your product was able to meet their expectations. So your next step is to offer them loyalty programs that will turn them into your marketing partners and agents and reward them accordingly to encourage them to do even better.

This is an efficient way in making customers even more loyal and passionate about your brand and takes your business to the next level. Don’t forget to get them rewarded in ways that will work great both for you and your loyal customers. The best practices include giving fixed commissions for every new sale that they bring in to your shop while others offer sponsorships. In other instances, a fixed compensation is offered but the bottom line is to always make your loyal customers turned business partners feel special by rewarding them with what they really deserve.

5. Offer Discounts and Vouchers

Discounts and Vouchers are just another method of marketing that most of the top-performing Shopify stores always use. Discounts for specific celebrations like Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, and other special occasions observed around the world are very common. Other businesses also give voucher codes so loyal customers can avail of shipping fee discounts and other perks. The key is to be creative and offer vouchers which your loyal customers can use or take advantage of in particular days and occasions.

Another idea that you can look into is giving out special vouchers only to a particular group of customers who were able to make a certain number of orders or spent a maximum amount you’ve set. This will encourage spending from those customers who really need your product and are regularly purchasing it. Since customers always want to save, you will be able to effectively encourage advanced purchases and increase sales as well as profit in the long run.

6. Offer Free Trial

For those who are trying to get a glimpse of the current market condition and demand for a particular product or service, offering a free trial will definitely work. This is true especially for those who are in the process of seeking for suppliers and manufacturers to get the products and supplies from. If your free trial strategy is availed by a vast number of prospective customers, it would mean that making a business out of that product or service is highly feasible. Don’t just pick one product and think it will already sell just because you like it. Every person has his/her own preference.

For instance, you may feel comfortable with the disposable shaver that you’re using because it matches your skin type but it may not produce the same effects to other people. That is why performing a market trial and testing the product’s feasibility is very important. The same is true for those digital products and downloadable items.

Marketing: A Key for Building Your Shopify Store Success

Marketing still remains as a crucial tool in bringing your business to the next level of success and is therefore something that should not be ignored. Whether it is meant for kick starting your business so it can reach the next level or it needs some help in aspects of customer retention and encouraging brand loyalty, the marketing strategies that we have listed above all work efficiently. Your job is to identify the ones that will work well for your business.

Identifying the ones that will work for your product, brand, or business model is crucial so you can maximize both time and resources. Zeroing in on the marketing strategy that will work best for your business has always been a foundational concept. Get started with it today and look into the best ones that have worked for your competitors. There’s always a big chance that they’re already achieving success with a particular marketing strategy and what they’re using might not even be listed above so take time to spy. It isn’t a crime to do so, just make sure that you’re not copying exactly what they are doing and you should on the winning side.

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