Each week, we publish a mishmash of ecommerce related, insight infused articles for you to smash through. Just as we collect business information across all of a merchant’s channels in a single place, we’re doing the same for ecommerce related content from a variety of top-tier content creators. If you find the material filling your appetite for knowledge, feel free to share this post, as well as any article you see here.
Marketing your business online is a pivotal part to ecommerce. As time goes on, the space has become more crowded, forcing businesses to resort to their marketing as a means of acquiring and engaging customers, all the while differentiating their brand. In this week’s mishmash, we’re covering multiple aspects to the topic, like personalization, millennial’s social media of choice, and neglected emails.
The Promises of Personalization
You’ve likely seen it before, the preaching on how personalization is key to top-notch marketing. But how are marketers implementing it? Is its performance up to par? eMarketer covers a Venture Beat Insight study on personalization by channel, discovering how marketers take customer data and apply it to personalized efforts. Overall, a good chunk marketers are claiming their personalization efforts are either having no effect or that it’s simply too soon to tell. That said, some specific metrics are showing positive signs.
Amazon’s Own SEO
If you aren’t selling on Amazon, it’s probably worth a look. Their prices are incredibly tough to beat, which is only one element fueling their substantially high customer volume. Regardless of whether they’re a sales channel of yours or not, one of the largest and most important catalysts in effectively selling on the platform is your Amazon search ranking. Check out the results of this analysis by Ripen eCommerce covering which factors matter most to your ranking.
A Snapshot into Millennials’ Most-Liked Social Media
Social media platforms are always popping up. Facebook, Twitter, Kik, Periscope, or Tinder – you name it, there’s a bunch of them vying for the attention of consumers, millennials most especially. But one is showing signs of growing market share within that demographic specifically. While older platforms, like Facebook or Twitter, show stagnant or a drop in usage, Snapchat has picked up tremendous speed over the past 3 years, with 72% of young Americans snapping on it.
The Quick Death of an Email
Of course, we must have something about email marketing in this mishmash since it’s all about online marketing. Because of its cost-effectiveness and preference among consumers, it’s a staple for all online retailers. But just how many of your emails are being deleted without even being read? It’s a sad thought, but, depending on your industry, a significant percentage of your sent emails may become victims to a delete-happy consumer. Take a look at this study by Return Path for more.
An Overview of Online Marketing
Around a year ago, Forrester Research conducted a State of Retailing Online survey to get a look at how online retailers were marketing their businesses, checking for any changes. Surprisingly, things have stayed pretty consistent over the years, with many of the tried and true methods reigning supreme yet again. Here’s an overview of which marketing methods were considered the most effective when it comes to customer acquisition:
- 58%, search engine marketing (mobile and desktop)
- 55%, SEO and natural search optimization
- 52%, email to an in-house email list
- 38%, affiliate marketing
- 31%, online marketplaces, such as Amazon, eBay or Rakuten
- 27%, remarketing and retargeting through online ads
- 25%, Facebook
Take a look at Internet Retailer’s coverage of the study for even more.
Image: Flickr, The Open Dept.
