In the field of online marketing, high-quality content is of utmost importance. It is the foundation upon which an eCommerce business builds itself. The quality of the content reflects the effectiveness of the online marketing strategy.

Before there was SEO and PPC, there was content. It was used to drive traffic. In fact, nearly two decades ago, Bill Gates said, “Content is where I expect much of the real money will be made on the internet, just as it was in broadcasting”. It’s safe to say that the billionaire’s prediction was spot on.

In this modern age of technology and digital marketing, there is no substitute for content. Experts in the field agree that content plays the most pivotal role in driving traffic and creating revenues.

It, therefore, goes without saying that without the right content, an online marketing campaign will fail to reach the heights of success. In other words, content is the money maker in the world of online marketing.

Not Utilizing Content

With that being said, not everyone has hopped aboard the content marketing train. Despite its growing popularity, there are still a lot of eCommerce website owners who fail to acknowledge the sheer significance and influence of content in online marketing.

They have been underestimating or sometimes completely ignoring some of the proven content marketing techniques.

Why Content is Important

We have pretty much established the fact that content is indispensable in online marketing. However, it still begs the question, why should we pay so much attention to content?

When you post an article, a blog, or a video on the internet, it stays there forever. If this article, blog, or video is able to garner attention, then it can channel more traffic to your website. This will lead to better sales leads and force sales for years to come.

The art of launching a successful online marketing campaign lies in creating gripping content and marketing it professionally. This gives rise to a social chain reaction which in turn yields greater interaction on social channels.

As a result, you end up with countless referrals and backlinks. Informative content has the potential to create a major impact, and send shockwaves throughout the social channels.

In simple words, if you pay attention to the quality of your content, then your business will keep growing at a very healthy rate.

Statistics in Support of Content Marketing

We could ramble on and on about how content marketing is an integral part of eCommerce but none of these theories would hold any value unless they were backed up by numbers. Thankfully, the Econsultancy & EPiServer report provides us with statistics that tell us exactly how crucial effective content marketing is for success in the eCommerce business. Here are some highlights from the report.

30% of all companies surveyed expressed a strong desire to further invest in the creation and promotion of original and unique content. They also stated that such an investment would help them to gain an edge in the competition with their rivals, and improve their search visibility as well.

55% of marketing professionals around the world used Enewsletters for marketing purposes. A similar situation can be seen with white papers and videos that were each used by 53% of these marketing professionals. According to the report, case studies are of great use to marketing professionals since 47% of them use them to boost their online marketing campaigns.

Webinars, research reports, and infographics are used by 47%, 39%, and 36% of marketing professionals respectively. Product descriptions are pretty popular as well with 27% of marketing professionals using them. Interactive apps aren’t as well used as the others, but they have still found use among 10% of marketing professionals.

3 Crucial Elements of Ecommerce Marketing Strategy

Now that we know why content is of such great importance, it’s time to find out how you can implement the perfect eCommerce content marketing strategy. There are basically 3 ways in which this can be achieved.

1) Informative and Appealing Product Descriptions

In-depth information and artistic beauty are the two key elements of product descriptions. The purpose of the product description is to give your clients a legitimate reason to buy your products. It is the sales pitch that makes your product stand head and shoulders above the rest. Creative naming conventions, detailed descriptions, and sample scenarios with a pinch of humor can make even the most mediocre products appear enticing.

In short, the product description should cover everything that is, directly and indirectly, related to the product while highlighting the merits that of the product itself (including the visual appeal).

2) Eye-Catching Headlines

Regardless of whether your content is in the form of a product description, a blog post, a white paper, a press release, a case study, a video, or an infographic, it must have a headline that grabs the attention of the viewer immediately. A good headline is like bait for catching the target audience.

Your headlines should be gripping and should provide a slight idea about the problem or the solution. Make sure that you use powerful and arresting words in the headline as opposed to the dull and redundant ones. Last but not the least; you must break free from the confines of convention. Give your readers what they least expect to read.

3) Striking Images

It was previously mentioned that visual appeal goes a long way in hooking the target audience towards the product. Well, what can be more visually appealing than a stunning picture of the product itself? Pictures can great a bigger impact than a text of thousand words. The photograph of a product displays its exquisiteness and illustrates its use. In addition to that, photographs are known to garner more engagement on social networks.

With the use of photo-based social networks such as Instagram and Pinterest, you can now “show” your clients the potential of your product instead of simply telling them about it.

Conclusion

Content is key to the survival of your online marketing campaign. In order to dish out the content of the highest quality, you need to be heavily reliant on web technology. The more images and videos a retail website will have, the more rich it’s content will be. It is therefore imperative to keep your software updated so that it can put your content marketing strategy into action. At the end of the day, if you’re dynamic and adaptable with your content, and eCommerce content marketing strategy is sure to reap huge rewards.