Marketing Techniques for Online Stores
According to Internet World Stats, there were nearly 2 billion Internet users in the world as of June 2010. Furthermore, a U.S. Census Bureau report released in May 2010 titled "U.S. Census Bureau: E-commerce 2008" stated that in 2008, e-commerce grew faster than total economic activity in the manufacturing, retail and services industries. Despite this strong growth, it's important for online stores that rely on e-commerce to use a variety of marketing techniques to help set themselves apart from competitors.
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Email Marketing
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Capture your customers' names and email addresses when they visit your online store by giving something away for free when they visit your site, such as a report related to your industry. For example, an online health supplement store may give out a free report such as "Top 10 Weight Loss Tips." Once you build up your list, send a weekly email newsletter to your email database of customers. Include weekly tips and deals exclusively for your email subscribers.
Blog Marketing
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Start a blog on your website. When customers visit your online store, include links to your blog that are relevant to the items they are shopping for. For example, if you run an online arts and crafts store and have a jewelry section on your website, write a blog post about the "best ways to save money on your next jewelry purchase." Post the link on pages in the jewelry section of your website. Blogs can be a useful marketing tool for online stores because they help build credibility among customers so they keep coming back to your website.
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Search Engine Marketing
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Search engine marketing, or "SEM," is the process of gaining traffic from or visibility on search engines. This marketing technique can help bring targeted customers directly to your online store. Here's how it works: first, identify a list of key words that customers use to search for stores similar to yours. The easiest way to do this is to ask customers how they found you. Then, create a short ad for your online store. Finally, purchase ads on one or more search engines, bidding on several of the key words you identified. If you bid high enough, customers will see an ad for your online store next to the search results. If they click on the ad to your store, you pay the amount of your bid.
Social Media Marketing
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Using social media can also be an effective marketing technique for online stores. Social media marketing is when you use social websites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to help bring customers to your online store. For example, create a Facebook fan page to provide regular updates to your loyal customers about sales and discounts. Develop a Twitter page for your online store and offer "Twitter specials" for your followers. Create a YouTube channel with interesting videos that feature products you sell in your store.
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References
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