5 proven strategies for promoting a product
Email Marketing
Behind organic search, email has proven to be the second-most effective way to gain customers. Building up your SEO and improving your organic search results can take a while, but email can be effective immediately.
You don’t need to dedicate the majority of your time to writing and sending emails to individual customers. Make it easy on yourself and use your transactions to collect a customer database, and contact them all as a group. There are many factors that will play into the effectiveness of your email campaigns, such as frequency and content, but this is a proven strategy that you can begin almost immediately.
Social Media
The impact social media has on e-commerce is growing almost every day. Since it transcends platforms (desktop, mobile, and tablet) most users check in many times per day, it’s easy to see why. And the best part about them? They’re FREE.
With that being said, not taking advantage of Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest (a rapidly-growing force in e-commerce marketing) and more, will cause you to miss out on countless opportunities, opportunities that your competitors will be sure not to ignore.
We strongly recommend you set up various accounts for your business if you haven’t already, and post to them with consistency and relevance. It’s not just a great way to gain new customers, but to have your current ones buying again and again.
Blogging
Maintaining a blog is a proven strategy for driving traffic to your site. It helps with your SEO and keeps your website active in order to capture the attention of shoppers. Certain products may warrant a blog just to announce its arrival, or tell its story. It doesn’t have to be overly wordy or detailed, and not every item needs this special attention, but when well-executed, it will help drive sales.
Being active in blogs doesn’t always mean you have to do it yourself. Whatever your industry, it’s practically guaranteed that someone is writing about it. If your new product is deserving of a wider audience—for example, a new Little League bat that’s been proven to drive the ball 5% further—then reach out to these bloggers, and see if they’d be interested in covering your story.
Use Buy Buttons
The best ways to take advantage of points two and three? Insert a buy button directly into your blog, tweet or post. Promoting your product across all mediums is great; giving them away to buy right then and there is even better. Your e-commerce website provider should give you a way to easily copy buy button code, so you can simply drop it into your third party site/profile.
Use a Contest
Giving shoppers a way for them to win your hot new item is a proven strategy for generating buzz. Plus, contests are easy and affordable. This is where you can get creative, as there are all kinds of contests you can use to create a giveaway.
The contest can be specific to your items/industry, like Eggo’s giveaway for the most creative recipe using Eggo waffles. Just be careful, as there as many “don’ts” for contests as “dos.” Make sure the timeliness, message, and steps to enter or win are clearly thought out and executed.
