It’s official – shopping has switched lanes to the digital fast track. With 81% of people diving into online searches before buying, if you’re not in the loop, you might as well be out of the game. But if you’re ready for the next level, digital marketing for retail is the cheat code. The right strategy will have the customers swarming in like it’s Black Friday every day.
The Way People Shop Is Changing and Your Business Needs to Get On Top of It
When was the last time you went straight to a store and bought a product without previously researching it online and looking through reviews? In fact, when was the last time you bought a gadget at a physical store and not online? You probably can’t remember either, and you’re definitely not alone in that.
Most people dive into the rabbit hole of reviews, comparisons, and unboxing videos before even considering a purchase. I mean, why risk it when you can research it? It’s practically a ritual now, no matter the product in question. Let’s crunch some numbers to really nail down just how much online research is important for your potential customers:
The Right Strategy Can Turn Casual Browsers Into Buyers
The way people shop is taking a virtual detour, and to get on top of these ever-changing trends, your business needs to start implementing different online techniques. All of them are encompassed under the big, worldwide umbrella of digital marketing for retail stores.
And as the online presence grows, the store will as well. Potential customers will have an easier time reaching it, and if they like what they see, they won’t be able to resist that Add to Cart button. After all, there’s a good reason why almost 60% of small businesses are investing in it, mainly by working with a digital advertising agency.
What Are the Benefits of Digital Marketing for Retail Business?
Still skeptical about the importance of digital marketing? Maybe you’re thinking it’s just another internet fad, like planking or the Ice Bucket Challenge. Ah, remember those good times before the TikTok algorithm started to rule the world?
But this isn’t a trip down memory lane – we’re here to talk about what can help your business right here, right now. Before we get into the different approaches our online advertising agency implements for retail, here’s what’s in store for your business:
Getting a Competitive Edge
Big companies have all the fancy tools to crush their goals. But guess what? Small businesses can shine, too! Sure, the retail industry can be cutthroat, no matter if you’re battling it out locally or nationally. But with smart strategies, such as local SEO and a killer content plan, your business can climb the search engine ladder and level up in no time.
Expanding Your Reach
With the right strategy, you won’t just rely on traditional advertising and foot traffic if you even have a physical store. Your business can reach far and wide, worldwide if you need it to, and even target specific groups based on age, gender, and specific interests.
Increasing Customer Engagement
As we’ve already discussed, consumers are becoming increasingly savvy with their purchases. Nowadays, they care about who they buy from and how these companies present themselves online. Therefore, creating authentic connections with your potential customers can build lasting relationships that traditional ads simply can’t match.
Improving Return on Investment (ROI)
With digital marketing, you can target the exact customers who are most likely to fall in love with what you offer. And with 63% of shopping now starting online, even when the purchase is made offline, your return on investment (ROI) is set to skyrocket. It’s all about putting the energy where it really matters!
Tracking and Adapting Your Strategy
Tracking campaigns can provide valuable insights about what works and what doesn’t, helping your marketing efforts adapt and evolve. It’s a bit like chess—you make a move, see how it plays out, and then adjust the strategy to outsmart the opponent—the ever-changing market. Having a professional content strategy agency as a partner in this game of digital chess can be a winning move.
It All Start With an Immersive and User-Centric Website
Once upon a time, there was a website. Jokes aside, your business doesn’t have to be strictly in e-commerce to have an official website—the shopping journey of each potential customer starts right here.
You need to get people to your website and make sure they stay there long enough—in the world of digital marketing, there’s no such thing as overstaying your welcome. Even if you’re conducting business mainly through established e-commerce platforms such as Amazon Business and Shopify, a good website can go a long way in drawing customers in.
To put an exact number on it, 80% of people say that the overall experience a company provides is as crucial to them as the products or services it offers. Well, that experience begins the moment they open your website and get to clicking and scrolling.
Responsive Web Design Is All the Rage in Today’s Mobile-First World
The official website of your business needs to be well-structured, easy to navigate, and also visually appealing. Clear calls to action should be implemented, not only welcoming visitors but seamlessly leading them toward purchase.
But there’s a catch here – responsive web design, meaning, your website playing nice with all devices, most importantly, mobile phones. Responsive design is the all-mighty Google’s favorite, and truth be told, we’re all just trying to get on its good side. While a true magician never reveals his secrets, here are just a few tricks our marketing agency, Made Online, has up its sleeve:
- Implementing a mobile-first approach,
- Utilizing a flexible grid system so the webpages adapt to different screen sizes seamlessly,
- Using media queries to seamlessly adjust the layout depending on the size of the screen,
- Implementing responsive typography so you don’t have to zoom in and out just to read a simple blog post,
- Optimizing images to improve loading times, because let’s face it – no one likes to wait.
And if you’re still not convinced about the mobile-first approach, here are some numbers to paint a clearer picture. Over half of the yearly traffic for marketers comes from our tiny, pocket-sized computers.
Moreover, 77% of people use their phones to research products, and even if they’re physically at the store, almost 60% will do a quick scroll to compare prices or check out available deals and coupons. Even our pets are probably browsing for treats on their tiny screens when we’re not looking! Well, the last one’s not exactly true, but you get the picture.
SEO Can Help Turn Your Website From a Ghost Town to an Online Hotspot
Sure, having a killer website can earn you some bragging rights. However, if no one’s able to reach it, your store will start feeling more like an eerie dead mall rather than a bustling small business.
That’s where search engine optimization, SEO for short, starts to shine. Just like you’ve got a strategy for displaying products in a physical store, SEO can help your website reach the perfect spot on the search engine results page (SERP), enhancing your online visibility and, therefore, attracting potential customers.
A Good SEO Services Agency Can Help That Website Steal the Search-Engine Spotlight
SEO works by implementing various different techniques, including the responsive web design we’ve already talked about. All of them are aimed at boosting organic traffic. You can even combine it with pay-per-click (PPC) advertising to really hone your marketing efforts.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here – for a small business, SEO is more than enough. Here are a few strategies our SEO marketing services agency has nailed down to digital perfection:
- Keyword research and optimization – figuring out what your potential clients are searching for and implementing those keywords into the content marketing strategy,
- High-quality content – keeping your website fresh with engaging, relevant content to build brand awareness and improve your rankings,
- Optimizing on-page elements – fine-tuning the website’s title tags, headers, and meta descriptions to help the Google crawlers understand your content and what you’re offering better.
It’s the Ultimate Cheat Code for Organic Growth
I know what you’re thinking – if the goal is to reach the top of the results page, isn’t investing in Google Ads the way to do it? Well, you’re technically right, but the main objective here is wrong – it’s not the SERP top you’re aiming for – the mountain peak of the organic search results is where it’s at. It’s like a digital place of honor!
Let me explain – most people tend to scroll through obvious sponsored content to find what they’re really looking for. In fact, the first ad accounts for only 2.1% of all clicks, while the first organic result gets almost 40%. And here lies the importance of SEO – it can get you right where it counts. It’s like having your website featured in the flashy storefront window of the internet!
Social Media Is a Great Tool for Creating Online Connections That Are Built to Last
Excuse my mind-reading abilities, but once again, I know what you’re thinking – all this talk and not a mention of social media! How could that be? Don’t you worry – even if we wanted to, there’s no escaping the grasp of social media platforms when discussing digital marketing. It’s their world. We’re just living in it.
The average person spends around two and a half hours on social media each day. Among all the mingling, sharing, and, let’s be real, oversharing, 75% of people use popular platforms for research before purchasing. Moreover, it’s a great tool for not only bringing in the business but also creating meaningful connections and interacting with your target audience.
These platforms offer so many great ways to create some buzz. Here are just a couple of fun ideas:
| Stories | Sharing short, engaging content | Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat |
| Live videos | Live broadcasts, Q&A sessions, or events | TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube |
| Polls and quizzes | Collecting feedback and engaging the audience | Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn |
| Employee spotlights | Highlighting team members to add a personal touch | Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn |
| Behind the scenes | An inside look at the business or products | TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook |
| Branded hashtags | Promoting unique hashtags to increase brand awareness | Instagram, Twitter, TikTok |
| Contests and giveaways | Encouraging participation and boosting engagement | Instagram, Facebook, Twitter |
| Holiday posts | Themed posts to stay relevant and festive | All platforms |
Consistency Is Key – A Social Media Management Agency Can Help
Posting randomly doesn’t even look good on a private account – imagine doing that for your business. Not pretty, right? Your brand’s posts need to be regular and on point, but that’s easier said than done.
Luckily, this is the bread and butter of any social media marketing agency out there. They handle everything from scheduling to content creation, keeping the social media game of your retail company strong and steady.
How We Transformed a Retail Business Online – Made Online’s Success Story
While we’ve certainly shared some tips and tricks along the way, here’s one of our favorite success stories to finish it off. It involves a trendy boutique clothing store that wanted to expand its reach far wider than the physical confines of the actual business.
They were struggling to attract online shoppers, so they called our SEO digital marketing agency to see what could be done. We rolled out a strategy with eye-catching social media campaigns, a solid plan for handling online reviews, and sprinkled some SEO magic on top.
In just a couple of months, the boutique saw a 50% jump in foot traffic, a big boost in online sales, and a 35% increase in positive reviews. But this is just the beginning! We’re still working together, constantly updating and adapting our strategies to keep the momentum going. The end’s nowhere in sight.
Ready to Be the Next in Line of Our Success Stories?
As a retail owner, you need to wear many hats. Between training staff, managing the inventory, and keeping the customers happy, your hands are full. Adding digital marketing to that list of tasks is just plain crazy – you might’ve figured out how to create a Google Business Profile, but unfortunately, that’s just the start. There’s so much more than that.
Why try to juggle everything when there’s a jack-of-all-trades, affordable SEO agency to help? From website development to quality content writing, Made Online can be the one-stop shop for all of your virtual worries. Contact us today and let’s battle the algorithm together – who knows, maybe your retail store becomes the next viral sensation that’ll have everyone talking!