The Most Important Digital Marketing Channels for eCommerce

What Are the Main Digital Marketing Channels for eCommerce?

Let’s face it — traditional advertising methods aren’t enough anymore. With more people spending their time on their phones, eCommerce is an essential part of every marketing strategy. But how is this done?

While every business should cultivate a strong online presence, the best digital marketing channels for eCommerce depend on your unique business and the ideal route to target your audience. Not every channel available for digital marketing campaigns will be right for your business. Still, with a well-thought plan and the right tools, you can test and perfect your ideal digital marketing channels for eCommerce to better market your business on the internet. 

It’s about standing out from the crowd, and our team at Comrade knows just how it’s done. And it’s not just all talk. This July, our agency has been ranked among the Best eCommerce Experts to Hire in 2021 by DesignRush, one of the world’s leading agency ranking platforms.

All in all, from SEO to PPC, social media, content marketing, and affiliate marketing, there are a lot of avenues to choose from. And to help you begin on your eCommerce journey, we are laying out the top digital marketing channels and how to choose the right one for your business. Let’s get started.

The Most Important Digital Marketing Channels for eCommerce

Before you begin working on perfecting your digital marketing campaign, you must first identify the best tool to boost your business. To help familiarize you with the top options, we have an overview of each to get you started. 

SEO

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is one of the top, most commonly used digital marketing channels for eCommerce businesses. Think about it — how often do you search for something completely random on Google? Daily, I’d assume. Ever thought about how businesses get in those first few spots on your search? This is all about SEO. 

SEO is about using specific keywords relevant to your business so that you rank higher on Google and, as a result, become one of the top choices in your field for searchers. There’s more to this than just keywords, too. A great SEO strategy includes linkable assets, link building, and both on-page and off-page optimization. Yes, it sounds like a lot, but with the right digital marketing team by your side, SEO can do your business a great service. 

PPC

Pay-Per-Click, also known as PPC, is a highly-targeted eCommerce marketing strategy that delivers fast results. When it comes to quick, tangible ROI, PPC is the way to go. 

With this method, you can target specific customers, placing ads while keeping the budget in your control. What do we mean by that? Well, with PPC, you pay when someone clicks on your ad, ensuring that you only allocate your budget to customers that truly have an interest in your services or products. However, the success of this campaign will still rely heavily on the keywords you choose, which will need to be optimized for your particular customer. 

Social Media

One thing is for sure — social media is one powerful tool, and when it comes to digital marketing channels for eCommerce, it’s one of the top tools you’ll want to leverage. Social media marketing can be used to target customers directly and allows for personal, real-time engagement with them. From Instagram and Twitter to Facebook, LinkedIn, and even TikTok, there’s a wide range of social media platforms to choose from, and the one you go with depends on your ideal audience. Marketing a styling business? Visuals on platforms like Instagram and Facebook may be best. Or are you offering career development services? It sounds like LinkedIn is the right one for you! No matter the platform you choose (and we recommend broadening your horizons to multiple!), the key here is to remain consistent and authentic to truly connect with your current and prospective audience.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is an essential part of every digital marketing campaign and one we recommend incorporating, no matter your business. High-quality, relevant, and useful content is not only incredibly valuable to potential customers but your long-time ones, too. In addition, content marketing allows you to show off your expertise in your field while simultaneously driving more traffic to your site with customers that are truly interested in what you have to offer. 

When creating content marketing, be sure to include more than just text. From graphics to videos, and other visuals, focus on enticing people with your content, educating, and entertaining in various ways. 

Affiliate Marketing

When it comes to digital marketing channels for eCommerce, affiliate marketing is sure to widen your audience. We live in an era of influencers and digital content creators, and it’s time to tap into those resources. 

Affiliate marketing refers to providing a commission to someone to share your product across a location or social media. How does this work? Imagine a potential customer sees their favorite influencer talk about your services in their stories. Chances they “swipe up” are high as they hear a glowing review from a voice they trust. This is what affiliate marketing is all about — putting your products or services in the hands of trusted voices, so people know it’s good. 

How to Choose a Digital Marketing Channel for Your eCommerce Business 

So, you know the top digital marketing channels for eCommerce — now what? It’s time to find the right strategy for you! To do this, you must carefully consider what will best suit your business, taking a look at your budget and goals. Ultimately, the channel you choose depends on your company’s goals and target audience. However, as you look to zero in on the best route for you, we have a few tips to help narrow down your options for digital marketing channels for eCommerce. 

Calculate Your Budget and ROI 

Before venturing to plan your eCommerce campaigns plans, you must first figure out your budget and ROI. Of course, a budget is pretty self-explanatory, but what about ROI? 

ROI, or return on investment, is a measure that shares the profitability and efficiency of an investment. To calculate this measure, the return of an investment is divided by the cost. This is particularly critical when analyzing digital marketing channels for eCommerce. If your strategy doesn’t succeed in driving traffic and sales, and ultimately, revenue, you’re losing money on your campaigns — and we certainly don’t want that! To avoid this, monitor your ROI from your various strategies and adjust accordingly. 

Which Specialists Do You Already Have?

When venturing to choose between digital marketing channels for eCommerce, consider what talent you already have on your team and the resources you have at your disposal. These campaigns require quite a bit of oversight backed by a team with the right skills. Go-to skills include development skills for your web design, creative skills in terms of both writing and visuals, search skills to optimize SEO, and social skills to perfect social media. 

Does someone on the team run your social media channels? Utilize them to then create marketing campaigns on those platforms using their keen understanding of the channel and the audience they see most. 

What Is Your Main Goal?

We’ve said it once (okay, maybe twice!), and we will say it again — the right digital marketing channels for eCommerce for your specific business depend primarily on your unique goals. 

Is your business brand new and looking to boost brand authority and grow awareness? Or are you a tried-and-true company looking to get more sales? While both goals will lead to a boost in revenue, they require very different tactics. Take the company that wants to grow brand authority, for instance. With this goal, prioritizing social media will be the best way to achieve results. However, if you’re a business looking to get more sales, paid ads are the right place to start. For this reason, it’s essential to zero in on your main goal so that you begin work with the channel that’s best suited to your needs. 

Have questions, or are you looking for a team to take the reins of your digital marketing campaigns? Don’t worry! Comrade has your back. As a full-service web design and digital marketing agency, we specialize in all the top digital marketing channels for eCommerce and know just how to create a killer strategy for your unique business. To get started today, contact us at 312-265-0580.