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There’s plenty of competition to get consumer attention, no matter what kind of business you run. Consumers have options when it comes to online shopping, and shoppers increasingly browse and purchase across multiple platforms, from brick-and-mortar locations to mobile devices and social media platforms.
Luckily, this range of platforms and consumer preferences mean that there are more ways than ever to reach customers and promote your eCommerce store. These five tips can help you capture customer attention and drive traffic to your online store to increase sales.
1. Social and mobile commerce
ECommerce may be the most traditional form of online commerce, but it’s not the only one. Consumers use social commerce and mobile commerce to browse, discover, and purchase products online, and these platforms are a place to connect with them as they do.
Selling your products on social channels can expand your reach, raise brand awareness, and help your business connect with high-intent shoppers. If you have an online store supported by Square Online, you can simply sync your eCommerce store to social platforms so shoppers can discover your products on social apps and make purchases through your online store in a few clicks.
Mobile commerce is another effective tool to reach customers, both new and repeat. The Square Growth of Mobile and Conversational Commerce report found that an increasing number of consumers expect to shop through their mobile devices over the next 12 months, and that 60% of business owners use mobile commerce to connect with and sell to customers. Ensuring your eCommerce site is mobile-friendly and offers a personalized experience can help attract customers and move them through the purchasing process.
2. Email and text campaigns
Square found that 98% of consumers want to connect with businesses through their mobile devices, and that younger generations are the most interested in communicating with a business on their smartphones through texting.
Email and text messaging campaigns are a direct way to engage customers and point them toward your online store, whether you’re emailing a database of customers enrolled in your newsletter or sending a one-off text to notify shoppers of an online promotion.
Email and text campaigns also offer an opportunity to engage customers in conversational commerce, which is the practice communicating with customers in real time. Personalized messages notifying customers about a new item in stock or thanking them with incentives for being part of your loyalty program can help build customer relationships, drive repeat business, and encourage shoppers to visit your online store for specific offers.
3. Promotions and limited-time discounts
Promotions, product drops and flash sales, and limited-time events can help generate shopper interest, especially if there’s a sense of urgency. It can also motivate purchasing decisions and even help a business move new or unsold inventory.
Strategically marketing your promotions and discounts is essential for driving shopper traffic to your online store. Text and email marketing is a reliable way to notify your customers about offers, promotions, and discounts, but be sure to include a link or a QR code back to your eCommerce store so shoppers know where they can access the promotion.
If you use social commerce, social platforms are an especially effective way to generate interest in a sale or a limited-time promotion. Posting unique or themed one-time codes across your social channels can invite social shares, raise brand awareness, and send traffic to your eCommerce site.
With Square Marketing businesses can generate unique, shareable promo codes to use across social, mobile, and email platforms, track the performance of the codes over time, and activate or deactivate them as needed.
4. QR codes
QR codes are a useful tool to drive action and can be leveraged in creative ways to send shoppers to your online store. If you have a brick-and-mortar store or a short-term pop-up location, displaying QR codes in visible areas — such as on your checkout counter or in your windows — can point customers to your online store to discover more products or to follow your business on social channels.
If you don’t have a physical space to work with, QR codes can still drive action across digital and print platforms. Email marketing or print ad campaigns that include QR codes can encourage customers to scan the codes for special offers, such as the story behind a product or brand, the opportunity to leave an online product review for a reward, or the chance to browse exclusive promotional products on your eCommerce store.
5. Search engine optimization
Optimizing your store for search engines (known as SEO) is a reliable and tactical way to get your online store more attention. There are a handful of simple SEO tactics that can help your store and products become more visible in search results, such as using keywords in item-level titles, descriptions, and metadata, ensuring your image sizes don’t slow down the load time on your site, and using a website template with clear and intuitive site navigation.
Beyond the SEO basics, reviews from customers also help boost your search rankings and make it easier for new customers to discover your online store. Google’s search ranking algorithm prioritizes reviews that provide insight and detail, so the more robust and informative your customer reviews are, the better chances Google will reward your site and products in search results.
If your eCommerce store is hosted by Square, you can access and update key SEO information across your entire website and its individual pages to help boost your search rankings. Square Online also integrates with Google Product Listings so shoppers can discover your products on Google Search, Google Shopping, and Google Images to drive website traffic and sales.
