Advertising Tactics e-Comm Marketers Can’t Ignore When Developing Their Digital Strategy

Guest Author: Jared Jackson, Client Development 

Think about how you make an online purchase nowadays, it’s often a scrupulous process – reviewing products, digesting reviews, inquiring on 3rd party sites until you’ve found the product that fits your standards and needs –

“Digital channels are much more important to driving physical channels than the e-commerce transactions themselves…[it’s] starting to affect the way companies think about the role of digital in driving their whole brand.” – Steve Dennis, President, SageBerry Consulting

As marketers, discovering how your target consumers are behaving in this shift of retail e-commerce allows you to execute precise media buys that find relevant consumers at the most optimal times in their path-to-purchase.

So what are these shifts? The growth and change in e-commerce is the result of a culmination of parts:

• Technology advancement is allowing the consumer to use their mobile device to make purchases more seamlessly – according to Emarketer mobile commerce is expected to supersede desktop by the year 2021.
• Social media platforms are becoming the premier partners for direct-to-consumer brands – hyper-relevant 1st party data makes the consumer’s path incredibly transparent making it easier than ever to model, target, and reach your ideal customers
• e-Commerce is cut-throat – According to Emarketer Amazon is the king of e-commerce, accounting for nearly 4 out of every 10 dollars spent in e-commerce.  In an industry where sales are won and lost by mere inches on desktop and mobile screens, investing in an advertising strategy to get in front of consumers first and more frequently is key.

To keep up with the e-commerce shifts mentioned above, it’s imperative marketers activate the right tactics Have no fear, we’ve made it easy to tell you to get started. Below you’ll find three must-try tactics to get more out of your advertising investments.

1. Social media advertising
   Social media is the #1 driver of customer acquisition amongst 61% of direct-to-consumer brands according to eMarketer. 
   Using social media for customer acquisition may seem like an obvious must for all e-commerce brands but it’s something marketers continue to struggle with. There are a couple of prerequisites for using social media for customer acquisition. First, you need to have a clear idea of who you are trying to reach. Second, you need a media plan that diversifies ad spending across any social media networks your customers are using. Example: a media plan that includes Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest rather than a plan that focuses solely on Facebook.
2. In-App Advertising
   According to App Annie, retail app sessions in the US jumped 70% from 2016 to 2018, signaling a notable shift in consumers’ digital shopping habits.
   Mobile commerce is quickly becoming a leading force in driving online retail sales. The barrier has been lifted in regards to aversion downloading mobile apps.  For e-commerce brands, this means two things. More opportunities to collect 1st party data on users of their owned app and more opportunities to reach consumers in an app-based context beyond your owned app. Example: targeting consumers with an offer while they are streaming music or playing a game in-app.
3. Influencer Marketing
   According to Emarketer, influencers are equally as effective as paid ads are for customer acquisition channels.
   As a marketer looking to invest in influencer marketing, your job is to identify the most important influencers for your brand, whether they are existing customers, industry experts, or celebrities with a niche following. While influencers are often characterized as having high traffic or follower numbers, it’s important not to overlook factors like engagement. After all, engagement is what digital advertising is all about.