When it comes to creating content for your online store, there are a few tried-and-tested ways to go about it. One of the simplest yet most effective techniques is to simply follow the ‘rules of thumb’ for selling on the internet. This includes creating content that is relevant to your target audience, being consistent with your messages, and making sure that you use key words wisely. Although this may not seem like a complex process, many businesses have been fooled by simple tricks. This is why it is essential to arm yourself with the basics of online marketing before you begin creating content for your store.

The ‘Old’ Way of Marketing: The Blog

Back in the day, people used to ‘blog’ about cool stuff that they discovered or about influential people, events, and topics that they came across. Then, it was mostly done through the use of text-based posts, which were easy to find, understand, and replicate. Although there have been significant changes to how blogs are used and what they represent, this strategy has stood the test of time.

Why is blogging so effective in marketing? Well, it provides you with an opportunity to create bite-sized pieces of content, called ‘blog posts,’ that are easy to understand, memorable, and trustworthy. Furthermore, with the growing popularity of digital nomads and influencers, many brands and businesses now look to these ‘influencers’ to promote their products and gain credibility. Since this is something new to them, many businesses are turning to influencers to educate and inform their target audience about the benefits of their products. Basically, when you publish a blog post, you are giving ‘the influencers’ a chance to respond. Their feedback and opinions can either be encouraging or challenging, but either way, it helps you improve your content and ensure that you are sharing engaging information.

The Future of Marketing: Video Content

Although blogs and articles are still extremely popular and influential, savvy marketers know that this is now just a part of the internet landscape. Back in the day, people used to ‘Google’ things to find information; nowadays, they expect to find the answers to their questions right away. To keep up with the growing demand for instant information, many businesses are producing video content. This content can take many different forms, such as product demos, FAQs, how-to guides, and interviews, but its success largely depends on the value that it provides to your target audience.

Why should you consider producing video content for your store? This is probably the most popular type of content among consumers, especially those who use multiple platforms, such as YouTube and Facebook. Furthermore, if you have a decent sized budget, you can hire some ‘content creators’ to bring your product to life through video content. They can write product descriptions, interview you and your team, or even produce slick, short-format videos to effectively promote your product.

Here are just some of the advantages of video content for your business:

• It is widely accepted that people prefer to learn through visual aids.
• It increases engagement with your target audience by providing them with a chance to ‘look inside’ the products that they are interested in.
• It allows you to explain complex processes or concepts in a simple and memorable way.
• According to HubSpot Blogs Research, video content is 77% more effective at attracting potential customers than text-based content.
• Video content is easily shareable, as people like to ‘taste’ what they are learning as they are learning it.
• Animations and slick graphics can make any subject more appealing.
• Video content is easy to digest, as most people now rely on ‘short-cuts’ when browsing the internet.
• Finally, many people feel more confident ‘selling’ a product or service based on what they see rather than what they read about the product or service.

The Real ‘New’ Way of Marketing: Social Media

Since the dawn of social media, businesses have been using various platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, to connect with their target audience and build credibility. Thanks to the vast majority of these platforms being extremely popular and influential, savvy marketers know that this is now the preferred method to brandish their product or service. Creating and curating content for these platforms is easily within the grasp of any business or individual with a decent sized social media following (which, in turn, equates to a decent sized email database).

Why should you get involved with social media? This is where your target audience, which you have previously cultivated via blogging or email marketing, will now have the opportunity to learn more about your product or service. Additionally, these social platforms allow you to create and curate content that is directly relevant to users’ interests.

Here are just some of the advantages of social media for your business:

• It is completely free to use, provided you have a decent sized social media following.
• You can put your business in the hands of a relatively inexpensive expert marketer who can handle all of the dirty work for you.
• These platforms make it easy for users to discover new things, as they are presented with content that is either helpful or entertaining.
• Depending on your niche, you can have the opportunity to connect with highly interested and influential people within your industry, who can become brand ambassadors and help guide your business in the right direction.
• Last but not least, creating and curating content for social media can also be massively beneficial for your SEO, as many search engines, such as Google, rely heavily on social media signals to rank websites.

Why should you use SEO when optimizing your site for search engines?

‘Search engine optimization’ or SEO is the practice of editing your site content (such as keywords, titles, and descriptions) to make it easier for search engines, such as Google, to identify and rank your content. When a user performs a search query on Google, the engine will scan your site and look for areas where it can improve its ranking. This, in turn, will boost your visits and, eventually, your conversion.

How strong is your SEO strategy? Are you sure that you are using the right keywords in your content? Are you sure that you have positioned your content in the right way to gain the most traction possible? Are you incorporating social media into your strategy? You can find out more about SEO, including how to properly implement a strategy, by reading our in-depth guide here.

What is a Keyword, And Why Should You Care About Keywords?

If you’ve been doing internet marketing for any length of time, you’ve probably heard of keywords. However, you may not know exactly what they are or why they are important.

Simply put, a keyword is a word or phrase that users will use to search for content, products, or services on the internet. When someone searches for a particular keyword, they will get a list of websites and blogs that contain content relevant to their search query. For example, if I wanted to learn more about SEO, I would type ‘SEO tutorials for beginners’ into the Google search bar. As you can see from the screenshot below, this brought up a number of resources that I could use to educate myself.

Although there are many different types of keywords, such as long-tail keywords, which can significantly deepen your audience’s engagement with your content, there are three basic types of keywords: