E-commerce, what is it and how to create a successful one: our advice

E-commerce and online commerce: in the last year there has been a lot of talk about it, also thanks to the pandemic from Covid19.

E-commerce is used to sell one’s own products or services on the net, but not only: it is instead a project to be planned carefully, taking care of communication and advertising campaigns. Let’s see how.

Ecommerce: Why you should have one

Be on the net means being found: this is the main reason to open an ecommerce.

Reach customers who, otherwise, could never walk through your store door or discover your freelance services. After 2020, the year that has been a watershed in the methods of purchase all over the world. Once a habit has been created (and consolidated), it is unlikely to disappear in the following months.

In addition, a final feature, also not negligible: e-commerce is always open. The user can come into contact with you at any time of the day and, for the same reason, at any time of the day can insert something into the cart.

Opening an e-commerce, however, also means not just selling something: in fact, to be found, it is necessary to think about a multiplicity of aspects. Elements ranging from the strengths of our proposal to the structure of the site, passing through communication and advertising campaigns. But let’s go with order.

Before e-commerce: brand awareness

Have you decided to open your e-commerce, and now? First, think about your business. Ask yourself:

• what is your flagship product: what does your business revolve around? What characterizes it? Do you make an analysis of the strengths and aspects to be improved
• what are the values you carry out? Innovation, activism, ecology, recycling, renewal: there are many values that you can choose to marry, reconciling them in a worldview in which the customer will identify. This is fundamental: a customer who spouses the vision of which the company is the bearer, ending up being involved not only as a buyer, but also emotionally. More: will emotional closeness retain him
• what are the short- and long-term goals? Setting goals is important to determine how to move strategically: what kind of campaigns to plan, prioritize
• what is the visual identity of the business? That is, a logo that communicates the heart of our business, so that it remains etched in the user-customer’s mind

All these elements contribute to the brand awareness of e-commerce, its recognizability. How the user perceives the brand, as a result of the choices made in terms of communication and positioning.

How to create a successful e-commerce: the tips

We are at the crucial moment: how to make a successful e-commerce. First you will have to have a site where we will write texts built around the right keywords and working on SEO. That is, optimizing the contents for search engines, without forgetting to: optimize images by associating keywords, have incoming links. In order for this to happen, the site will have to be taken care of in content but also at a technical level: mobile friendly or optimized for mobile use, with a fast loading of pages.

But how to choose the platform for ecommerce? The solutions are different, they depend on the complexity of the ecommerce itself. Whatever platform or CMS you choose for your ecommerce, remember to put yourself in the user’s perspective. The browsing experience will have to be intuitive, i.e. user friendly:

• captivating images;
• engaging texts;
• product sheets with all the information;
• related articles;
• most purchased articles;
• visible search box;
• few steps to make the purchase.

This last point is particularly important: inserting a product in the cart must be a clear process. The user must not abandon the operation because he is asked for an entry before starting. The user must understand what are the steps to be performed. Finally, the user must have clear prices, methods of payment and return, contacts for any reports or complaints. The experience with e-commerce, in short, must be positive so as to encourage the return of the user.

E-commerce: social communication and ads

The e-commerce project cannot be communicated. A well-structured site must be associated with a social presence that can first make it known, then consolidate its brand awareness.

Through social networks it is possible to engage users, creating that emotional bond with the brand that, in the long term, retains the customer. Social media is the perfect tool to engage your audience: a video, a short text, an image designed for your target can create interest, arouse curiosity, push the user to be active with a comment or by following the page. What in digital language is called engagement.

If you choose to focus on creativity, you can also think about instant marketing: create ad hoc posts that refer to current events, or the news of the day. Social media also allows you to sponsor your products. By installing a string of code called pixels on your site, you can measure the effectiveness of your campaigns: check how many people come to your site from social media.

E-commerce site, social networks, marketing: they are not accessories compared to your products, but they are themselves part of your business. Are you ready to design your ecommerce site? After reading our tips, all you have to do is get to work!

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