The 4 Essential Online Marketing Tools for Retailers

Once upon a time, in a newspaper not far away, retailers used to (and some still do) depend on marketing techniques that basically "shouted" at their audiences to attract their attention. It used to work back then, because that was the only real form of marketing. Consumers had no choice but to have retailers shout at them.

Now, we have these wonderful computer contraptions with this blessing called the Internet. Here, users can search out whatever they want whenever they want. They can type in a couple words and have resources pop up in front of their very eyes.

This gives consumers a huge advantage, and it also completely levels the playing field for retailers. Now, to be heard on the web and have consumers notice you, you have to get involved in online marketing.

What does this mean for the average retailer in the casual furnishings industry?

This means there has to be a conscious effort to make updates to your website. This means understanding your audience and studying what brings them to you and your competitor's websites. This means some trial and error to figure out what works best for you. This means getting search engines to recognize you so that your audience can find you.

Here are four things that you need to put in your "marketing toolbox" to be successful online.

Search Engine Optimization

This topic is large enough that I will have to cover it on its own in another post. But here is a synopsis: Search engine optimization (SEO) is a culmination of practices that helps make you more visible to search engines, and therefore easier to find online.

SEO dictates every aspect of your website. The size of your images, layout and readability will affect the user experience, which largely affects whether someone will come back to your site.

Search engines like Google and Bing regularly roll out updates to their algorithms, changing the requirements for websites. When one doesn't follow these updates and act accordingly, they get penalized and become less visible.

Long story short ¬– don't underestimate the power of SEO, or keeping your website up to date.

Keywords

Certain SEO practices are going to have more "weight" than others. For example, picking out keywords that make sense for your company is the first step. This is going to set the tone and the outline for the rest of your marketing efforts. If you focus on teak furniture, for example, using keywords like "aluminum furniture" wouldn't make much sense. Check out this link to see which keywords you should use.

The other side of this coin involves the implementation of your keywords. This means including them (as naturally as possible) in content, as part of your URL's, and categories and tags, among others. Your URL's, headings/subheadings and content are going to carry the most weight. 

Long-tail keywords are going to be your friend in this step. Not sure what those are? Instead of using "teak furniture," specifying "outdoor teak furniture" or "outdoor teak furniture Las Vegas" makes it long-tail. Why does this work? Think of it this way: Loads of people are looking for "outdoor furniture," right? So it's hard to rank for that word. However not everyone is looking for "teak outdoor furniture," so there's a better chance of being seen and ranking for this word when it's searched. The more specific you can make it, the more likely you will be found with that phrase.

Social Media

As the person who takes care of social media for Casual Living, I can't stress this enough: Get on social media! Consumers are always online, and they are definitely on Facebook and Twitter.

For B2C, social media is a must. These platforms are great for interacting with customers, answering questions and even sending out promotions/coupons. When consumers like a brand, they will follow them and keep an eye on your updates. However, the part of remaining interesting and relevant is completely up to you.

Sending out a Facebook post or a tweet is FREE! Plus, these things only take a few moments of your time. For businesses, it's recommended to set aside some of your budget for your online endeavors, but topic will be saved for another blog post.

Newsletters/Emails

It's just a fact that there is so much going on in the World Wide Web. People will not stop to look at your website after they've checked their banking account, paid some bills, checked their Facebook, sent an email to their siblings, retweeted a joke, taken a wrong turn by clicking on an ad, etc.

People's attention spans are short, even shorter online. When you send out regular newsletters, whether it's with news or a promotion of a sale, you're putting yourself at the front of your audience's mind again. You're saying, "Don't forget about me!" without screaming it at them.

People still depend on emails as a communication method, especially since more people have "gone green" with bills, statements and discussions. While people are using their emails, why not be on their radar?

There will be much more on this in my future blog posts, but this is a great start for those looking to be seen online.

Source: The 4 Essential Online Marketing Tools for Retailers