This is a sample blog from ThePendits, for the e-commerce industry. It is a blog that would refer you with the format and style that is maintained in our blogs for the specified industry.
The estimated global e-commerce market size in 2019 was USD 9.09 trillion, with expected growth at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 14.7% between 2020-2027. Foddered by increasing penetration of the internet and massive use of smartphones, the new giant of the trade and commerce industry is growing exponentially.
However, as e-platforms expand and mushroom over the internet and consumers are supersaturated with options and opportunities, how does your business stand apart and get noticed? How do you survive in the digital ocean where the algorithms are as unpredictable as sneaker waves? How do your target customers hear you? how do they sit up and take notice, and listen and love to hang around?
The power of well-crafted content for your e-commerce business
When the web is the kingdom, Content is the king. Your market presence, brand image and awareness, and sales revolve around good quality content. It is your mouth-piece to converse with your target audience and convert them into customers.
A massive virtual industry teeming with competition needs the power of communication, and it is only through information-rich, value-added content that you can address your audience.
How does good content boost your sales?
Original, creative, well-optimised content helps with:
● Bringing your website up on Google searches frequently
● Hence better reach to the target audience
● Better clarity in communicating about your products and services
● Hence better chances at conversions
● Serving as a valued resource for your customers as well as in your industry with updated information, reviews, videos, blogs etc
Now, what content does the e-commerce industry need?
The structure of the industry still relies on the traditional manual way of display amongst all the automation. Let's figure out the types of content your e-commerce business needs to steer ahead and stay up in a neck-deep competitive market.
Types of content for e-commerce platforms
If you observe any of the popular e-commerce platforms, like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, or Tata Cliq you would find they generate content for blogs, website, product descriptions etc. to educate their audience about the brand and their products. This plays a major role in connecting with your target customers.
Detailed information about your platform, product or services, in turn, influences your audience to make well-informed decisions.
Interesting, authentic and customer-centric content is essential to enhance customer experience and retention on your web page.
Let’s take a glance at a few primary content categories that the e-commerce platforms employ, or require, to stay afloat and ‘alive’ online.
1. WEBSITE CONTENT
Once the design and layout are done for your website, then comes the content. The Introduction and the Banner Texts on your home page (and the other relevant pages), About Us descriptions, Call to Action texts, etc., are all crucial content that tells your customers about your business. They reflect your brand image, core values and UVPs (Unique Value proposition) in the right light if written effectively.
E-commerce giants Flipkart and Amazon lead in creative content strategy with prime content that is customer-centric, engaging and interactive. Nykaa, the popular cosmetic e-commerce website, comes up with a fresh format every now and then to speak to its audience, building a constant relationship with them. It is personal and creates a huge impact.
2. BLOGS
Blogs are a great way to keep your website alive and make it pop up frequently on Google searches. Irrespective of what your product, service or industry is, blogs are useful in baiting customers with relevant and informative content pertaining to your field and their search queries.
Blogs are effective tools in building your brand identity.
Further, by inserting blogs on your platform, you are not just engaging your audience but also placing your perspective on the table. Blogs are great ‘spokespersons’ for your business.
Personalization is the key to a great market initiative. What better than blogs? The amazing part is it’s cost-effective and brings on traffic organically. You might have observed several leading platforms utilizing this effective content marketing tool wisely, addressing target customer pain-points or relevant social issues, thus calling public attention and bringing in traffic to their web pages.
3. PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS
You have already aced the game of being a successful e-commerce platform if you have hit the right spot on Product Description.
Today with a plethora of options thronging the web, customers need and look for much more than a curt description of the product. What is important is not merely an elaborate text, but interesting and intriguing descriptions that would hit the nail at its head by addressing the core need of the buyer.
The key to a great product description lies in its minuscular details with a relatable introduction. Even when your product is as simple as Activated Charcoal Air Purifier, a cliched “the best charcoal air purifier for your homes/cars” wouldn’t suffice any more!
You need to bring out all its USPs and UVPs to impress your target customers as they flip across numerous charcoal air purifier brands. You need to validate that yours is organic, or non-electrified, or bamboo-based and the rest of other appealing qualities as well. You need the description to be precise, attractive and unique!
Value-added information assures customer-loyalty. Since, customer experience is all about reaching out, reach out to them with interesting and impressive information.
4. VIDEO CONTENT
Videos are one of the most popular mediums that highly engage customers. Video Content with its visual appeal attracts more people. Even though they differ from text content, videos too require creative content strategies.
A well-planned and well-written script is a rudimentary aspect of a successful video. And the script must effectively convey your promotional message, brand message, sales/service UVPs, and to wind up: must be captivating to the core.
Amazon.in, the unparalleled behemoth of Indian e-commerce, today does not require any propaganda. Yet, when it was first launched in 2013, they had huge competition in the India soil. The 2015 ad campaign by Amazon.in was remarkable. The #AurDikhao ad on television had some well-laid key objectives: to educate the public about its enormous pile of products - over 22 million products - for the customers; to engage its existing customers, rope in new buyers and stay in the news.
It came up with vernacular captions that plainly spoke to the root customers, instantly connecting with them. Even today, Amazon uses bilingual texts to speak to a diverse market and has devoured a huge chunk of the e-commerce industry triumphantly!
It is the responsibility of your content creators to develop an appealing script that sweeps the customers off their feet and land them on your website!
5. TECHNICAL CONTENT
Technical content includes the FAQs, Privacy Policies, customs and norms etc. These are highly exclusive content that must abide by your company principles which you need to put across to the audience in a formal, legal manner. These frame the foundation of your e-platform and must be written by experts who are well-versed in the language and the format.
The above-mentioned content categories are fundamental for any e-commerce platform, but not limited to themselves. The vast spectrum of content marketing is inclusive of diverse elements like editorial content, user-generated content etc as well.
Conclusion
Today the e-platform is over-populated and highly competitive. The more diversified your business gets, the more new launches hit the market, and the higher your competition gets. To drive in surplus - and relevant - traffic to your web pages, you need to fortify your web content; revamp it and keep it alive.
Invest in quality content that speaks to your customers effectively, engage them and interact with them personally, and retain them on your e-premises!