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Det talas mycket om Marketing Automation. Det är inte någon direkt ny företeelse, men det kan kanske ses som något som har smugit lite under radarn – antagligen för att det är ett samlingsbegrepp för fler olika marknadsaktiviteter.

I grund och botten handlar det om att skapa system som helt automatiskt sköter en stor del av din marknadskommunikation. Något som låter lockande, så klart – men som samtidigt kräver en del tankearbete innan man är igång.

Vi tar en titt på vad Marketing Automation kan betyda för dig som e-handlare!

Steg 1 – acceptera alla engelska uttryck
Till att börja med måste vi konstatera att alla som vill arbeta med Marketing Automation måste lära sig att stå ut med en hel del ”svengelska”. Det finns helt enkelt inte några översättningar som fungerar särskilt bra, det är är de engelska originaltermerna som gäller. En snabb ordlista:

Lead Management är ett samlingsnamn för arbetet med potentiella kunder – det beskriver hur man bearbetar dem med automatiserade processer.

Lead Capturing handlar om att identifiera och samla in information om besökarna på din webbplats. Om du har ett system som kan ”känna igen” en besökare kan du lära dig mer om vilka produkter och tjänster som är mest intressanta – och du kan få möjlighet att bearbeta besökaren med relevanta erbjudnanden.

Lead Scoring betyder att du poängsätter individuella besökares aktiviteter på din webbplats. Allt som görs – nedladdning av broschyrer, sidor som besöks, anmälan till events, formulär som fylls i – poängsätts. Besökarna delas därefter in i grupper efter hur ”heta” de är. Vinsten för dig är att du mycket tydligt ser vem som sannolikt är närmast ett köp, så att du kan fokusera dina säljinsatser rätt.

Lead Nurturing är allt det man gör för att pyssla om sina potentiella kunder tills de är mogna att överlämnas till säljavdelningen. Du mäter vad de gör på din webplats, du ser vad de läser i dina nyhetsbrev, du anpassar kommunikationen så att du alltid är relevant och du vet precis när det är dags att sätta in stöten.

Det låter kanske frestande att med en helt automatiserad marknadsföring, men i ärlighetens namn är det fortfarande du som står för tankearbetet. Det som datorer är riktigt bra på – som att räkna, sortera, komma ihåg – kan du däremot få en enorm hjälp med. Du hinner med att hålla kontakten med dina kunder och du kan dessutom göra det på ett betydligt personligaresätt.

Med Marketing Automation kan du få en bättre grund för att skapa erbjudanden och kampanjer. Om du vet hur dina mottagare reagerar när du skickar dem något, när du vet vad läser de i dina brev och vem som klickar på vilka länkar och vilka sidor de besöker, då vet du också hur du ska bygga kundprofiler. All den här informationen ger dig värdefull kunskap om vad dina kunder är intresserade av och vilken typ av kommunikation de vill ha. Det gör att du kan göra din kommunikation ännu mer relevant.

Här är tre exempel på hur du som e-handlare kan använda Marketing Automation:

Abandoned Shopping Cart
Den övergivna kundvagnen är kanske det man tänker på först. Ehandlarens eviga plåga, dessa välfyllda kundvagnar som bara står där precis innan kassan – lämnade till sitt öde just innan kunden ska betala. Alla vill veta hur man kan minimera problemet och alla vill att man på något vis kan övertala kunderna att komma tillbaka och slutföra sitt köp.

Det finns en hel del man kan göra – en bra startpunkt är att fundera över att de två viktigaste anledningarna till övergivna kundvagnar är oväntade och/eller höga leveranskostnader (28 %) och krav på att registrera sig eller skapa konto (23 %). Men när man gjort vad man kan återstår bara att vinna tillbaka kunden.

Det är upp till dig att förklara varför kunden ska handla av dig. Du måste övertyga kunden igen. Är det värt besväret? Ja, vissa undersökningar visar att om du utvecklar en smart strategi är det möjligt att öka konverteringsgraden med upp till 50 %. Det vanligaste är att använda e-post för att nå en kund som övergett sin kundvagn

E-post – en viktig (och vanlig) del av Marketing Automation
Många e-handlare använder e-post på olika sätt i sin verksamhet. Men få utnyttjar potentialen fullt ut och det vanligaste är att man inte utnyttjar sina system fullt ut.

Även om det blir vanligare att använda e-post för att återvinna övergivna kundvagnar ökar – från 11 % år 2012 till 24 % under 2014 – så finns det mycket kvar att göra för många e-handlare. Om du skickar e-post till kunden som övergivit sin kundvagn inom en timmemaximerar du möjligheterna att trots allt få en konvertering.

Haken är naturligtvis att du måste ha en e-postadress för att överhuvudtaget kunna kommunicera på det här sättet. Det enklaste sättet – förutom registrering vid köp – är att erbjuda en prenumeration på ett nyhetsbrev. Då får du en möjlighet att fånga upp och kunna identifiera en eventuellt blivande kund, och även möjlighet att skapa en kunddatabas. Det blir också möjligt att få notifikationer när någon gör ett återbesök på din sajt.

Remarketing
Ett komplement till e-post är att arbeta med remarketing. Det är ett sätt att nå kunder som du inte har en e-postadress till, som går ut på att du samlar in information när någon besöker din sajt – och att du kan sedan når ut till dessa personer via en reklambanner när de är inne på andra sidor eller söker på Google. Det blir ett sätt att få tillbaka dina potentiella kunder till din sida genom att påminna dem om saker som de viat intresse för, men inte köpt ännu.

Flera av våra partners på Nordic eCommerce Summit i Stockholm 26-27 maj erbjuder lösningar för Marketing Automation. Ett bra tillfälle att lära sig mer och för att få veta vilka möjligheter som finns för just din butik.
Har du skaffat din biljett ännu?

Besök sajten för Nordic eCommerce Summit här!

There was a great Harvard Business Review article recently on CEOs and social media. There has been a dramatic change in just a few years and it’s worth sharing a few of the survey results and thoughts on what this means to you.

An analysis found that 80 percent of the CEOs of the world’s largest 50 companies are engaged online and on social media, more than double of what the same study found in 2010.

The findings are interesting because not long ago being social was once considered too risky, the article said. CEOs feared that saying the wrong thing online would ignite a firestorm of antagonists, dissatisfied customers, and disgruntled employees, who could threaten the company’s reputation. Now, having a digital strategy integrated across multiple channels is the new mandate to neutralize criticism. It’s become more important to transparently tell the company’s story and join the conversation.

Research  shows that five significant trends over the past five years have contributed to CEOs’ increased sociability.

1. The company website is the top spot for CEO communications. Nearly seven in 10 CEOs (68%) have a visible presence on company websites beyond just their name and bio. This represents a two-fold surge in CEO website visibility since 2010 (32%), reflecting the larger trend of companies becoming self-publishers.

2. Corporate video is the new normal for CEOs. CEOs appearing in video, either on the company website or YouTube channel, is three times as high as it was in 2010 (54% and 18%, respectively). Some CEO videos are repurposed clips of CEOs reporting on quarterly earnings and at industry-related events, while others are directed at customers. CEOs are smartly recognizing the emotional power and shareability of video in today’s multi-media and distracted world.

3. LinkedIn rules. The rate of CEOs using LinkedIn nearly quadrupled since 2010, going from 4% to 22%. More than 1.7 million CEO-titles now appear on LinkedIn. This platform is regarded as safer than other social media since those who post on its site cannot do so anonymously. In a way, it is a gated community for professionals.

4. New CEOs are quicker to take up social. New CEOs (in office three years or less) are now just as social as those with more than three years at the helm. This rate jumped from 48% in 2012 to 80% in 2014. CEOs understand from the start that sociability allows them to reach wider audiences, faster.

5. Women executives are raising their voices.  More than 75 percent of the women CEOs are social. As Andrea Learned, a social strategist, wrote in The Huffington Post, “ ‘Going social’ has huge potential for helping women leaders elevate their own voices, add fresh thinking to important conversations, and build trusted community with an impact that makes a world of business difference.”

CEOs and social media

It’s been amazing to see the surge in social engagement at these high levels.

Having at least some social presence puts CEOs in a better position to connect with a large audience, especially in a time of opportunity or crisis. It puts a human face on your company. Obviously there are reputational benefits of building a personal brand and creating a voice of authority in an industry. And employees say they feel proud when they see their leaders on social media.

Having an enthusiastic executive authentically embrace the social web can be a great advantage for a company. So if your CEO is resisting it, what should you do?

1. Education. Sometimes the route to social media nirvana does not go through Facebook. It means pausing for some executive education. Before anybody starts posting or tweeting, make sure the executive is thoroughly educated on the opportunities, risks and especially the SEC implications of anything he or she publishes.

2. Guidance. The first time you leap from an airplane, you probably want a trainer strapped to your back. I think that’s good advice for social media too. If your CEO is hesitant, don’t force anything. Take it slow. Help them, coach them. Suggest easy steps like re-purposing a speech, a message to shareholders, or another piece of content they have already created.

3. Show them by example. For those CEOs still hesitant to embrace social media, listening and watching other CEOs in action could be the first step.

4. Be conservative. You probably don’t want the first CEO social media experience to be a Twitter chat or a live broadcast on Meerkat. Work them into responding and engaging with friendly crowds. Be sensitive to their ability to take criticism when considering the right platforms.

5. Never fake it. Your CEO might want you to “just do it” for them. This is a difficult position to be in but you just can’t risk the company’s reputation by posting on behalf of another person. Don’t get caught in that trap.

6. If necessary, back off. Some CEOs are never going to get it and they’re never going to get onboard. I’m perfectly fine with that. If they hate it, that’s going to show up in the tone of their social media engagement anyway. And there could be legitimate risk factors and even security factors that would prevent an CEO from being social. No when to back off.

Are your executives going social? How’s it working out?

– See more at: http://www.businessesgrow.com/2015/05/25/ceos-and-social-media/#sthash.ZuAaAF9J.dpuf

Nätapoteket Apotek utsågts till årets E-handel 2015 vid Nordic Ecommerce Award.

Billmate lanserar en ny betaltjänst vid namn Billmate Simple. Något som gör det möjligt att ta betalt direkt i en annons, blogg, hemsida eller nyhetsbrev.

Betallösningen Billmate, som lanserades 2013, släppte tidigare i årversion 2.0 av det API som hanterar fakturor, delbetalningar, kort och direktbetalningar. Redan då flaggade man för att det skulle dyka upp ytterligare produkter under året.

Nu är det dags för en sådan vid namn Billmate Simple, en lösning som inte kräver att man har en webbutik. Billmate Simple är helt enkelt ett verktyg för den som vill sälja och lyfta fram specifika produkter, tjänster och kampanjer i en annons, blogg, hemsida eller nyhetsbrev.

– ”Med lanseringen av Billmate Simple gör vi det enklare för alla att ta betalt online. Köpbeteendet har förändrats och vi har sett en tydlig efterfrågan på att kunna ta betalt utan en webbutik. Vi har inte sett någon liknande lösning på marknaden och det ska bli spännande att se hur Billmate Simple kommer att tas emot och utvecklas framöver”, säger Johan Lindberg, CEO på Billmate AB.

Bara att klistra in

Idén med en betallösning som fungerar utanför e-handelsplattformen uppkom för mer än ett år sedan och tanken är att kunden ska få en snabbare, enklare och närmare köpprocess då kassan är placerad direkt vid erbjudandet.

Genom att fylla i personnummer, e-postadress och klicka på en köpknapp genomförs köpet direkt vid erbjudandet.

Att börja ta betalt med Billmate Simple ska vara tämligen enkelt och koden som används skapas automatiskt och klistras in där man vill ta betalt. Därefter får man tillgång till en snabbkassa och kan ta betalt med faktura och kort

– ”Alla ska ha möjlighet att ta betalt online, oavsett bransch och tekniska kunskaper. Med Billmate Simple möjliggör vi detta”, säger Andreas Johansson, COO på Billmate AB

Jimmy Andersson – Redaktör

Klarna tror starkt på sin kassalösning Klarna Checkout. Så pass mycket att butiker nu har rätt att säga upp kontraktet och få tillbaka transaktionsavgifterna om försäljningen inte ökar.

Tidigare i veckan lanserade Klarna en ny funktion som gör det möjligt för användare att betala sina fakturor direkt i Mitt Klarna. Något som ska underlätta för e-handelskonsumenterna. Klarna har i dagarna även lanserat en nyhet för e-handlare, nämligen något man kallar förKlarnas tillväxtgaranti.

”Vi vet att våra butiker ökar sin försäljning med Klarna Checkout. Nu lanserar vi en tillväxtgaranti för Klarna Checkout. Ökad tillväxt mäts genom ett A/B-test på minst 10 000 transaktioner under 90 dagar. Om butiken mot förmodan inte ökar sin försäljning har butiken möjlighet att säga upp kontraktet och rätt att få återbetalat transaktionsavgifterna för Klarna Checkout”, säger Charlotta Åsell PR & Communications Manager på Klarna.

Several customer experience ratings have been carried out over the years, in unravelling the top CX companies. The annual Which report on customer service of 2013, saw a top 10 that comprised of Lush, John Lewis and Waitrose. Amazon was 9th with a customer service score of 79%. The Temkin customer experience ratings of 2014 rated Amazon a joint second with a score of 79%. These are a few reports that indicate a high customer experience rating for Amazon.

A few days ago I sent out an email enquiry via the Amazon seller central and was astonished with the entire customer experience. I garnered insights from this interaction with Amazon that could help most companies aiming to go up the CX ladder.

8 Amazing insights from Amazon’s CX

1) Pulling away from the conventional: When I sent an enquiry through to Amazon, I received an auto response that stated: “We answer most emails in less than 12 hours.” This is a slight variation from the conventional auto response from most companies. Most companies will state that a reply will be given within 24 or 48 hours. Amazon is among the very few companies that use the unique time-frame of 12 hours.

2) Keep the promise: The auto response stated I will receive an email in less than 12 hours- Amazon fulfilled this promise. The auto-response came through at 22.38 pm and the actual customer support email was delivered by 7:09am. It took approximately 8 hours and 31 minutes to receive a support reply. This is simply a promise kept- a reply that came through in less than 12 hours.

3) Thanking the customer for the enquiry: As companies try to dissuade customer enquiries via email, they are putting more efforts on expanding the frequently asked questions section. Not all companies appreciate or thank the customer for reaching out. After addressing me, the agent thanked me for contacting their seller support department. Thanking the customer will always work magic in the CX journey.

4) Recap the customer’s enquiry: Nothing puts off a customer like a blanket email response void of personalisation. Amazon showed they read my email enquiry by recapping my enquiry in the first paragraph of the email. It was not copied and pasted but being rephrased and prefixed with “I understand….” It showed the agent read my question and is reaffirming his understanding of it.

5) Possibility and positivity: This might sound silly to some but customers that send through an enquiry are sometimes triggered by worry. We worry that our order may have been delivered to the wrong address or that our bill may have been wrongly calculated. Worry and anxiety in some of these cases propels customers to send through an enquiry. The second paragraph from the agent was one full of possibilities. It also had a positive tone that will calm any customer’s nerve.

6) Keeping it simple stupid (KISS): The agent kept the email as simple as possible. Using simple language and grammar. There was adequate spacing/paragraphing. This email can be understood by virtually anyone.

7) Catering for all learning styles: It is believed that there are three main cognitive learning styles: visual, auditory and Kinaesthetic. The agent provided links to Amazons step-by-step help pages and also to relevant videos. Videos will help visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learners. The varying types of additional support resources are designed to cater for all three learning styles.

8) Full name of customer service agent: Most companies will end their emails with something like: “Many Thanks, the customer support team” or at best the first name of the agent. In this occasion, the Amazon customer agent ended the email with their full name. This gives the customer confidence if there arises a need to reference this email for further query or support escalation.

These are a few insights as to why Amazon excels in her customer experience. In the words of Jerry Gregoire: “The customer experience is the next competitive battle ground.” I believe companies will continue to aspire to climb up the CX ladder. Some get the basics and priorities wrong.

I do think one of the basics was poignantly summed up by Damon Richards who said: “You’re customers don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” You’ve got to really care about your customers in a bid to get up the ratings.

Journalist – Dateme Tamuno

Trustpilot Raises $73.5 Million for Credible Reviews of Businesses Online

Trustpilot Inc. has raised $73.5 million in Series D funding to become the world’s dominant source of user-generated reviews of businesses online.

Unlike existing reviews sites that are popular in the U.S., such as TripAdvisor or Yelp, Trustpilot focuses on getting people to write about their recent customer experiences with online merchants and other companies they deal with primarily online, rather than reviewing restaurants, hotels and airlines or individual products.

Virtruvian Partners led the Series D round, joined by Trustpilot’s earlier backers, DFJ Esprit, Index Ventures, Northzone and SEED Capital Denmark. In total, Trustpilot has raised $118 million in venture funding to date.

The company’s founder and Chief Executive Peter Holten Mühlmann said Trustpilot has already published 13 million reviews about more than 100,000 brands. It generates revenue when merchants subscribe to use Trustpilot’s software-as-a-service to solicit reviews from recent customers, and to gain business insights from reviews in aggregate.

To make sure its reviews are credible–neither falsely flattering nor tearing down a particular company–Trustpilot uses a blend of technology and people to flag and eliminate possible phonies.

It also uses “sentiment analysis” to help companies quickly pinpoint areas for improvement and strengths they can trumpet in marketing or advertising campaigns.

Journalist – Lora Kolodny

”Massmarknaden håller på att luckras upp”

Hur lyckas man med rörligt material på nätet i dag? Det är temat för Internetworlds nya artikelserie. Nicole Haman på United Screens, berättar att Youtube har blivit en allt viktigare kanal, samtidigt som utmaningarna är fler än någonsin.

Få kan ha missat det enorma genomslag som svenska Youtube-profiler har fått de senaste åren. Pewdiepie, Sp4zie och Pellek är bara några av namnen som har slagit stort både i Sverige och internationellt.

Området lär heller inte minska i betydelse. Cisco menar i en nyligen lanserad rapport att tre fjärdedelar av internettrafiken på mobiltelefoner kommer vara videobaserad 2019, och en liknande utveckling tror man kommer ske även på andra enheter.

Samtidigt som allt fler försöker haka på trenden öppnar sig nya affärsmöjligheter. Den största delen av målgruppen på Youtube består av en köpstark och ung grupp – precis den typ av människor som de stora annonsörerna allra helst vill nå.

– De unga har alltid varit svåra att fånga in, berättar Nicole Haman, försäljningschef på United Screens.

– Det gäller att tänka om när det gäller att nå en specifik målgrupp. En sådan etablerad tanke som att unga beter sig annorlunda än vuxna stämmer inte. Exempelvis tar de som är födda på åttiotalet med sig sina konsumtionsmönster in i vuxen ålder, och så kommer det fortsätta.

Tillsammans med nätverket Splay är United Screens störst i Sverige på att marknadsföra profiler genom Youtube. Affärsidén bygger på att knyta till sig starka namn och därefter få dem att växa, bland annat genom att sköta deras annonsförsäljning. I stallet finns förutom ovan nämnda Sp4zie och Pellek också namn som den brittiske komikern Big Steve, sångaren Julia Westlin och bilfantasten Gustav Träff.

– Vi jobbar med bredd. Alla vi knyter till oss är ju individer med olika önskemål och inriktningar. Vi säljer våra Youtube-profilers reklam, både i form av reklamfilmer i deras videor samt branded content-samarbeten mellan profilerna och utvalda annonsörer.

Än så länge rullar affärerna på i ungefär det tempo företaget har förväntat sig. Förra året hamnade omsättningen på 21,2 miljoner kronor och i år är det tänkt att den siffran ska fördubblas.

Läs mer: Så marknadsför du företaget med strömmande video

Nicole Haman menar att dagens marknadschefer visserligen är positivt inställda till att göra reklam på Youtube, men att osäkerheten är stor.

– När jag jobbade med tv-reklam var det oftast stora projekt. Nu kan du skapa något på mobilen och nå ut till en miljonpublik på bara några minuter. Trösklarna är så mycket lägre, det är den stora fördelen.

Hon tror sig se att traditionell masskommunikation, där ett storföretag når en bred publik genom ett och samma klipp, börjar försvinna allt mer.

– Det handlar om att konsumenterna ska kunna identifiera sig med produkten. Ta ölmarknaden som exempel. För fem år sedan fanns det typ tre sorter: Carlsberg, Heinekken och Åbro. I dag finns det hur mycket som helst. Konsumenten vill hitta något den tycker är viktigt och som den kan identifiera sig med. På så sätt håller massmarknaden på att luckras på. Många stora företag har problem med den här biten.

Det här är något United Screens fokuserar väldigt mycket på i sin dialog med annonsörerna, och det är heller inte en helt lätt nöt att knäcka. En stor del av annonskakan går numera till så kallat branded content, där annonsörerna helt enkelt köper in produkter som sedan syns i Youtube-profilernas klipp.

– Att starta ett Youtube-klipp är en aktiv handling och det gör att du kommer lyssna på vad den här människan har att säga. Våra Youtube-profiler känner sina fans så väl, de har tillgång till statistik och ser vad som fungerar och vad som inte gör det. De ser direkt om användarna tycker att det blir för mycket reklam.

Nicole Haman berättar att många företag just är rädda för Youtube på grund av att det finns sådan oerhörd mängd innehåll. Mycket är ostrukturerad, och det är svårt att veta var annonsen visas om man betalat för en reklamfilm.

– Youtube är en plattform där mer än 300 timmars videomaterial laddas upp varje minut, av användare världen runt. Ingenting av materialet förhandsgranskas av Youtube. Det betyder att det tyvärr finns en hel del olämpligt innehåll på plattformen. Det kan vara skrämmande för en marknadschef att tänka att produkten ska synas vid olämpligt videoinnehåll.

– Allt handlar om att annonsören ska känna sig som en del av miljön.

Läs mer: Så drar ditt företag nytta av fem heta trender

… mobilanpassning
”Det går att se ett annat beteende på mobilen än på dator. Du har oftast hörlurar, och kommer med det ännu närmare personen i videon. Som företag gäller det att tänka på att det är en dialog mellan Youtube-profilen och konsumenten”

… om att lyckas på Youtube
”Några av de vi arbetar med livnär sig på det här, men det är svårt att tjäna pengar om du inte är riktigt stor. Annonsörerna visar ett stort intresse för branded content såväl som reklamutrymme. Jag sitter dagligen och förhandlar om priser med företag..”

… utmaningen med algoritmen
”Tre av oss kommer ju från Google, och vi har arbetat ihop under väldigt lång tid. Men vi har aldrig lärt oss lika mycket om Youtube som vi har gjort under det senaste året. När jag jobbade på Google var det mycket prat om hur algoritmen på Youtube fungerade och det är ju en väldigt sofistikerad plattform. Det finns ungefär 60 faktorer du behöver ta hänsyn till. För att skapa relevant innehåll behöver du vara duktig på seo i videoform, det är det få som är i dag.
Nicole Haman på United Screens.

Anders Wollner – journalist

According to a study of 500 small-medium businesses across the United States, 90% are actively engaged in social media. This fact is very interesting for two reasons. The first is that social media is no longer a fad but rather an online marketing strategy that has very high adoption. The second is that because 9 out of every 10 businesses are using free social media platforms to grow their businesses, so do you. If you choose to be the 10% that fights against the tide, you will end up drowning. With that being said, let’s look at 10 social media marketing tips that every online merchant should know. These tips are aimed at the beginner or inexperienced online marketer and I can guarantee you that if you read to the end, you will have learnt enough to dramatically improve your social media marketing.

1. Quality over quantity

When it comes to posting to social media most marketers simply post the first things that they feel would be nice for their community.

By being more selective and having a high standard in the content you are sharing on social, you will have a better chance of standing out from all the noise and be able to build a loyal fan base that sees you as an authority in the space.

A good way to do this is to collect a lot of potential posts and then filter it out until you have the best things from your collection. Yes, this approach is time consuming but your posts will have a bigger impact and will result in much higher engagement levels.

2. Use images when posting to social

We are social creatures and can relate much easier to visual content then text-based content. [Tweet “According to Facebook and Hubspot, image posts on Facebook receive 53% more likes”]  and attract 104% more comments than other post types.

The easiest way to increase engagement on your social profiles is by adding more posts with images. Make sure you don’t fall into some common social media bad habits when using images in your posts and always look at your posts with the fan in mind.

3. Leverage user generated content

User generated content is your best friend. Not only does it save you time in finding or creating content, but content created from your customers is golden for a number of other reasons. User generated content or UGC can have a very strong impact on social media because it is easier for your fans and potential customers to connect to content generated by people that are similar to them.

UGC is tough to get hold of but thankfully there is a great service out there called Yotpo which helps online merchants generate tons of product reviews (also a form of UGC) and makes it easy for them to use these reviews to increase traffic and sales. Yotpo is available on 18 different eCommerce platforms and is free.

4. Use the POST framework to maximize your efforts

Just getting started with social can be tough for some people because it is such a large world that is constantly growing. I developed the POST framework specifically for eCommerce store owners that want to maximize their efforts on social media and are a bit stuck. The framework has 4 parts to it. They are:

1. Pillars of content – Define 3-5 categories of content you want to post.
2. Outreach – Actively reach out to individuals through social and provide them with value, this builds context and a growing following.
3. Scheduling – Schedule your post using tools like Buffer or Sprout Social.
4. Timing – Analyze the engagement of your community and schedule your posts at optimal times.

I recommend reading through the entire post linked above to get a better idea of how each of these pieces fit together and how the framework can be used to supercharge your social activities.

5. Make it easy for your customers to spread the word

One of the most powerful aspects of social media is that it allows the single individual to reach hundreds or even tens of thousands of individuals. As a market you want to tap into this capability by making it easy for individuals to spread the word about your products and brand.

There are a number of 3rd party services out there for every eCommerce platform that makes it easy to add share buttons, special social coupons, social reviews and a number of other social integrations that will help make your site more social friendly and result in more free viral traffic directed to your site.

6. Monitor and track everything you can

Most social media tools and even within some of the social networks provide free analytics on everything from engagement levels to clicks and even breakdown by country and age.

Information is power and it is important that you have instant access to the stats which matter the most. Below is a list of what I consider the most important stats that you should be tracking.

1. Engagement levels per post with a breakdown by post type
2. Number of clicks per post
3. Total purchases by social, with breakdown by channel
4. Total visitors by social (compared to other traffic channels)
5. Performance of social traffic (time on site, pages per view)
6. New vs returning for social traffic
7. Performance of social traffic that comes from 3rd party tools like Yotpo, Mailchimp etc.

To see where you stand in comparison to the market, check out this list of 25 important stats for eCommerce sites.

7. Earn the right to advertise

There is a simple but very powerful mind trick that you can play with yourself that will help you approach social media as you should. Social media, from a business-to-consumer perspective, is all about providing value to individuals in the hope that a context between the brand and the individual is formed. Once that context is formed, that individual will support you in a number of ways from helping you spread the word to actually buying your stuff.

One powerful way to approach social media with this approach in mind is to say to yourself that you need to earn the right to advertise. By putting this requirement in place you are forced to provide constant value to your community and then once in a while you would have earned the right to push your products or service onto them in the hope that they will make a purchase. Remember, you want to earn the right to advertise.

8. Think out of the box

One of my biggest influences in the online marketing space is Seth Godin who wrote a now famous book called Purple Cow. The premise of the book is that if your business isn’t remarkable it is invisible and I have to agree with this idea. One of the ways to make your business remarkable is in your marketing. This could seem like mission impossible, but by simply executing on ideas that are different to how others in your space are conducting their marketing, you will be on your way to making your marketing remarkable.

I recommend that you take some time each week and brainstorm ideas which are unique and don’t require too many resources.

Try at least once a month to run a short campaign that is out of the box. You may find that these “out of the box” ideas bring you your largest return on investment.

Below is a list of some out of the box ideas that any eCommerce site can implement today. Hurry up and adopt these ideas before they go mainstream.

1. Pick a date in the year and name it after which ever niche you are in, so for example if you sell surfing equipment, March 5th is now considered Surfers day. On March 5th each year you run massive discounts and other special competitions. Team up with other similar businesses and run one massive campaign on the specific date.
2. Create an online treasure hunt for all your customers.
3. Interview top experts in your niche over skype and publish a serious of interviews on your website/blog.
4. Host meetups where customers can come and meet the people behind your business.

9. Adopt the social mindset

Being active on social media is not enough, you need to adopt the social mindset when it comes to your business. We are social creatures and thanks to the social media revolution, we have all become very use to seeing social signals all over the Internet. The more you embed social within your website and business as a whole, the faster your online following will grow, the better your returns will be on your social marketing activities and more likely your brand is to spread across the Internet.

Below is a list of some of the ways you can ingrain social within your website and business:

1. Place social buttons on all your pages and in your email signature, and share buttons on your product pages.
2. Encourage visitors to check you out on social for discounts, promotions and other information.
3. Leave no engagement behind (AKA respond to every tweet, comment, post and mention).
4. Run special promotions for your social communities (see #10 below).
5. Embed widgets on your site that show your most recent activity on your social profiles.

10. Run social campaigns

Running social marketing campaigns could fit into a number of the items I mentioned above, like thinking out of the box for example, but I feel that it deserves special mention.

There are a number of resource online to help you run a social marketing campaign but I think that there are 3 main things that you have to take into consideration.

1. Speak the language of your target audience – If you aren’t using basic, everyday language in your marketing campaigns your audience won’t connect with your messaging and you will lose them.
2. It needs to be special – Most online brands today are trying to run campaigns through social and this has resulted in an overabundance of online competitions and promotions which usually don’t excite. If you are going to run special social campaigns then it really needs to be special. The good news is that if it is remarkable, the viral element of social media will make it spread like wildfire.
3. Money is no longer a strong influencer – This may sound strange to most but when it comes to online competitions, having a prize which is simply financial is conceived as boring. Put yourself in your community’s shoes and think of something that they would die for and use that as your prize. Sometimes simply being recognized and put as the center of attention is enough to make the campaign interesting.

Conclusion

There are a number of themes which are common in the 10 tips I have mentioned above. Some of these themes are 1) be remarkable, 2) put yourself in your target audiences shoes and 3) the environment is highly competitive and fast moving. If you can remember these themes and use them to help you grow your business through social, you will be in a very good place.

BY JUSTIN BUTLION

The factors affecting how a website gets ranked in search engine result pages often change, making it difficult for the majority of professionals — even those directly responsible for their company’s online acquisition and retention efforts — to keep pace.

However, even with the ever-changing digital landscape, there are four immediate developments affecting every digital business today. Let’s explore the search engine optimization (SEO) trends (specifically, the SEO developments having a direct impact on an online company’s bottom line) that every professional should know.

Mobilegeddon
On April 21, 2015, Google updated its algorithm, with the clear intent of giving mobile-friendliness a greater impact on how it delivers search results to users. The term “mobilegeddon” was coined because many feared (and are still holding their breath) that their website’s rankings would plummet if they did not have a mobile-optimized website.

In reality, however, most who knew about mobilegeddon likely took the necessary steps to avoid losing organic search traffic — in fact, Google reports a 4.7 percent uptick in the proportion of sites that are mobile-friendly in just the two months since it announced this change.

For the unfamiliar, Google has been making strides for quite a while (years, really), encouraging website owners to implement a website design that would cater to a user regardless of which device he or she is accessing. This is because Google’s stated goal is to provide users with the most relevant, high-quality results possible; a non-optimized website, on the other hand, forces users to resize (often clumsily) the content on a Web page, frequently leading them to abandon the page altogether.

What’s more, Google recently reported that more than half of searches are made from mobile devices. Not having a website that caters to these users does not bode well for a website’s search rankings or user experience, as the two tend to go hand in hand.

While Google’s recommendation is “Responsive Web Design” (RWD), an approach that conforms to the device being used, the other primary option is to create a dedicated mobile website. Professionals can see the difference between the two in a couple different ways.

For example, from their mobile device, they can go to a popular website like Sears.com. They will notice (a) the website is optimized for their mobile devices, as in there is no need to expand content or “pinch and zoom” to make it readable and (b) that the URL has changed from sears.com to m.sears.com. This is the biggest indication that Sears offers a “dedicated mobile website” (rather than Responsive Web Design – which uses the same structure, but recognizes the device type). Users can check to see if a website is using responsive Web design by going to a popular website (even from their desktop computer) like Starbucks.com, and simply re-sizing their browser to the size of a smartphone screen.

Takeaway: There is a lot to learn about mobile-optimized design as it relates to both user experience and search rankings, but the key point every professional should know: if their respective company does not offer a website that caters to all users, regardless of device (desktop, smartphone, tablet and even emerging wearable technologies) then their brand reach will plummet. The reason: their website will not be delivered to mobile users in the search engine result pages (SERPs), which is where the online journey of the majority of consumers begins.

Starbucks uses responsive design, which can be seen when a user resizes their desktop browser to the size of a smartphone screen and the URL does not change.

Google My Business
Google has now combined many of its visibility features (how a company looks when it is returned as a search result) into one platform, Google My Business. The platform provides one place to manage all of a user’s Google business apps (YouTube, Google+, Google Analytics, etc.) and even track and respond to customer reviews, as well as ensure the accuracy of their business info (name, address, phone number).

Takeaway: Every professional would be wise to review their Google My Business account and add fresh content to their Google+ pages from within the dashboard, including images that will appear in their search result. What’s more, brands should encourage their customers to leave reviews on their Google+ page, which can also appear in the SERPs and provide Google with signals that a brand is deemed trustworthy.

Google My Business provides a one-stop shop for all a business’ Google needs, making it a no-brainer for brands to spend time optimizing their Google+ page, like posting fresh content, adding photos and asking for reviews.

Content Marketing
The majority of marketers are creating and publishing more content – blogs, whitepapers, infographics, social posts, videos – than ever before, because it not only provides websites with additional brand awareness and traffic (high-quality content tends to be shared often), but also tends to keep users on their sites longer (a great indicator of a high-quality website). What’s more, an engaged audience equals  a loyal audience, one which buys frequently and promotes a brand to their friends and family.

When it comes to Google, how recent a content update was done, site reputation, social shares, time on site and traffic are just some of Google’s 200 ranking factors, which can all be given a boost through relevant, high-quality content. But what is relevant, high-quality content? That is dependent on an audience.

Takeaway: Before creating content, professionals may want to check out Google Trendsto see what their audience is searching for and develop content based on those insights.

Google Trends provides brands with insights into what their audiences are searching for, which can be used to create relevant content and further their SEO initiatives.

Social Signals
With the creation of content comes the need to share said content. With billions of social media users worldwide, brands cannot afford to ignore social media – nor can Google.

For example, when a brand creates a social post, and that post is commented on or shared with others, this provides numbers that prove users are interacting with a company. While social signals and how they relate to how a company is ranked in the SERPs are widely debated, there is no doubt that search engines are using social networks within their search results: for instance, Google recently began working with Twitter (again) to havetweets show in relevant search results on Google.

Google also recently gave businesses the opportunity to include their social profileswithin its Knowledge Graph panel on the search results (see image). These are just two examples of how Google is using social media in its search results.

Takeaway: It would be wise for professionals to take a measured approach to social media to ensure it’s not a “time-waster” and to follow the updates Google is making to its SERPs when it comes to social media.

Google now offers companies the ability to prominently display their social profile information in the search engine result pages. (Photo courtesy of Google.)

Be Trendy

The bottom line in all of this: Google may not be the only search engine exists, but it’s far and away the most used, making it the most influential in how a brand acquires and retains customers on the Web. It’s important to continually stay knowledgeable about the changes that Google makes to ensure a company’s website is set up for success and profits in the amazing but complex “digital jungle.”

Author: AMBERLY DRESSLER
Managing editor at Website Magazine, writes and edits, manages the publication’s contributor relations and social media accounts.