5 Ways Content Marketing Is Going to Pivot the E-Commerce Industry in 2018

E-commerce websites are now more relevant than ever. As the internet has become more sophisticated with each passing day, the most successful offline stores are putting their operations online to reach more number of consumers and increase their sales. But running an e-commerce business is no easy work, especially when the most significant part of the marketing, i.e. the content, is evolving with time.

2018 has already seen several changes in the content marketing trends, and it is needless to say that all these trends are going to change the way e-commerce businesses used to operate for the mass. Here are top 5 potential ways how content marketing will transform the e-commerce industry.

1. The use of videos:

Videos, in the form of TV commercials, have served millions of businesses to engage more number of consumers over past few decades, and in 2018. The significance of videos has only grown in magnitude. Interestingly, the average time of video consumption has increased from 39 minutes in 2011 to 115 minutes in 2015, and it continues to climb higher.

For e-commerce industry, which relies completely on the online traffic, videos have become an essential content marketing tool as it is initiating more engagements than ever. As a matter of fact, 55 percent of the internet users watch videos on a daily basis. There’s a particular reason why videos generate 12 times more shares on the social media than text and images combined.

According to Paul Randall, senior UX architect at Evosite exclaims that video is the format people look for these days. Posting a high quality video that showcases the products in a real context impresses consumers more than anything. Text content is appealing, but somehow visual content creates greater impact, and to sustain in the competition, the businesses are now investing more in videos.

2. Leveraging social media:

According to the founder and CEO of Shopify Expert Eastside Co., Jason Stokes, social shopping is going to have a huge impact this year. He also adds that visual platforms like Pinterest and Instagram allow the merchants to present their products to their customers without their customers even realizing it. Since the consumers spend most of their time on these social media platforms, it’s the perfect time for the e-commerce businesses to prepare a content strategy that can be deployed through these channels.

This may sound surprising but social media is slowly replacing the traditional channels where marketers used to exercise their marketing strategies. Since it is easier to reach a certain group of people through social media, investing in social media driven content marketing does sound like a better idea for the e-commerce websites.

However, social media platforms are not just limited to marketing the brands or their services. Businesses are even using platforms like Instagram to sell their products and services. It means, now the consumers do not need to leave the story or switch between sites or apps to make the purchase. So businesses now require a content strategy that will allow the consumers to make quick decisions.

3. Preparing for the screen-less searches:

As the smart home assistant devices like Google Home and Amazon Echo are making their way to every house, it is quite evident that voice searches are going to be a big deal in 2018 and the years to come. According to Google, 20 percent of the mobile searches are done through voice commands. In fact, a report from Thrive Analytics reveals that 71 percent of the people within the age bracket of 18-29 (the millennials) use voice assistants like Siri, Cortana or Google Assistant for searches.

Since Google is now altering its search engine algorithms to make search results more appropriate for the voice searches, businesses are now focusing on content marketing strategies that will allow them to comply with these changes. Perhaps, the common keywords that once allowed an e-commerce page to appear at the top of the SERP (search engine results page) may not be helpful in 2018.

There’s a significant difference in the way we talk and the way we type. So content marketers are now working on keywords that are people generally asks like “the best smartphone under 500 dollars” and likewise. Since consumers nowadays do a considerable amount of research before making a purchase, e-commerce sites need to change the way they used to construct their landing pages in 2018.

4. Roping in influential people:

According to a report published by Nielsen, 90 percent of the consumers trust the recommendation of a familiar face, even if they don’t know the person. That is what influencers are for. Also, Twitter revealed that the users show 5.2 times more purchase intent when they receive a promotional content from an influential individual.

Influencer marketing has been employed by the e-commerce businesses for several years, but now the businesses need to change their approach to make it work. Consumers are no longer interested in the articles or blog posts that offer generic content. Besides, if the provided content is not believable, even the influencers won’t be able to convince the consumers about the brand.

The e-commerce businesses now need to be smarter with the content marketing strategy regarding influencers. Perhaps an interview with an expert, who can share insightful details and analysis of the services provided by a brand, will be more effective than using the expert to advertise the brand in a very basic manner.

5. Addressing the specific needs:

E-commerce businesses need to realize that people don’t just consume anything that is offered to them. Even though a massive number of people spend a significant amount of time on the internet, they are very particular about the things they want to consume. While content marketing trends clearly show an increasing demand for personalized content, e-commerce platforms now need to stress on personalization more than ever.

According to a research by Invesp, 57 percent of the online shoppers are more than happy to provide their personal details to receive more personalized results. The concept of “one for all” is no longer effective in today’s market. A survey suggests that 94 percent of the marketers see personalization as a crucial element for future success. In fact, they believe it helps improve sales opportunities by 20 percent.

However, e-commerce businesses need to consider other elements beside the consumer preferences. Factors like geographic locations, age, sex and financial conditions are also going to determine what type of strategy will be convenient for the marketers in the e-commerce sector to fetch positive results.

Content marketing has been quite beneficial for all sorts of businesses in the past few years, and the statistics suggest that more than 90% of the marketers are more than happy to exercise content marketing activities for success.

As the technology improves for better, the requirements of the consumers also get altered in the process. And success comes early for those who can implement necessary changes to cope with the changing requirements.

Author bio: Marceline Joseph is an online educator, programmer and an academic writer associated with Homework Help Company. Besides being associated with the education and teaching industry, Marceline is a passionate stamp collector and chess player.