Remembering The Basics: The Essential Components Of Digital Marketing Campaigning
By Hayden McConnell, Market America | SHOP.COM
There are no singular secrets when it comes to running a successful e-commerce company. We often get caught up in trying to discover the new secrets to success or revolutionary ideas that claim they’re the key to staying ahead of the game. While groundbreaking concepts might lead to success, we must not forget the basics. It’s so easy to get tangled in the hype of the rapidly evolving online retail industry that we can sometimes lose ourselves in the process. Running a thriving e-commerce business comes with a lot of responsibilities, specifically within the online world of marketing and campaign management. Who better to refresh us on the essentials of campaign management than Market America | SHOP.COM’s Digital Marketing Campaign Manager herself, Ashley Stott?
By way of background, in 2020, SHOP.COM ranks #11 in Newsweek’s ranking of the Best Online Shops, #42 in Digital Commerce 360’s (formerly Internet Retailer) Top 100 Online Marketplaces, and #67 in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 1,000 Online Retailers.
Stott breaks down the essentials of campaigning into four key approaches: understanding the audience, perfecting the message, thoroughly tracking the campaign, and maintaining flexibility.
Starting with understanding the audience, Stott stresses how this is one of the most important elements of campaigning. Without understanding your audience, you won’t know the best ways to structure your campaign. For example, if you are introducing a new hair care product that is perfect for consumers with dry hair, you should consider your current audience – online shoppers who purchase or have purchased haircare products from you before. Without considering who your audience was, is, and can be, you are more likely to promote a great product that the perfect audience will never discover on your e-commerce site.
We also can say the same about messaging. Once you’ve successfully established your target audience, mastering the message is also crucial. If you have your target audience set but your message doesn’t fit, the campaign will not succeed. These two basics are essential to remember because it is easy to disrupt the balance. For example, if a company finds that its campaigns have not been performing well, it may want to switch up its messaging to re-engage its audience. While not a bad idea, if it alters the style of its messages too much or strays too far from its original style, the campaign may fail because it alienated its target audience. Innovative ideas are always encouraged, especially when it comes to marketing and campaigning, but not when they no longer fit the intended audience.
Stott’s third point involves tracking the campaign. Because everything is online in the e-commerce industry, everything is digital and trackable. It’s, therefore, important to use that data to your advantage. Tracking your campaign both in real-time and afterward makes it easy to evaluate its performance, allowing you to adjust future campaigns accordingly. Without knowing how past campaigns performed, there’s no way to know if you’re headed in the right direction.
In addition to the basics of campaigning, Stott also stresses the importance of maintaining an open mindset and the flexibility to make changes to better improve the overall online shopping experience, which can translate into increased product sales. Since e-commerce is rapidly evolving, it is critical to be willing to adapt. Unanticipated opportunities will always come up, especially in marketing and campaigning. Stott says, “It’s about being flexible and optimistic and being open to new things coming along even if they aren’t a part of your marketing plan. It’s about thinking creatively and coming up with a solution on how to get into that sphere.”
About The Author
Hayden McConnell is the former Public Relations Assistant at Market America | SHOP.COM. She is an alumna of Elon University and her passions include writing, digital art, and creating.
About Market America
Market America | SHOP.COM is a global product brokerage and internet marketing company that specializes in one-to-one marketing and is the creator of The Shopping Annuity.