Fill Your E-Com Funnel with these 5 Digital Discovery Tips
Want to get your brand delivered to more doorsteps? Take a look at your Digital Discovery strategy.
What’s Digital Discovery? In the era of in-home shopping, it’s how consumers are finding out about new products and services. A strong Digital Discovery strategy is vital to filling your e-commerce funnel, from awareness through conversion.
While the digital marketing universe is vast and constantly expanding, these 5 Digital Discovery Building Blocks are non-negotiables:
- SEO-building blog posts
- community-engaging social media content
- target-reaching social media advertising
- awareness-expanding PR outreach
- conversion-driving email marketing
Mastery of these Digital Discovery building blocks has fueled the world’s most successful direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands – and with these tips, you can help more of your target market learn why your brand is just what they’ve been searching for.
Digital Discovery Tip #1:
Frequent, keyword-optimized blog posts will increase your SEO – when you post them and long afterward.
I know, I know: you’re sick of hearing about content. And what do blog posts do for you, anyway? Actually, if they are done right, they can do quite a bit. That’s because search engines crawl the internet constantly, looking for new content. When they see that people are searching for something, going to a website, and sticking around, that site gets some “crawler-cred.” The more crawler cred a site gets for a specific subject, the higher up in the natural search results it moves – and that is a big key to Digital Discovery! To make those blog posts work hard to build your SEO, make sure they are keyword optimized. (Think about what your audience might search for to find you – then be sure to write content around that subject matter, demonstrating your expertise and giving Google a reason to associate your brand with that expertise.) One more thing: good blog posts can actually deliver better results as time goes on – building more and more crawler-cred, climbing ever higher in the search results, and bringing more interested prospective buyers to your site.
Digital Discovery Tip #2:
Consistent, interesting organic social media content will engage your fans – and that engagement will bring others into the fold.
The power of social media continues to grow, with people finding out everything from where their friends ate for dinner last night to the latest news. (No comment.) That means your existing fans are on there, so give them a place to come and learn about the interesting things your brand has to share. The mix of social channels and content creation styles you choose should be appropriate for both your brand and your audience. And providing exclusive opportunities (such as live streams with experts, first-looks at new releases, fun giveaways, etc.) will give them more reason to engage. When prospective customers find their way to your social pages and see that lively engagement, they see it as a positive review of sorts and are more likely to consider both purchasing your brand and becoming part of your social community. For all of these reasons, the more engaging your organic social media is, the stronger your Digital Discovery strategy will be.
Digital Discovery Tip #3:
Paid social media advertising guarantees that your brand will get in front of your target market.
In the “social media field of dreams,” if you build it (great organic social media content) they will come. In the real world, paid social media advertising is what guarantees you will get your brand in front of your desired prospects – thanks to the amazing targeting abilities these ad platforms provide. It’s shocking to me that, despite this advanced media targeting, many brands still A) rely exclusively on organic content and/or B) believe that “boosting” is a professional advertising strategy. (Boosting is so much NOT a Digital Discovery strategy that we wrote a whole blog post about it here.) Applying the same rigor to your social media advertising strategy and execution will help you reach those elusive prospects in an environment where they are open to being reached. Will you bring them to your highly engaged organic social page, to your website, to a special offer, etc? That depends on what the most realistic ask is and what will have the biggest impact for the consumer.
Digital Discovery Tip #4:
Constant PR coverage by the media provides influence and reach that can skyrocket brand awareness.
They say that “with advertising you pay, with PR you pray” – and that’s true, to a point. But you can invest in smart PR efforts that result in constant, favorable media coverage. Why is this important to your Digital Discovery strategy? First, when a credible media outlet puts you in the spotlight, its readers (or viewers or listeners) see that as a third-party testimonial. Second, virtually all media outlets are online or have an online component where their audience can hear about you – and link directly to your website. Third, these outlets have social media pages as well as paid social media ads that put their content – you guessed it – into people’s feeds. So yes, you do pay for advertising (and that can be very effective) – but everyone knows that any brand can buy ads. They also know that great PR coverage isn’t something brands can simply buy. So if you aren’t investing in a constant drumbeat of PR outreach, your competitors thank you.
Digital Discovery Tip #5:
Email marketing is the way to your audience’s hearts – and carts.
If you have mapped out and executed a proper consumer journey with email marketing that truly tends to the needs, moments, and potential opportunities of your opt-ins, then you know what I’m talking about. But if not, stop right now and repeat after me: email marketing is crucial to my brand’s Digital Discovery strategy and I am going to start doing it immediately. (And by doing it, I mean doing it right.) From the highest of high-end goods to the most commoditized items, brands who leverage the power of email marketing inevitably see strong results – with many pointing to email marketing as the #1 conversion driver. Obviously, you have to ride a fine line between “great timing” and “unsubscribe,” but the right cadence and content will help bring your existing and potential customers all the way through your sales funnel – and bring them back for more. Warning: this is NOT a set-it-and-forget-it tactic. Email marketing should constantly be scrutinized, optimized, and revitalized based upon recent results and upcoming opportunities. So experiment, learn, and repeat…and start watching those conversions increase.
One More Thing…
While enacting a concerted Digital Discovery approach may seem daunting at first, don’t suffer from analysis paralysis. Get started ASAP – and integrate across the tactics listed above to make less work for you, and bring more results for your brand. It won’t be long before your e-com sales start climbing, and you start getting your brand in more of those doorstep boxes.
~ Denise Blasevick, CEO at The S3 Agency
The S3 Agency is a WBENC-certified woman-owned ad agency headquartered in Boonton, NJ. For more information about The S3 Agency, or for help with your Digital Discovery strategy, just email info@theS3agency.com – or call 973-257-5533.
