How e-Commerce Changed Marketing Forever

It’s not news that with the growth of the internet, the way customers shop nowadays is way different than it was back in the day. Malls became 24/7 online stores, cinemas & music shops became streaming platforms, and art galleries became NFT sites. All the technological advancements we accomplished made our lives easier. This progress also changed the way we experience and discover new items. Browsing for something became a more manageable, less stressful process, and everyone could access more product information, both from brands themselves and resellers. In the recent past, one could renovate a house with a tap of a button, literally.

The shift to digital marketing

Before digital marketing, companies spent almost every cent of their marketing budget on traditional channels like TV, print media, radio, and billboards. With the growth of social media, going digital has put a lot of pressure on brands to step up their marketing game and find ways to digitally communicate with their customers, and most importantly, make them satisfied. As a result, brands invested a lot in making their companies look up-to-date. Many hired new teams to work on re-branding, website development, social media marketing, logistics, and sales.

Creating an online presence combines Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads, social media marketing, retargeting, e-mail marketing, etc. Unfortunately, none of these channels were familiar to brands, so learning and mastering them is essential in this day and age.

The most significant advantage of this shift is tracking fast and accurate results. Marketers know when and where to target their products. Going online also saves time and money. However, marketing teams need to be very creative in creating engaging materials for their product types.

Creating content

Many go above and beyond creating an online presence with SEO, videos, product stories, 360-degree previews, and more just to make their products stand out. Very similar to what they were doing with the storefront displays and shelves. Nowadays, a good product without adequate marketing tools is a drop in the bucket.

For example, the outdated way of creating content was to showcase products on TV before a football game. In comparison, the more modern strategy is convincing the customer to shop willingly. So instead of seeing a printed billboard ad for a new pair of headphones when they’re in the metro, a consumer that’s into music is more likely to learn about relevant brands through active research. And social media algorithms are so advanced nowadays that it’s very likely that the right product will appear in front of the right customer. 

Content creation is about helping consumers increase awareness and build trust. In addition, it helps improve SEO, attractiveness and overall enhances the customer experience. People avoid ads that feel like ads, with irrelevant messaging, brands that lack community with weak creativity.

The trust comes from the buyer

Once the audience has reached great content, it’s up to the buyers to decide if the brand is worth it. Almost everyone who shops online rely on other people’s opinions on a product. Product reviews tap into a whole world of information beyond what a brand provides. They inevitably play a role in what they learn and the decision they make. 

Reviews keep users focused on buying instead of drifting to look for more elsewhere. 90% of people abandon their carts because they are looking for reviews. Greater access to reviews means brands can’t rely on marketing alone. Hence they need to make sure the product is of good quality. Otherwise, consumers will hear about the flaws and factor them into their purchasing decisions. 

Which is the right social media platform?

The answer to this question will always vary, especially with Generation Z stepping into the e-commerce environment. According to Statista, people spend an average of 144 minutes a day on social media. It is a direct way to interact with companies, and many also use social media to learn what other consumers think of a brand. 

Effectively managing social media is a complicated part of doing business. Brands now need to carefully pick which platform is the most suitable and curate specific content to attract a potential customer in making a purchase.

The purpose of each social media platform and the demographic is different. However, there are rules to be followed: pictures won’t pass on TikTok, and portrait videos don’t go well on Instagram stories. In addition, each platform has its trends, and these trends tend to change quickly. So brands need to keep their posting schedules very flexible to stay up-to-date and relevant.

To summarize, e-commerce has already transformed marketing in a lot of significant ways. And as technologies evolve and consumer behavior continues to change with the times, the future of e-commerce will inevitably bring more transformations for marketers to adapt. 

Stevan Vlaski

Digital Marketer & Brand Identity Developer for Icecat based in North Macedonia.