Content in e-commerce is often neglected. Yes, every marketer knows it’s the foundation for delivering a great website experience to customers, but questions about its importance in e-commerce come up frequently. And for a good reason: it can take months of hard work and testing to find a content strategy that works. Content can be tricky to integrate into your online store without distracting from the shopping experience.
Below, let’s explore different ways retailers’ content can establish their brand as an expert, build trust, and lead shoppers to purchase.
How to leverage different types of content
The type of content retailers provide consumers is dependent on the product offering. While accurate, relevant product information is the number one priority, there are many creative ways to deliver information and reinforce a product’s benefits:
Videos
Videos are a great resource for products that involve a physical experience or interaction, as e-commerce retailers often face difficulties selling products that are heavily influenced by touch. For example, tutorial videos are helpful for large, household items such as outdoor furniture that may require assembly. Tutorial videos have also grown in popularity in the makeup industry, as videos demonstrate the product in use and also provide inspiration for how to use it. Shorter videos can also be strategically used on social media. If a retailer is involved in an influencer collaboration or has a celebrity that partners with a clothing line, brands can get creative in how they promote their products.
Video will continue to grow in popularity among shoppers, as a recent Cisco study estimated that video will be responsible for 82% percent of internet traffic worldwide by 2022. However, keep in mind that a shopper’s attention can sometimes be limited if they’re on a time crunch. Therefore, incorporating a succinct yet descriptive video — no more than 30 seconds — to go along with your product offering is a best practice.
Social media
Social media is another great opportunity to incorporate images in addition to existing photos. Whether jewelry on a shopper’s wrist, a formal dress worn at an event, or a couch in a living room, showcasing satisfied customers’ products in different lighting and surroundings helps indecisive shoppers better visualize the product in their own life. Social media is the digital equivalent to word of mouth, and shopper-shared images come across as authentic and credible to other users.
Product reviews
One of the most important types of content you can have on your site is content generated by a third party: your customers. Not only do product reviews provide an outsider’s perspective, but loyal shoppers serve as an advocate to convert others.
It’s also important to address a potential downside, as negative product reviews are inevitable. However, with a customer service team that can respond quickly to unhappy shoppers, this can be used as an advantage to show a company dedicated to serving customers, even after purchase. Don’t be tempted to prune bad reviews either, as some negative reviews can actually build brand trust. An item with a 4.7-star rating with 40 reviews is better than 5.0-star rating with just 30 reviews.
Q&A
A Q&A section within your product descriptions can serve as a source of more information than reviews alone. This feature allows the shopper to evaluate common questions and responses about the product, and interact with other buyers to ask questions of their own. Brands can also directly interact with customers in the Q&A, by providing expert advice or links to further information.
For the Q&A section, keep in mind the additional content assets you’ve already leveraged throughout your e-commerce website (video, social media and product reviews) to bring a shopper’s experience full circle. No shopper is created equal and each has different preferences for learning about new products and finding an answer to their unsolved questions. By bringing additional content features into the Q&A mix, you will be able to account for a shopper’s preference of learning about a new product, whether it is visual, auditory or kinesthetic.
Displaying content for different needs
It can be difficult to add content to a website in a manner that’s both natural and informative. It also requires striking the right balance to make sure you provide information to shoppers looking for additional context without overwhelming someone who might not be interested. A few unobtrusive, successful methods include integrating content in badges and search results.
Adding merchandising badges to product images and descriptions can easily show shoppers information about each product, such as whether a product is a top seller, was made sustainably or has a video to accompany it. For search results, after a query is completed, relevant content like a blog can be displayed, allowing users to find helpful information as they explore products. This is done to expose relevant information, but in a way that doesn’t distract shoppers. For example, imagine if a product is sustainably made. There might be a badge that marks the product as such, but also leads to a blog detailing how the clothing was made and the source of its materials. For one shopper, the badge might be enough to persuade a purchase. But for another, the additional details are essential.
Build trust and inspire loyalty
Exceptional content can lead to more satisfied consumers and increased sales. After all, most consumers will interact with a brand more than five times before making a purchase. However, it requires a careful balance of art and science.
It should be helpful but creative. Informative, but concise. What’s more, the way it’s displayed must be taken into consideration. If a site is too confusing or doesn’t provide enough information about the products being sold, a shopper will quickly abandon it for a competitor. However, by understanding shoppers’ varying needs for content, and the best ways to present that information, retailers will continue to establish themselves as thought leaders, build trust and drive loyalty.