The Covid-19 pandemic has forced marketers’ hands in a variety of areas. One of the most evident is around the near-exclusivity of eCommerce – or, anything which isn’t bricks and mortar.
Writing for this publication in July, Joel Davis, co-founder and CEO of Mighty Social, noted the need for change in messaging. “Take into account that during the crisis many consumers closely re-evaluated their consumption habits, what they define as essential products, as well as how to live better lives, even for the good of others,” wrote Davis.
“These values are now guiding people towards brands that represent their personal aspirations – this is a time for eCommerce to get out of its own way and add in a serious dose of authenticity,” he added.
Key to this, therefore, is a sound content strategy for digital commerce. But when the topic at hand is so broad, you need to put parameters in place.
An article from Quicksprout, published last year, outlined some of these rules. “To have a successful content marketing strategy as an eCommerce website, you need to take an eCommerce-specific approach,” the guide noted. “Everything you do needs to drive conversions. That’s the ultimate way to survive… so if you can’t directly or indirectly connect conversions to your content strategy, then it’s a wasted effort.”
Dash Hudson is a provider of visual marketing software for brands. The company works in industries ranging from automotive, to media and publishing, to financial services. Yet its heartland is arguably in the beauty, fashion, and luxury spheres.
Luxury – as in the highest of high-end products – is an area which MarketingTech occasionally covers. An article from December explored the potential of programmatic advertising; Joanne Joynson-Hewlett of Pocketmath pointed out that because traditional advertising methods are eschewed, programmatic could be extremely valuable.
Yet as has already been explored, these types of brands have an interesting challenge ahead. With sustainability and necessity the watchwords amid the pandemic – not to mention the Gen Z audience – this puts more pressure on getting the eCommerce content right. Dash Hudson calls its work with luxury brands ‘social ROI, built for the discerning… navigate the millennial and Gen Z marketing landscape while maintaining every ounce of prestige.’
Going back to the Quicksprout guide, much of it is dedicated to sourcing your current and potential customers, wherever it may be; identifying your target audience, and then learning their online habits. While luxury brands may eschew traditional advertising – and Dash Hudson notes they were ‘slow to jump on the social bandwagon’ – Instagram and even more nascent platforms are now well and truly in play.
Whatever your industry, however, getting the right content in place – and being able to analyse what’s going on around it – could be a game-changer.
Dash Hudson is speaking at the upcoming DMWF Europe virtual event on November 24-25 on the ‘critical role’ of content in eCommerce. Elise Ngobi, director of international growth, will examine the factors which lead to purchase, as well as how brands can leverage rich content and insigths to contextualise and cut through the noise. Find out more and register for the session here.
Read more: Green is the new black: What sustainable brands look like heading into 2021
Photo by Mike Petrucci on Unsplash
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