Last updated - July 8, 2021
Setting up a high-quality eCommerce store using WooCommerce is only the first step towards success. All internet traffic is won through organic search rankings, paid ad placements, or shared links, and failing to secure any of them will leave your store unnoticed — and an unnoticed store will generate no revenue. So where should you begin?
Well, the production of high-quality content alone can be enough to earn you two of the three (namely search rankings and backlinks), but it will also inform your ad copy and help you engage with your target audience. There are many different types of content, though, so it can be hard to choose which to start with (or which to focus on, since some may not suit you).
To make it easier for you to create a content marketing strategy that can effectively support the growth of your new WooCommerce store, here are five types of content worthy of consideration:
Buying guides
Shoppers don’t always know where to start (aside from Google, of course). There are so many products available online that they frequently need guidance, and checking out aggregate reviews will only tell them so much — particularly on sites like Amazon where the top twenty products for a given category will often have very similar star ratings.
Due to this, whether you’re going through a particular category of product or offering advice in the lead-up to a significant occasion (Christmas, for instance), there’s a lot of value in creating buying guides. They’re particularly good for capturing search rankings. Look out for key search terms (e.g. “best budget microwaves 2021”) and create suitable content. You can even pick up some extra revenue through aiming at Amazon directly (“best budget Amazon microwaves 2021”) and using affiliate links — that way, you still profit when people buy elsewhere.
Email newsletters
It may not feature a native email marketing service, but WooCommerce is so highly-rated (being the definitive ecommerce plugin for the dominant CMS) because it slots so neatly into the vast library of WordPress plugins. In other words, you can simply take advantage of whichever email service you’d like to use, since every mainstream contender has a WordPress plugin — and that’s exactly what you should do. Email may be venerable, but it’s still as vital as ever in retail.
In particular, producing email newsletters will be fantastic for cultivating the kind of repeat business that’s so important for brand development. If you have a large inventory and cycle through offers, the provision of semi-regular marketing emails to detail your most notable discounts will be an obvious addition. You can go too far with marketing emails and annoy people, but if you only send emails out when you have worthwhile offers then it should work.
Product tutorials
The more content you can produce concerning your products, the better. If they’re products you’ve designed, demonstrating their use will help clarify matters. If they’re generic items sold elsewhere, your use of embedded tutorial content (whether written or shot on video) will help your product pages get attention. You can even use that content in outreach efforts.
Take the time to get the execution right, though. If the person doing the demonstration is a charisma void, it’ll work to your detriment. You don’t need slick production values or a lengthy script, but at least ensure that you’re happy with the quality before leaning on a tutorial.
Testimonial videos
Particularly when you’re just starting out, a glowing review can do a lot to build your reputation, but only if you highlight it correctly. When you receive great feedback, reach out to see if the customer will be willing to appear in a testimonial video (all they’d need to do is recap their experience). And if you can get a video of this type from a relevant influencer, even better.
People are fairly used to talking to their webcams by now (what with Zoom being such a hit during the pandemic), so your chances of getting people to help out are better than ever before. Be careful to avoid excessive editing of any testimony you receive, though. If your videos come across as heavily manipulated, they’ll seem fundamentally deceptive and work against you — and authenticity is typically a key strength of video testimonials.
Company updates
Behind-the-scenes commentary often goes down well because it shows that your store isn’t a faceless entity. The more support you can earn through showing the people behind your brand, the better. You can talk about causes you support, challenges you’ve faced, or just industry updates. The ultimate goal is to show enough personality to inspire customer loyalty.
So what forms can these updates take? Well, you can produce videos of your team talking about the challenges you’ve faced recently, write blog posts about plans for the future, or even start a regular podcast to grow your company brand. The occasional mention of your products won’t go amiss, but the main objective is to show that your company is worth supporting.
