Driving Multi-Channel Ecommerce Success: Optimizing Social, Search, Email with Laura Hanlon

For ecommerce brands looking to grow, implementing a strategic multi-channel approach is essential. Relying solely on one marketing platform – be it email, paid social ads, SEO, or otherwise – leaves significant opportunities on the table. By effectively leveraging multiple integrated channels, businesses can gain a more complete view of the customer journey and use those insights to maximize conversions across touchpoints.

In this episode, we talk to Laura Hanlon, the Company Director at Pink Leopard. We’ll explore key strategies and tactics for optimizing a diversified digital marketing mix to accelerate sales. Topics covered include:

• Efficiently capturing email addresses

• Crafting on-site popups that convert

• Advanced email sequencing techniques

• Cross-channel retargeting best practices

• Attribution modeling and data analytics

• Channel optimization & testing

• And more…

Let’s dive in and uncover exactly how leading ecommerce marketers are connecting the dots between social, search, email, and additional platforms to profitably scale their online businesses.

Expand Email Lists Through Lead Gen Campaigns

Email marketing remains one of the highest converting digital channels available to ecommerce brands. But to fully capitalize, you need a substantial list of engaged subscribers. Relying solely on visitors stumbling upon opt-ins or organically signing up during checkout is not enough. Savvy marketers are proactively growing their lists by running targeted lead gen initiatives across multiple channels.

Run Dedicated On-Site Pop-Ups

Having a pop-up form for collecting email addresses is a quick win for boosting sign ups. Make it easy for visitors to subscribe by prominently displaying the opt-in on site. Offer an incentive like a discount code or free gift for further motivation. Just be sure to avoid intrusive placement that disrupts the user experience. Limit to first-time visitors only and don’t show again after sign up.

Promote Through Social Ads

Facebook, Instagram and other social platforms provide extensive targeting capabilities to home in on your ideal audience. Create campaigns with the specific goal of generating email sign ups rather than direct sales. Offer an irresistible lead magnet to capture interest. And utilize built-in lead forms for seamless list building right within the ad units.

Search Retargeting for conversions

Running paid search ads can help drive targeted traffic, but retargeting those who don’t initially convert is crucial for maximizing ROI. Remarketing past visitors with new email list promotion messaging helps capture leads that may have previously slipped away.

Influencer Partnerships

Teaming up with influencers who align with your brand can provide access to new, qualified audiences. Negotiate promotions where the influencers specifically promote your email subscriptions to their follower base to grow your list rapidly.

The larger and higher-quality your email list, the greater potential revenue it can drive through effective ongoing nurturing and retention campaigns. Invest time upfront in strategic list growth for long-term payoffs.

Craft On-Site Pop-Ups That Convert

As discussed above, on-site pop-ups present a convenient opportunity to capture visitor email addresses. But the most effective pop-ups balance list building with driving immediate sales. Follow these best practices for maximizing popup success:

Promotional Messaging

The messaging itself is key – it needs to clearly communicate the pop-up goal, whether email sign up, limited-time discount or both. Keep copy crisp and direct.

Placement and Timing

Don’t immediately blast visitors with a pop-up the moment they land on your site. Allow them to browse first before triggering the popup. And when it does appear, avoid disrupting if they are actively navigating pages or have items in their cart.

Mobile Responsiveness

With the majority of ecommerce traffic now on mobile, pop-ups must function seamlessly on all devices. Test across smartphones to ensure usability.

Offer Relevance

Whatever promotional offer or coupon you include should relate directly to products the visitor has been viewing. For example, if they were checking out apparel, the deal should apply to apparel purchases rather than unrelated items.

Limit Frequency

Nothing frustrates visitors more than being bombarded with the same pop-up over and over. Use frequency capping to ensure users only see it once.

Tasteful, strategically-timed pop-ups can boost conversions without annoying customers. Continuously test new variations to refine your approach.

Advanced Email Sequencing Techniques

Sophisticated email sequencing takes your campaigns to the next level. Instead of just bulk blasting promotional messaging, properly structured sequences nurture subscribers through customized journeys personalized to their behaviors. Let’s explore proven sequencing strategies for increased sales:

Welcome Series

The initial welcome series introduces new subscribers to your brand. Share valuable content that establishes your expertise and highlights product benefits. End by offering a coupon or promo to incentivize their first purchase.

Browse Abandonment

If a subscriber browses your site but leaves without buying, trigger a follow-up reminding them of items they showed interest in and offer a discount or free shipping to nudge them towards conversion.

Cart Abandonment

Similarly, if a customer adds items to their cart but doesn’t complete checkout, send an automated follow-up highlighting their would-be purchases. Offer a coupon and gently encourage them to finalize the transaction.

Win-Back Series

For subscribers who haven’t purchased in awhile, win-back messaging attempts to re-engage them. Ask why they haven’t bought recently, promote new arrivals and remind them of your brand.

Replenishment

For subscribers who have bought certain products in the past, send a reminder when it may be time to replenish those items. Include links for easy reordering.

Reviews

Requesting product reviews from recent purchasers helps build social proof. Follow up post-purchase asking if they’d take a moment to leave a review.

Get creative with sequences tied to specific subscriber actions and preferences to maximize relevancy.

Retarget Across Channels

To fully capitalize on hard-won site traffic, savvy marketers retarget visitors across channels even after they leave. Here are proven cross-channel retargeting strategies:

Paid Social Retargeting

If someone bounces from your site without converting, you can continue engaging them through paid social ads on Facebook/Instagram. Tailor creative and offers to reconnect based on pages visited.

Search Retargeting

Similarly, you can remarket to site visitors via paid search ads on Google. This allows you to promote products they showed interest in across the web.

Email Retargeting

As discussed above, email sequences provide powerful retargeting capabilities. Automated flows can follow up with subscribers after on-site interactions to re-engage them.

SMS Retargeting

For subscribers who have provided their phone number, SMS messages are another channel for post-visit outreach. Send timely alerts on limited-time sales or promotions.

Direct Mail Retargeting

Even direct mail can play a role in cross-channel retargeting through services like Printi. Upload customer lists and retarget past site visitors with customized print catalogs.

Each retargeting touch is another chance to win conversions from promising leads. Continuity across channels improves results.

Attribution Modeling

To accurately gauge channel performance, ecommerce brands need effective attribution modeling in place. This analyzes how each touchpoint contributes to conversions across customer journeys. Here are key considerations when configuring attribution:

Algorithm Selection

Various algorithms like last-click, first-click or multi-touch assign conversion credit differently. Select a model that fits with your goals and reflects true channel impact.

Platform Limitations

Native channel analytics like Facebook Ads Manager often only report on activity within siloed channels. Leverage multi-touch attribution solutions for a unified view.

Data Connectivity

Connecting data across marketing and analytics systems is essential for Attribution. Ensure platforms share cross-channel insights.

Analysis Cadence

Continuously analyze attribution data to identify optimization opportunities. Review channel contributions regularly and tweak strategies accordingly.

Proper attribution provides visibility into how your assorted initiatives are driving sales. These insights empower smart optimization decisions.

Continuously Test and Optimize

To maximize results from a multi-pronged digital strategy, savvy ecommerce brands constantly test and optimize across channels. Here are impactful ways to improve performance:

A/B Test Email Content

Regularly A/B test email content like subject lines, preview text and calls-to-action to determine what resonates most with subscribers. Apply learnings to future campaigns.

Experiment with New Channels

Adding emerging channels like TikTok ads, SMS marketing or direct mail to your mix allows you to evaluate new customer touchpoints.

Dynamic Segmentation

Divide lists into highly-targeted segments based on behaviors and attributes. Send hyper-personalized messaging to boost engagement.

Iteratively Refine Offers

Test different promotional tactics like dollar-off coupons vs. percent-off discounts to see what best incentivizes purchases.

Monitor ROI

Dig into channel revenue attribution and profitability metrics. Double down on high-performing drivers and prune inefficient spend.

Agile marketers avoid stagnation by continuously evaluating and evolving their multi-channel programs. A/B testing and data analysis are invaluable for guiding enhancements.

FAQs

What are the top marketing channels ecommerce brands should focus on?

For most ecommerce businesses, paid social ads, email marketing, SEO, and paid search tend to provide the highest ROI. But emerging options like SMS and TikTok ads are worth testing as supplemental channels.

How much budget should go towards each channel?

There are no fixed allocation percentages that will work across the board. Analyze attribution data to understand your unique channel contributions, then allocate budget proportionately to the sales impact of each.

When does it make sense to bring on an agency versus handling marketing internally?

In the early growth stages, outsourcing to an expert ecommerce agency can provide greater focus on optimizing channel performance. Later on, larger in-house teams may offer benefits like institutional knowledge and integrated workflows.

What metrics indicate poor multi-channel optimization?

Indicators like decreasing conversion rates across channels, low referral traffic between platforms and poor attribution to certain touchpoints all signal opportunities to improve integration.

In Closing

By coordinating social media advertising, email marketing, SEO and additional digital initiatives, ecommerce brands can gain a holistic view of each customer’s journey. Strategic nurturing and retargeting across channels maximizes engagement at every touchpoint.

Continuously track channel analytics through multi-touch attribution to allocate resources appropriately based on ROI. And keep testing and optimizing campaigns through A/B experiments and customer segmentation for sustained innovation.

With the right integrated multi-channel strategy fueled by hard data, elevating performance across all digital drivers is an attainable reality for forward-thinking ecommerce marketers.

SEO Meta Title: Driving Multi-Channel Ecommerce Success: Strategies for Optimizing Social, Search, Email & More

Meta Description: Grow your ecommerce business by effectively leveraging social ads, email marketing, SEO, PPC and other integrated digital channels.

Key Phrase: ecommerce multi-channel optimization

Excerpt: Implementing a strategic multi-channel approach is essential for ecommerce brands looking to grow. This article explores proven tactics for optimizing social, search, email and more to maximize sales.

Tags: ecommerce, email marketing, social media marketing, search engine optimization, paid search, attribution modeling

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