The most beautiful aspect of living in the digital era is that anyone has an opportunity to pursue their dreams of entrepreneurship.
Unfortunately, it's not a Field of Dreams situation where you build it, and people are naturally drawn to you.
While it's simple to set up a drop-shipping e-commerce store, having a clear vision and setting yourself apart from the competition is necessary for success.
Here are four tips that will help your e-commerce store stand apart.
Strong Brand Positioning
Developing a brand is a must for setting your e-commerce store apart from the competition. There are few truly unique products in the world.
Chances are, someone else has something comparable to offer. So, how do you show customers that your product is better?
Through your brand.
A brand is a visual and tonal representation of your business. It's how you connect and build a relationship.
A brand should reflect your ideal customer's values, interests, and style while connecting with your broader mission and offering.
Coco & Eve is a prime example of successful branding in e-commerce. This visual brand creates inclusive content with a distinct color theme that ties into the product.
The brand is described as refreshing, pure, and revitalizing, and all marketing collateral reflects those adjectives.
Ask yourself these questions when considering your brand:
- Who is my ideal customer?
- What does my brand stand for?
- What adjectives apply to my brand?
- What adjectives do I want to avoid?
- What makes my brand different?
Answering these will help you choose colors, voice elements, and content topics to market your products.
Creating a Customer Avatar
Consider creating a customer avatar to help you develop your brand and stay on track when creating marketing materials.
Revisit your ideal customer, and personify them with a name, occupation, and details about their life.
For example, if your e-commerce site sells women's clothing from several retro-inspired designers, you would create a character that enjoys fashion and has a budget to suit your price point. All creative copy, visuals, and new suppliers should be “vetted” through your avatar.
Compelling Video Content
Video marketing is the future. 86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool, with 92% of marketers highlighting it as an important aspect of their business strategy.
Creating video content for products can feel challenging. However, you don't need expensive equipment. You can create amazing product videos that convert with a smartphone, and a tripod.
Short, concise videos are a powerful way to highlight products on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, as video completion rates impact the algorithm. However, YouTube is ideal for showcasing tutorials, use cases, testimonials, and long-form content.
You can create long-form videos with a free YouTube video editor and repurpose shorter clips for other platforms.
Creating Product Listing Videos
Many e-commerce platforms allow retailers to add product videos to the listing.
Capturing product photos is often a challenge for drop shippers, so adding video to the mix increases the complexity. However, strong visuals are a must for a successful online business.
One strategy for securing product videos is to ask permission from suppliers to use the videos they have listed on AliExpress or social media.
Realistically, your suppliers should be supportive of you using their marketing content to sell their products. However, it's important to get written permission to prevent legal repercussions.
The problem with using existing content is that it may not fit your branding and could create a lack of cohesion between products on your site. If this issue is a concern, consider ordering some sample products to create your own video content.
Product videos should showcase the product from several angles and take a proactive customer service approach to solving problems.
For example, if your product has a learning curve, variations to choose from, or an elaborate set-up process, creating video resources addressing those issues can help.
Also read:- Key Factors For Success In ECommerce Website
Social Media Marketing Videos
Videos are also powerful social media marketing tools to help build an audience and drive traffic to your drop-shipping site.
Create videos that show your product, behind the scenes at your business, and your journey as a business owner.
Use this opportunity to showcase the human side of your business and connect with your audience.
Consider encouraging your customers to tag you when using your products, or creating a custom hashtag for your brand.
This approach will help you curate user-generated content (UGC) to highlight your products. Some overarching benefits of UGC include:
- Resource management – you can fill out your content calendar without creating content from scratch to save time and money.
- Social proof – seeing other people use your products will help boost their confidence in your brand and move toward a purchasing decision.
- Increased reach – resharing UGC and having the original user share your story or post again could increase your reach and engagement while attracting new customers.
- Versatility – creators often come up with unique content ideas that contrast and complement your brand.
As with a supplier's video content, it's essential to ask permission and provide appropriate credit when sharing UGC. You can use a tool like Mediatoolkit to monitor social media for mentions of your brand — tagged or not.
You can also use some Social Media Marketing Strategies For eCommerce Websites to promote your products on social media.
3D Product Images
3D product images are revolutionizing e-commerce. According to research by Google, users interact with 3D images 50% more than static images.
This feature ties into a broader shift toward augmented reality shopping experiences, which improve customer satisfaction, word-of-mouth marketing, and consumer engagement.
The challenge with 3D product images is the resources required to create them. However, advancements in high-quality AI image generation technology are making this process more accessible. This technology should be top of mind for aspiring e-commerce moguls, who can start their journey with Blender, a popular free choice for 3D modeling.
Well-Crafted Copy
Creating well-crafted product descriptions while focusing on SEO copywriting is challenging.
It takes finesse in understanding how to showcase value while providing the technical information that customers need to know. Additionally, incorporating SEO-friendly keywords is essential for attracting customers to your site.
Here are some key considerations when crafting copy for your drop-shipping site:
- Keep it simple – less is more when writing sales copy. Let it rest and digest before revisiting and carving back your word and character count.
- Highlight the value – people don't buy features; they buy benefits. Showcase how the product will improve their lives.
- Start with a hook – use a scroll stopper to get someone's attention as they scan your copy.
- Use your voice – don't be afraid to incorporate humor or brand elements to make the content more engaging and relatable.
- Intentionally break the rules – don't make grammar mistakes, but bend the rules intentionally when it elevates your copy.
- Use literary devices – rhymes, alliterations, and symmetry are powerful when used correctly (but when in doubt, simple is better).
- Use an active voice – talk as though you're referring to the present moment and factual claims. I.e., it shouldn't be “our brand aims to provide great service,” it should be “we provide exceptional service.”
Consider outsourcing this task to a professional marketing freelancer or product copywriter with SEO experience.
It's worth the investment and could be the difference between someone adding products to their cart or checking out the competition.
Conclusion
Creating a desirable product is a small piece of the drop-shipping puzzle. Work with suppliers to get high-quality photos and videos, investing in samples as needed.
Seek professionally-designed marketing collateral, from branding to copywriting. Finally, stay ahead of the curve with strong branding and 3D content to help set your products apart.
