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How Beauty Brands Use Instagram to Sell Products
Digital Marketing Guide

How Can Beauty Brands Leverage Instagram To Sell Their Products

branex-logo Team Branex
Indubitably, Instagram is a great tool for brands running the gamut of all sizes and natures. Empowering businesses with an incredible opportunity to engage with their followers on an entirely new level. Beauty and fashion brands in particular are making the most of this amazing social media network and capitalizing on breathtaking imagery and creative videos to capture the attention of their audience in order to expand their communities. According to a Social Bakers’ study, the beauty and cosmetic industry has now become the most influential industry, ranking third among the top five industries trending on Instagram. Instagram has unique and incredible built-in features and design aesthetics that require brands to come up with a stellar custom content strategy to guarantee burgeoning success. This is why more and more beauty and fashion brands are seeking out innovative and organic ways of promoting their posts, engaging with their customers, and selling their products more authentically. Today’s Gen Z shoppers are more digitally savvy and prefer to buy products they see on social media channels instead of perusing through brick-and-mortar store after store. A survey suggests that more than 75% of users made fashion, beauty, or style-related purchases, right after viewing products on Instagram. This is why an ever-escalating number of brands are using Instagram to promote their brand. According to Statista, 96% of beauty and cosmetics brands are using the platform to connect with consumers and market their products. If you are thinking of using Instagram to endorse your products. Here are a few effective tips you can learn from some of the most famous fashion and beauty brands on Instagram right now.

1. Gucci

Gucci Instagram Strategy If you scrutinize different Instagram accounts of fashion brands, you will find a striking similarity. They are all loaded with product images and editorial photos. However, the fashion brand Gucci always projects feelings of elitism and luxury by leveraging a highly-authentic and appealing Instagram strategy which makes it stand out among competitors. The brand uses illustrations which take stories related to a product or other product ranges to unprecedented heights. Gucci never points its users towards direct purchases. Therefore, it is one of the less shoppable brands in the list. The combination of aesthetically appealing visuals and storytelling makes the brand a memorable and unique one.

2. Mac

MAC Instagram The world’s famous high-end beauty and cosmetics brand Mac, is taking the maximum advantage of this amazing social media platform. Mac promotes its products by encouraging makeup artists, beauty bloggers, and vloggers around the world to promote their branded hashtags such as #MyArtistCommunity and #MACArtistChallenge. The brand is known for its bright looks, glittery eyes, and bold lips, and it flaunts that through its eye-striking Instagram posts. Their flamboyant and attention-grabbing products make the brand stand out in the user feeds, and immediately allure the eye and draw huge interest from users.

3. Too Faced Cosmetics

TooFaced Instagram Page Too Faced is one of the most famous beauty brands that is known for its smart work with influencers and beauty bloggers. By collaborating with smaller, lesser-known influencers and local vloggers. The brand depicts its authentic and humble side to its followers, as opposed to other beauty and cosmetic brands. By reposting and promoting the works of beauty bloggers, makeup artists, and other aficionados, the brand gained a significant boost in customer engagement. It encourages enthusiasts and bloggers to submit their works in the hopes of garnering maximum exposure on Instagram. This makes more and more fans tag the brand so that they can grasp the opportunity to get featured as well on the official Instagram page of Too Faced.

4. Yves Saint Laurent

YSL Instagram Yves Saint Laurent is a famous fashion brand that has devised an out-of-the-box Instagram strategy; one of leveraging videos in their feed to captivate and communicate their brand message across. By harnessing the power of videos, vibrant colors, and stunning visuals, the beauty brand created an evocative impact on teens and young adults, to turn them into loyal brand fans while motivating them to take the desired action.

5. Glossier

Glossier for Instagram Glossier is a highly popular American cosmetics brand that is celebrated for its quality and easy-to-use skincare and beauty products. The brand uses a pastel color palette that has now become its trademark. The brand makes product announcements by using attractive makeup pictures and interacts with its community by creating interesting polls regarding the designs of its upcoming products and actively answering their concerns and questions. Glossier uses a very smart strategy for Instagram marketing. They use their loyal fans as models to promote their products, using the hashtag #nofilterjustglossier which makes their promotion strategy that much more real and organic. They mainly focus on makeup tutorials to engage with followers and other fun posts that also give their Instagram marketing an organic feel and convince people to try their products.

Over to You

With visually alluring photography at its heart, Instagram is a great social media platform for many young demographics looking for luxury fashion, beauty, and cosmetics inspiration. Instagram users prefer to take a desired action such as visiting a website or making a purchase decision after seeing an Instagram post. It is undeniably a lucrative opportunity for brands to tap into the power of Instagram to earn the trust and love of their fans and boost sales along the way.
How Can Brand Use Instagram IGTV
Branding Innovation

IGTV – How Can Your Brand Leverage Instagram Powerful Sibling

branex-logo Team Branex
To produce video content that’s easily accessible to most users, Instagram came up with a novel idea of unveiling a platform that lets users share live vertical videos with their audience. Okay, so do you remember when was the last time you held your phone horizontally, except when watching a video on YouTube or Netflix or playing games? Don’t remember? It’s ok. Neither do I. Since a large number of mobile users usually access content on their phones in portrait mode, it’s no wonder that mobile game developers and advertisers are going vertical too. Vertical videos have totally transformed the way in which users create and consume content, allowing brands to capture a large number of the video-watching audience. Instagram has decided to capitalize on this user behavior and recently announced its brand-new application of long-form video format called Instagram TV (IGTV). Though Instagram is not the only player in the long-form video, Snapchat launched vertical videos back in 2015 and reported that vertical video ads, also called Snap Ads, have up to 9x more completed views and 5x greater consumer engagement compared to CTRs on most mobile ads. This standalone app is Instagram’s jab at YouTube which allows verified creators with a massive number of followers to set up their own IGTV channel and post video content of up to one hour in length. Instagram users can see videos from accounts they follow, popular content, and recommendations based on user behavior. More and more brands are repurposing content they might have already posted, while some brands and vloggers are producing fresh content for their IGTV channels. Brands such as Netflix, Warby Parker, Gucci, and Nike are going crazy to test this brand-new feature of Instagram and posting content ranging from interviews with influencers to silly one-offs.

How Does Vertical Video Work?

Similar to YouTube and other video streaming platforms, IGTV gives users complete freedom to access different channels to stream long-form video content. If you are inspired by any celebrity, influencer, business leader, or vlogger, you are expected to see longer video pop-ups on their IGTV channels soon. When you open the IGTV app, a video will start playing, you don’t have to start watching content from users you follow. You can upload your video to start your channel. Users have the option to change the channel or simply search for their favorite channel, popular content, or simply watch videos posted by other users they follow. Moreover, you can also like, comment, and share any video that draws your attention. YouTube was previously the most famous social media platform for users who wanted to consume video content.  Now with the arrival of IGTV, influencers and brands are more excited to increase their viewership and ROI by tapping into the power of Instagram’s latest marvel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWeeGAj61dA

How are Brands Making the Most of IGTV?

The launch of IGTV is encouraging many brands to tweak their organic video strategies and leverage influencers for content creation. Many brands are using this new medium to tell long-form stories that provide real value to their users to keep them glued to their screens. Let’s take Gucci as an example. The brand shared a video from their recent fashion show to present their latest collection to their users. Gucci Instagram post Louis Vuitton is also taking advantage of this app and posted a video of the Men’s Spring Summer collection, which is exclusively made for vertical viewing. Some brands are working with influencers when it comes to creating content for IGTV. It’s a win-win situation for both – Instagram influencers can increase their viewership and engagement while allowing brands to increase their reach and popularity by tapping into the power of influencer marketing. Have a look at Nickelodeon’s video. The brand is interviewing influencer Liza Koshy, talking about her new show. Warby Parker posts a weekly series of videos, #WearingWarby, that features young influencers from various spheres of life. By doing this, what Warby Parker does is that it shows that it represents the trendy, fun-loving youth who's doing a great job in their area of expertise. In the following video, Sophia Chang, a famous illustrator and designer, talks about herself and the creative process that she follows to come up with her designs and illustrations.

Why Your Brand Should Invest More Efforts and Energy into IGTV?

Whether your digital marketing agency is already capitalizing on Instagram Stories or not, using the power of Instagram TV is a great opportunity for brands to provide content in a more interesting and fun way. The launch of IGTV is motivating brands to produce high-quality branded videos to engage and delight their audience, resulting in a positive image and strong brand recall. Like Instagram Stories, IGTV also allows brands to add swipe-up CTAs and take their audience to their website’s landing pages. igtv launcg In an already competitive space where brands are warring for a maximum number of eyeballs, IGTV is a great platform that will allow you to reach global audiences and increase your following base by shouting out your brand story in the vertical video format. What you, as a business, can do is repurpose a blog post, or simply repost your Facebook or YouTube videos and share them to an entirely untapped segment. This will provide your brand with another chance to enhance positive engagements by providing your audience with fresh and innovative content.

Wrapping it Up

All in all, content that is created specifically for the vertical format is ideal for your mobile audience. It is a promising platform; your brand should experiment with it to stay ahead of the pack. No matter if you repurpose your blog post, already posted videos, or share user-generated content, harness the power of IGTV to convey your brand message and engage with your audience at a deeper level that would help you rope in more potential customers in your sales funnel.
How Marketers Can Sell to the New Tech-centric Generation Z
Digital Marketing Guide

How Marketers Can Sell to the New Tech-Centric Generation Z

branex-logo Team Branex
There is no denying the fact that millennials are the most significant group of consumers. But there is another consumer segment, younger than the ever-popular millennials, whose number and retail influence are continuing to skyrocket. Generation Z is widely recognized as the most powerful consumer base that is projected to account for more than 40% of all customers by 2020. Born after 1995, Generation Z’ers are the new breed of customers that are more tech-savvy, latched onto social media, and remember to do their diligent research before making a purchase decision. This powerful consumer base takes the lion’s share of the spending power that can help your business grow its revenue. If you tweak your marketing strategy to cater to their needs. Today, many brands are embracing innovative strategies to connect and market their brand to Generation Z. If you want to learn how to reach out and sell to this powerful new tech-centric consumer group. Here are a few strategies your brand needs to follow.

1. Think Mobile First

Generation Z Mobile Approach Generation Z is the first group to have unlimited access to a smartphone throughout their teenage years. Generation Z is heavily reliant on mobile devices than anyone else, including millennials. According to a study, members of Generation Z use smartphones most often to consume content. With this mobile-first attitude, brands should ensure that they are offering their prospective customers a seamless and incredible mobile website experience. If you want to drive this powerful consumer base to your website, optimize your website to offer an out-of-the-box mobile experience.

2. Embrace Influencer Marketing

Amongst all consumer segments, Generation Zers are more prone to trusting influencers more than traditional celebrities. A study suggests that more than half of teenagers today prefer to see a brand advertise through social influencers instead of using run-of-the-mill advertising techniques, such as TV commercials, sponsored articles, banner ads, and more. Their engagement with YouTube creators clearly shows how much they value the opinions of micro-influencers as opposed to traditional celebrities. Brands interested in connecting with this powerful generation are advised to work with more influencers on social media to promote their brand. Brands that harness the power of influencer marketing can easily capture the interest of Gen Z. Let’s take Old Navy as an example which tapped online comedian Meghan Reinks to deck out for different occasions.

3. Highlight Real People in Your Marketing Campaigns

Gen Z expects authentic and entertaining interactions from brands. To earn their trust, marketers should highlight real people and their stories in their marketing campaigns. Today, showing the authentic side of your brand has become an integral component of successful marketing. Highlight your values in what you do, refrain from making false claims about who you are, and let your users speak for you. Have a look at Dove’s Real Beauty campaign. The campaign beautifully showcases the power of authenticity. If you look at Abercrombie & Fitch, the brand focuses on putting real people in the limelight, instead of famous models, to flaunt their clothing range. [embed]https://youtu.be/eb9-Ar85wO8[/embed]

4. Leverage User Generated Content

Gen-Zers are more savvy in choosing the content they aspire to watch, and they make sure to skip ads whenever possible. This is why embracing user-generated content is a wonderful way for brands to show potential buyers how other people are using their products and services. This type of content serves as social proof that can help brands quickly build credibility among prospects. Many brands, such as BMW, GoPro, Sephora, Wayfair, Buffer, and more, are frequently using UGC on social media platforms to capture the interest of Gen-Zers. Online furniture brand Wayfair allows its customers to flaunt their home setups featuring Wayfair products by using the hashtag #WayfairAtHome. Starbucks harnesses the power of user-generated content by encouraging its fans to post shots of their coffees and incentivizing them to participate and engage online by offering drool-worthy giveaways.

5. Convey Your Brand Message Emotionally

Members of Generation Z rely on emotions instead of information to make brand decisions. Brands that leverage the power of emotional marketing can convey their brand’s identity and vision and create meaningful relationships that result in a loyal fan base. Marketers need to curate content marketing campaigns to engage consumers on a more emotional level. Vodafone has particularly launched a new mobile network for the youth, providing greater value on data, and allowing users to access apps such as Snapchat and Messenger without cutting into their data plan. Let’s consider Nike as an example: [embed]https://youtu.be/5Zk03ctwgW8[/embed] Nike’s brand message, “Just Do It,” resonates across multiple cultures. In this video, the brand doesn’t mention Nike products but centers on the juxtaposition between a hero and his nemesis to create a sense of rivalry between the active you and the slothful you.

Conclusion

These are a few effective strategies to engage and win over the trust of a well-informed, tech-savvy, and particularly cynical breed of consumers. If you are interested in marketing to this new digitally-savvy customer base, show your values, clearly convey your message, use real people for your marketing campaigns, and leverage user-generated content to win the trust of Gen Z.
User-generated Content Examples
Branding Digital Marketing

6 Out-of-the-Box User-Generated Content Examples To Your Marketing Efforts

branex-logo Team Branex
User-generated content (UGC) is a powerful marketing tool that builds trust, credibility, and engagement! When it comes to buying a product that is posing a purchasing conundrum, who are you more likely to trust? The self-commending word of the brand itself or a friend or family member who can vouch for a first-hand experience with the product? Today, consumers are more digitally savvy than ever before, and take trustworthy recommendations from real customers, followers, and actual partners, rather than brands themselves, especially when making a purchasing decision. If a product has a lot of user reviews with dozens of real product images uploaded under its belt. It makes it easier for them to make an informed decision with complete peace of mind. Here is where user-generated content comes into play. user-generated content for consumers In the US alone, 63% of adults post or talk about services and products online. While 81% read what other people have posted about those products. This renders earned content one of the most influential forms of content in this era! User-generated content serves as social proof that is created by users and consumers about a brand. It enables a brand’s customers to become loyal advocates, which eventually goes to drive brand credibility and sales. As consumers look up to their friends and other shoppers for recommendations, ecommerce brands, and marketers can leverage this influential content in more personalized and authentic ways. Since UGC is created by users and they are not paid to post their UGC content. It makes the promotion more authentic and convincing for other users. This is why UGC is now considered an essential marketing strategy for millions of brands. Today, many brands are tapping into user-generated content to advertise their products and services. If you are thinking of fabricating a UGC campaign for the first time. Here are some awesome user-generated content campaigns that will give you a clear idea of how to drive prospective buyers to your brand by using the power of UGC.

1. Calvin Klein

A famous American fashion house that offers a sophisticated range of apparel for women and men revived the nostalgia of their all-time famous tagline back in 1981. “Nothing comes between me and my Calvins, and launched #MyCalvins campaign on Instagram, asking followers to fill in the campaign line “I ____ in #MyCalvins”, and post pictures in their briefs. As predicted, the campaign was a thriving success. Within a few months, the hashtag #MyCalvins took over Instagram and generated more than 18,000 tagged photos. The brand earned a massive follower base across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. In fact, the campaign resonated more with young people than paid ads or influential posts did. The brand further launched the #MyCalvins gallery to allow customers to submit their best photos. The images, shot by users in their own bedrooms or homes, presented an exclusive sneak-peak at their lives and bodies. The campaign wasn’t just designed to lure celebrities and attract customers into flaunting their bodies to gain attention. The ad is a nod to the 1980s when the provocative image of Brooke Shields posing in a pair of slender jeans stormed the industry. The intimate shots of consumers posing in their most private affairs nurture a sense of vulnerability and emotional connection that a professional shoot cannot even hope to tap into.

2. Wayfair

Wayfair is an American e-commerce company specializing in home furnishings and interior décor. The company launched fun UGC campaigns, asking customers to flaunt their chic home interiors and feature their products in action. The brand launched the #WayfairSquad campaign, entailing their followers to portray their products decking out their homes—an ingenious strategy for blending design inspiration and customer testimonials all in one. Leveraging UGC helped Wayfair channel more and more customers to their website, which eventually increased their sales since it gave users a way to find and shop for their products. Remember that people trust testimonials and feedback from real customers. And if you offer them a way to see your products being used innovatively by real people, it becomes easier to get them to think about purchasing them too.

3. Starbucks

The world’s renowned coffee company that has become deeply and irrevocably ingrained in our daily lives, has taken social media marketing to a whole new level by revealing a more authentic and human side of the brand. Starbucks earned a very engaged user base when they jumped on UGC content in an informative, pertinent, and evocative way. Starbucks ran a #StarbucksOnIce campaign on Instagram which rippled waves of excitement among users and kept them engaged, transforming them into content creators for the brand. The brand re-shared the best posts from the campaign.

4. Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola has been tinkering with user-generated content for quite some time now. “Share a Coke” is one of the longest-running UGC campaigns which is considered a huge marketing win for this beverage giant as they gained a massive boost in revenue. The brand encouraged its fans to post a picture or a video of their personalized Coke bottles on social media with the #ShareaCoke hashtag. In addition, the brand allows its fans to customize and order their own bottles on their website. The campaign generated stupendous results for the brand, with:
  • 500,000 photos shared using the #ShareaCoke hashtag
  • 25 million increase in the Coca-Cola’s Facebook page
  • 6 million virtual Coke bottles created and shared by Consumers
Basically, with this campaign, Coca-Cola wanted their consumers to engage with their products and express their creativity. I bet it is one of the best examples of UGC you’ve ever witnessed, where an American couple is announcing their pregnancy by using Coke bottles and cans. https://youtu.be/h5yyzdgnxoc

5. Outdoor Voices

The brand that offers activewear for men and women has strategically leveraged the power of UGC to highlight them in an authentic light. Instead of focusing on their products, the brand asked users to share their special moments when they are active and fun by using the hashtag #doingthings Their UGC campaign looks authentic and feels sincere, as they focus on real people doing things, not exclusively their products. Showing how other people are using your products in their everyday lives will make it easier for prospective buyers to imagine themselves using your products in similar situations as well.

6. Doritos

Doritos, a famous American brand of flavored tortilla chips, launched a campaign promoting their spiciest tortilla chips, called Roulette. They asked people to post their pictures by using the hashtag #BurnSelfie, and the results were amazing. This campaign encouraged people to engage with the brand in a more meaningful way and depict their creative side.

Now It’s Your Turn

By capitalizing on the power of social proof, you can convince more and more users to purchase from your brand, as buyers are highly motivated by the experiences of other shoppers. If truth be told, leveraging user-generated content in your marketing campaigns is an authentic and cost-effective way of promoting your brand, which can influence customers to trust your brand and purchase your products. Hopefully, these clever UG content campaigns will inspire your own marketing efforts. Good luck!
product-page-opti-f
Branding eCommerce

4 Product Page Optimization Techniques To Increase Conversions

branex-logo Team Branex
Product pages are the most vital components of an ecommerce website which help customers decide whether to check out or abandon the shopping cart. Unfortunately, they are often the most neglected elements of the sales funnel. Remember, the main purpose of your product page is to tell customers why your product is the best fit for them and how it solves their problems. Eye-catching images and well-written descriptions are important, but various other elements help customers make an informed buying decision. When it comes to designing your product pages, even the smallest detail can leave a significant impact on the conversion rate of your website. An awe-inspiring and delightful product page incorporates elements that unambiguously inform prospective buyers, send trust signals, highlight all the notable features of the product, and improve customer experience. If you want to improve your conversion rate, enhance customer experience, and get ahead of your competition. Here are some mind-blowing and truly effective product page optimization techniques that will surely give you the expected results.

1. Add an Element of Storytelling

A recent study suggests that a product description which narrates a riveting and inspiring story has more potential to convert a customer than a standard product copy. By leveraging the prowess of storytelling, you can boost your chances of getting more conversions and fortifying brand loyalty. Let’s take Seattle Cider as an example. Seattle Cider Product Page The company claims that their cider is not your standard, run-of-the-mill cider. They have a hooking story to vouch for them. They capitalized on eye-catching and high-definition images of their cider selection complemented with beautiful label designs that clearly explain what makes their Cider products different from others and what makes their products so special. The brand beautifully explains what goes on in its products, where each ingredient is lovingly procured from, and the love and diligence that go into concocting the final products.

2. Add Product Videos

One of the major hitches of online shopping is not being able to feel, touch, and judge the products you are aspiring to buy. Though adding pictures of your products is effective, a short video that gives an in-depth look at your product can make sure that prospective buyers make a well-informed purchase decision.

We craft beautiful experiences and digital products that grow businesses

Product Page Videos Look at the example of SideBelts, where they are using the power of video to show their products in action. SideBelts Product Page

3. Use Social Proof

More than 70% of people trust content from other customers as opposed to a brand’s claims. A study suggests that one out of four consumers are more likely to purchase a product after seeing user-generated visual content. Ecommerce websites can leverage user-generated content to instill confidence and trust in their consumers and coax them into taking the plunge. Ecommerce brands can use text-based customer reviews and user-generated images on their product pages, which will eventually serve as a visual social proof that can directly influence the buying decisions of potential customers. MVMT Watches is intelligently using customer reviews on their product pages to win over the trust of customers. MVMT Watches Product Page Meller, a sunglasses brand, uses a trick to convince potential customers to hit the buy button by integrating customers’ pictures and videos on their product pages. When customers see authentic customer images and how other people are using these products. It fosters trust, boosts retention, and causes conversions to skyrocket. Meller Product Page

4. Explain Your Product Features Uniquely

To increase your conversion rate and profitability, you need to carefully review your product feature explanation strategy. Instead of simply listing down the characteristics and features of your product in a droning manner. Try to explain how consumers can use the product and how they can benefit from it. Here’s an excellent example of Volkswagen. Volkswagen Product Page Instead of simply jotting out the merits of their products, they take an interactive approach to building your car. The brand highlights different customization features you can choose from, before giving you a detailed look at the car and how it can affect the price. Let’s take another example of Fitbit Charge. Fitbit Charge Product Page The product page beautifully explains how the product works, allowing users to hover over different features while explaining why these features matter the most and how they can make a difference in the users’ lives.

Your Turn

These are a few suggestions that will surely help you optimize your product pages for better usability, customer experience, and conversions. Remember, every business, customer, and product is different. Before implementing any of these changes, make sure that you conduct A/B testing to check what makes the most sense and what you should avoid doing.
Create a Successful Ecommerce Website
eCommerce Guide Web Design & Development

How To Create a Successful E-commerce Website

branex-logo Team Branex
Today, online businesses are growing at a much faster rate than traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Many local retail stores, craft makers, and even bloggers have started selling their products and services online. According to Statista, global retail sales of e-commerce are expected to generate more than 653 billion US dollars in 2018. If truth be told, e-commerce is the fastest growing and one of the most profitable industries to date. With online retail sales snowballing at a rapid rate, now is the right time to build your e-commerce website and boost your sales. However, creating a perfect e-commerce website may sound like a huge undertaking, but the process isn’t all that complicated. Starting an e-commerce business entails a lot of dedication, arduous work, commitment, and some important steps.

9 Tips to Create a Lucrative E-commerce Website

Create a Lucrative Ecommerce Website Here are some essential tips and tricks that can help you better understand the process of building a lucrative e-commerce website from scratch. Let’s dive in.

1. Choose the Right Products to Sell

One of the most important and challenging steps to build your e-commerce website is to find the products you want to sell online. Coming up with a unique product idea can be tough because the most popular and common product categories are riddled with fierce competition. Consumers are just one click away from e-commerce giants such as Amazon, Zappos, eBay, Walmart, and Best Buy. Therefore, it is advised to choose a product that you can position uniquely. Solving your customers’ pain points is always a great idea to drive sales. You can simply identify a problem or deficit and try to capitalize on it by doing it in a different and better way.

2. Figure Out Where to Obtain Your Products

Once you have come up with a new product idea to sell online, now is the time to figure out where to find your products. You can simply look for a manufacturer to produce your own products or find a supplier, wholesaler, or distributor to purchase already existing products from. There are many online supplier directories such as Alibaba, Oberlo, ThomasNet, Kompass, AliExpress, and more which provide a list of vendors to choose from.

3. Register Your Business

This is one of the obvious steps towards building an e-commerce website. Name your online store and find an appropriate and available domain name that will identify your online business. You can buy a domain for your e-commerce website from GoDaddy, Google Domains, Register.com, Domain.com, and more.

4. Choose a Hosting Platform

It is advised to choose an e-commerce hosting platform that can save both time and money. WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Shopify are the most popular e-commerce platforms that make it easier to integrate plugins and payment processes.

5. Build Your E-commerce Website

Once you have decided on a business name and got your domain registered. Now is the right time to build a website for your new business. To save time, many websites offer a host of innumerable e-commerce website themes. You can choose one that allows you to showcase your products in the best viable way. You can simply download a template from websites that offer beautiful e-commerce website templates and themes. All templates are 100% mobile friendly, fully customizable, affordable, and open source, allowing you to pick one that best caters to your business vision. These DIY online e-commerce website builders can create websites in a jiffy, allowing you to start selling products immediately. If you want to build your e-commerce website professionally and incorporate more features and specialized unique options to meet the unique needs of your customers. Hire a professional web design agency that can give you an out-of-the-box e-commerce website solution. Explore a list of top e-commerce web design companies here.

6. Create a SEO Plan

You are almost ready to launch your e-commerce website, but before you jump into it, create an effective SEO strategy to enhance the visibility of your website. Optimizing your website for Google and other search engines is indispensable to help them understand what your online store is about and what it sells. This will increase your website visibility by increasing the chances of appearing higher in search results when potential customers are looking for the products that your store sells.

7. Choose a Shipping Strategy

When it comes to launching your new business, you need to determine your shipping strategy. In order to make sure that your customers glean a seamless experience, map out your shipping process. There are some key factors such as shipping rates, process, product weights, preferred packaging, and packaging sources that must be kept in mind. While devising shipping strategies for your online business.

8. Set up the Payment Gateway

As an online store, you should provide multiple payment options for your customers to provide greater convenience that will ultimately increase your chances of getting more sales. There are many online payment options such as:
  • Credit/debit/prepaid card payments
  • Bank transfers
  • Digital wallets
  • Cash
  • Amazon Payments
  • Bitcoin
  • Dwolla
  • Intuit Payment Network
  • PayPal
  • Authorize.net
  • 2Checkout
  • BluePay
  • WooRockets.com.
Take some time to research and decide what is best for your online store and what most of your customers prefer to use.

9. A/B Testing

Before launching your e-commerce website, you should invest in A/B testing. Prudently test everything from landing pages and images, pricing, and checkout processes, to emails and web copy. Make sure that your website works perfectly across smartphones, tablets, and other devices. Some A/B testing tools such as Google Analytics Content ResearchOptimizelyVisual Website OptimizerUnbounce, and more can help you optimize your site.

You are All Set to Launch

Finally, it’s time to launch your website with Branex. Remember that starting an e-commerce website is a detailed and complex process - from choosing a product to sell and finding suppliers to building, launching, and driving sales. Following these nine essential steps will ensure that your e-commerce website is launched in a timely manner that will eventually become a profitable business.
Brands Using Chatbots To Improve Marketing
Digital Marketing

How Brands Are Using Chatbots To Improve Their Marketing and Sales

branex-logo Team Branex
It must have dawned on you by now that we are surrounded by bots. If you read between the lines of fascinating success stories like Arby’s hilarious pizza slider bot. The future of brand awareness lies in the tiny digital paws of chatbots! Today, more and more businesses are using chatbots to create more personalized interactions with their target audience, make purchases, recommend products, and provide excellent customer service. You can book an appointment, order your favorite food, and get recommendations for anything you can think of. Accenture Strategy recently found out that individuals are forever in need of advice and guidance, which can be a tough nut to crack for retailers, especially when there has been a shift in consumers towards mobile and eCommerce retail, entailing the need for round-the-clock communication. The use of chatbots offers marketers a fantastic opportunity to boost their brand, engage with customers on a personal level, improve their marketing and sales, and generate higher ROI. According to Ubisend report, 1 in 5 consumers would prefer to purchase products and schedule an appointment using a chatbot. [embed]https://youtu.be/wL7-PoiBiKM[/embed] Irrefutably, chatbots and virtual assistants are the future of marketing and customer support, having a vast propensity to offer innumerable opportunities for your brand. The assistance provided by chatbots when it comes to customer decisions alleviates time perusing through search results, and in turn entails fewer steps to complete a purchase, consequently resulting in fewer decision points where a customer could change their mind. However, when using chatbots, the key is to strike the right balance. A bot needs to exude a healthy curiosity about each new acquaintance and capture a user’s attention quickly. But too much intrigue can put people off and push them into creepy territory. While bots cannot claim to be actual humans, they must be drilled in a rudimentary knowledge of human conversational patterns. To inspire your foray into this burgeoning technology and help you implement chatbots in your marketing strategy. Here are some key takeaways from the best brands that are using chatbots to create a difference and delight their customers.

Domino Pizza

Domino Pizza Logo Eager to harness the power of chatbot technology, Domino’s redefined what customer service is all about when they launched their pizza ordering bot DOM, allowing users to order directly via their Facebook messenger. Be it repeat or one-off customers, DOM allows you the comfort of ordering without having to leave your favorite app and without the need to create an account. Users can place an order by simply typing “PIZZA” and sending it to Dom via Messenger. Domino Pizza is taking advantage of all devices such as Google Home, Amazon Echo, Twitter, text messaging, smartwatches, and smart TVs to ease the lives of its customers.

Whole Foods

Whole Foods Chatbots The friendly foody bot of Whole Foods allows users to search for recipes, products, and food inspiration without ever leaving Messenger. The Facebook Messenger bot was launched in 2016 by Conversable. The brand is planning to widen its horizons by introducing coupons, direct shopping options, and a saved recipe library for its users. Shoppers can capitalize on the chatbot to ask for recipes and determine where all the products that they need are located in the store. If you give the bot some details about your special dietary needs, flavor preferences, and food allergies. The bot will help you find foods and recipes that leave out a particular ingredient as well. You can even simply send an emoji of a food item to glean an instant dietary recommendation.  Send out a banana emoji into the Facebook Messenger chat. And watch the bot offer some popular recipes that include bananas and point you in the right direction. Isn’t it amazing?

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Logo One of the oldest airlines in the world considered the safest and most punctual European air carrier launched a KLM BlueBot (BB) on Facebook Messenger to help passengers book a ticket. The bot can also deliver booking confirmation, flight status updates, and reply to passenger queries. With the help of BB, the airline company is now able to handle a whopping number of requests from its customers and provide a personal, timely, and accurate answer to every customer request.

SephoraSephora Chatbots

The French cosmetic brand that offers makeup, skincare, and hair care products worked with the chat app company Kik and launched a personal assistant in 2016. The personal assistant provides all kinds of makeup tutorials, skincare tips, product reviews, video clips, and product ratings. The cosmetic brand also launched the Sephora Reservation Assistant that helps customers seamlessly schedule appointments with beauty specialists by contacting the chatbot directly. The chatbot comprehends the natural speech patterns of customers through its smart learning capabilities, making the interactions even easier and more hassle-free. Their second service Color Match leverages the power of augmented reality to aid customers in selecting colors. You can get any shade identified from Sephora’s vast line of products by holding up your camera to a face or image. The algorithm can also offer you suggestions for cosmetics to match an outfit.

Starbucks

[embed]https://youtu.be/A3uwJNvQT8A[/embed] Ordering your Pumpkin Spice Latte at the counter is so out the window! Starbucks has introduced a Barista bot for Facebook Messenger that is created to help its users order coffee or snacks. Customers can interact with the bot via text message or by voice through Amazon Alexa. Customers can place their orders right from the comforts of their homes and pick up their brew when they receive a message from the app. The Barista bot also allows for tipping and payment, and all that you have to do is show up. Based on the previous orders, the bot is enabled to gauge the habits and preferences of loyal customers and make recommendations.

Mastercard

[embed]https://youtu.be/m-nbznORjaY[/embed] Mastercard introduced a Facebook Messenger bot that allows its users to check the list of their recent transactions. It will not only give you all the account-related details but also allow you to make purchases from many Mastercard-partnered retailers directly, such as Subway, Cheesecake Factory, FreshDirect, and more.

1-800-Flowers

1-800-Flowers is also making the most of chatbot technology while allowing its users to send flowers and gifts. It helps you choose florals according to the type of event, such as anniversary, birthday, family get-together, etc., and helps you select the right gift for the occasion. With their bot, you can easily purchase flowers and receive shipping updates right from the app.

eBay

eBay eBay launched a virtual shopping assistant ShopBot that helps consumers find items they want on their website. Users are required to provide some details about their preferences and price range and ShopBot will help them find the right product, style, and color. Users can simply upload the image of a product that they want and ShopBot will find it for them.

Taco Bell

Taco Bell Logo Taco Bell is capitalizing on chatbot technology and making the process of ordering food online a lot easier for customers. With TacoBot, you can order some Taco Bell directly on Slack. The bot allows you to place an order, customize it, check out, and receive order confirmation without leaving Slack.

Spring Bot

Spring Boot Spring Bot is a digital shopping assistant used by many retail brands such as Lanvin, Marc Jacobs, Givenchy, Uniqlo, Balenciaga, and more to connect with customers. It invites users to shop from more than 800 retailer brands and receive personalized recommendations in the app. Customers are required to answer some questions about their personal preferences and price range and the Spring Bot will provide them with relevant suggestions. Users can make direct purchases by simply clicking on the product images right on the platform.

What Does It Mean for Marketers

AI-powered chatbots can provide a seamless customer experience that can improve customer engagement, and retention and drive huge sales. These conversational agents serve as alternative solutions to customer service representatives. Marketers should use chatbots to fortify their marketing efforts, reach their target audience, help customers identify what they want, and deliver a higher ROI.

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