Ecommerce Branding Strategy with Influencer Marketing & PR

Branding of an eCommerce store is an important step that is mandatory after setting up the store. Ecommerce branding has several advantages and eventually helps to increase the sales. Basically, branding helps in increasing the customer awareness about the store and the products/services being sold/offered. While it is simple to set up an eCommerce store, it can be challenging to promote the store among internet users. Ecommerce branding is useful in these situations, especially when you are trying to reach out to a large population. In simple terms, branding is building up an emotional and engaging relation with your buyers. Building an image among the customers is vital for continued association with them and also repeat sales.

Here are a few branding strategies that you need to employ – not only to boost sales, but also to improve customer experiences. The focus of this article is on influencer marketing and public relation (PR) in eCommerce branding.

Catchy Name and Logo

This is your first step towards eCommerce branding. Always choose brand names that are catchy and logos that are interesting. If you look at Amazon logo, there is an arrow which extends below their logo, from the letter ‘A’ to ‘Z’ in the name AMAZON, which subtly explains that you can buy anything from ‘A to Z’ on their store! Often the brand name may not be related to the business at all! Random names such as Swiggy, Zomato, etc are catchy and trendy too. So, think out of the box while choosing your brand name and logo.

Easy Customer Support

This is an important step in eCommerce branding. A brand which addresses it’s customer issues at the earliest is the most successful. Although it does not mean that you have to accept each and every customer’s request, polite denial with proper explanation is also accepted as good customer support. The key is to be reachable easily. So, you may have to employ different channels such as chat windows, call centres, social media pages/platforms, etc to reach out to your customers. Prompt call backs or email replies also improve your brand image.

Public Relation

A good public relation or PR (in short), can be a crucial step in eCommerce branding. Customers always want to know more about the person or group which set up the eCommerce store, their sale strategies, strengths and challenges, and at times, even their personal aspects (like favorite movies, food, etc). One of the simplest step towards improving your PR is having an ‘About us’ page on your eCommerce store. You can introduce the owners/directors/investors and key opinion makers of your company on the ‘about us’ page. You can also mention about company policies, motto, etc, which increases the confidence of the buyers.

Having your personal blogs, webpages, social media handles (such as twitter) where you discuss about the brand as well as general topics related to work, personal relations etc, also help in improving your PR status. You can also register yourself on platforms such as Reditt, Quora, Team BHP, etc and answer queries that are related to your field of expertise or those related to the products being sold on your eCommerce store. This can not only help in eCommerce branding, but also improves your image as a knowledgeable person – one who knows his products.

Getting involved in philanthropic and social welfare activities through corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities not only help in eCommerce branding, but also help in achieving a satisfaction about doing something for the society you live in.

Press conferences and press releases are another aspect of PR activity that improve your eCommerce branding. Holding press conferences about the achievements and unique features about your eCommerce store or the products being sold ensures ample coverage of your store and can boost sales. Often, people are unaware of eCommerce stores, and press releases can help educate them about your presence.

Social Media Influencers

There are several individuals who are considered as key opinion makers or knowledge leaders and social media influencers. Generally, these individuals have a huge number of followers over the internet, who follow them closely. The followers read, like and comment almost every post put up by their influencers on social media. Getting help from such influencers is a vital step in eCommerce branding.

The social media influencers can help in eCommerce branding in several ways. They can post about your products/services on their pages, or leave a review about it and ask their followers to give it a try. They can also encourage their followers to leave their feedback and share it among their friends. Reaching a few social influencers can help you reach thousands of individuals indirectly. Hence, it is quite essential to engage social media influencers during eCommerce branding.

There are several ways in which you can engage social media influencers. If your’s is a service industry, you can invite the influencers to visit your location and avail of your service (free of charge). Encourage them to take pictures, explain them about your ideals and service protocols, and ensure that they have a great experience. The influencers would then share their experiences on their social platforms, which are read by thousands of followers. In case you are promoting or selling some products, then you can send free samples to such influencers. They would not only try them, but also talk about it on their social handles, which is a form of indirect advertising for your brand.

For better engagement with the right social media influencers, you need to do a bit of homework. Firstly, you need to identify the influencers who are active in the area of your interest. If yours is a food brand or hotel, then you need to check out specifically for those who are interested in food. Additionally, you must ensure that the influencer likes or promotes the type of food you sell (vegetarian/non-vegetarian/Indian/Continental, etc). If you are into lodging and tourism, you must find influencers who love to travel. You then need to contact the most apt ones and ensure that they are interested in promoting your brand.

Ending note

All in all, eCommerce branding can be interesting if not challenging. Following the right steps at the right time helps increase your brand presence and hence the sales.