by Sofi | Jan 26, 2018 | Other
Shopify is one of the greatest e-commerce platforms utilized by sellers to structure their online retail businesses. If you are managing a Shopify e-commerce platform and searching for the latest features for your Shopify store, then look no further! Check out the features below and set yourself for success.
#1 Introducing Shipping Labels on Mobile
One of the biggest advantages in entrepreneurship is that you get to choose when and where you work. With the Shopify app for iOS and Android, Canadian and American merchants can add shipping to the list of flexibility and receive complete access, including low rates with supported carriers (UPS, DHL Express, USPS, and Canada Post), directly in the Shopify app. Now using a computer isn’t required to buy and print your shipping labels, and you can complete the procedure from any place.
#2 Start Selling on eBay with Shopify
Shopify and eBay have united to give you access to eBay’s customer base of over 171 million buyers. Merchants based in the U.S. and selling in USD can sell on eBay while suitably handling the fulfillment and inventory procedure within Shopify. This merger with eBay enables you to: handle your inventory and orders all within Shopify, manage eBay orders directly from Shopify, prepare exclusive prices for eBay listings, and handle your eBay business policies.
#3 Introducing UPS for Shopify Shipping
UPS is another top feature in Shopify Shipping; U.S.-based Shopify merchants can provide their customers with an excellent delivery experience just like enterprise retailers. UPS and Shopify Shipping will enable you to receive competitive rates at industry-leading rates.
#4 Google Autocomplete for Shopify: Less Friction at Checkout, More Sales
Google Autocomplete provides an easy and quick checkout experience for customers. The numerous fields to be finalized at checkout can be time consuming for your customers or even prevent them from buying the product. This becomes even more clear for customers on mobile, where checking out on a small screen can be even more time consuming. With the Google Autocomplete feature, when customers arrive at checkout and start entering the first few characters of their address, Google Autocomplete will immediately complete the job and pre-populate their address. Incorrect addresses and re-typing are virtually excluded.
#5 Introducing Bulk Label Printing for Shopify Shipping
Bulk label printing is an efficient method to complete your orders more proficiently, saving you valuable time. Bulk shipping is a free upgrade for any merchant in Canada and the United States who purchase and print their shipping labels through Shopify. Bulk shipping was created and optimized for speed and ease. It will no longer be a necessity to click into each separate order to buy a shipping label. Rather, you’ll be able to do everything right from your orders list.
#6 Introducing Shopcodes: QR Codes That Make Mobile Shopping a Breeze
Shopcodes can only be generated within Shopify stores, and each QR code is unique and trackable so you can understand where traffic and sales are coming from on your Shopify Analytics dashboard. Just install the free Shopcodes app, and you can produce Shopcodes that direct customers to a product page. You can also assign discounts to Shopcodes customers can scan to save immediately.
by Sofi | Jan 19, 2018 | Other
Inbound marketing is a type of marketing that focuses on creating valuable content to attract customers or leads. With inbound marketing customers come to your business, unlike outbound marketing where you try to find customers via traditional marketing methods. Inbound marketing is an inexpensive method and can generate great returns. This is why it’s heavily used by so many businesses in the recent years.
There are different inbound marketing forms you can use to improve your business, so here are the 4 most popular and effective ones.
#1 Social media marketing
Social media is a place where you can reach a wide and diverse audience at any time and easily create brand awareness. You can communicate and connect with customers and prospects, you can advertise your business at a low cost, and you can attract target audiences by creating great content. On social media the power is in the hands of the people, because they can choose to follow or unfollow you whenever they want. So, it’s important for you to focus on delivering valuable content that will keep people interested in your business.
#2 Content marketing
One of the best ways to inform people about your business is by delivering relevant content. You can create and share content in different forms, including photos, videos, articles, etc. However, one of the most popular types of content creation is blogging. You can write blogs about news, experiences, advices, and other information related to your products or industry. You should always try to create informative and educational blog posts, so your readers can find them useful. If your content is good, they might become your regular readers, and later customers.
#3 SEO
Search engine optimization is the process of increasing the traffic to your website by getting high rankings in search results on search engines. To achieve this, you should optimize the content on your website. Keywords have a key role in doing this, and they are the foundation of every SEO campaign. To choose the right keywords for your business you should research keywords and find which of them are niche for your market, see how competitive they are, and then create your own target keywords. Once you choose your keywords, you should start including them in your website’s content.
#4 Email marketing
Email marketing can be used as both inbound and outbound marketing method. If you use email marketing to attract highly qualified leads organically, then it’s considered inbound. To create a successful inbound email marketing campaign, you should always have a well-defined strategy, a good tool for creating and segmenting your lists, be creative and create good content, and send emails regularly. To achieve best results, you can use emails to send different types of content depending on your goal and your audience, including: newsletters, promotions, blog content, holiday greetings, birthday messages, and others.
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These forms of inbound marketing are becoming a must-have for many businesses in the digital age. If you want to attract visitors by providing value, in a cost-effective way that can generate great returns, then inbound marketing is the way to go.
by Sofi | Nov 17, 2017 | Other
If you’re planning to set up an online store, you’re facing the challenge of choosing an appropriate e-commerce platform. There are multiple platforms which offer great e-commerce solutions, but Shopify is a leader on the market and a go-to choice for many businesses. The reason for this is that the platform has many great features, and it’s relatively easy to use.
So, without further ado, here are the benefits of using Shopify.
#1 Affordability
Shopify offers monthly plans which are relatively cheap and affordable for any business.
- Lite plan – this plan gives you tools for selling on social media and buy buttons you can put on your website or blog. You don’t get too many options with this plan, but it goes for only $9 a month.
- Basic Shopify plan – with the Basic plan you get a hosted shop and blog with additional options such as adding unlimited number of products, fraud analysis tool, ability to add discount codes, a free SSL certificate and 24/7 customer support. This plan costs $29 a month.
- The Shopify plan – with this plan you can take advantage of all the options from the basic plan, plus additional options such as the abandoned cart recovery tool, which lets you get contact details from people that didn’t finish their orders, and send them reminder or promo message later. This is the most popular Shopify plan and is priced at $79 a month.
- Advanced Shopify plan – this plan has all the features from the other plans, with the addition of advanced report builder, dashboard access of 15 users, and third-party shipping calculation. This is the most expensive plan and it goes for $299 a month.
#2 Easy setup and use
The platform offers an easy way to setup and launch your online store. It has a nice admin interface, which is very well structured and easy to use. There is also a Shopify Help Center where you can find all the necessary information and guides about setting up and managing your store.
#3 Hosted platform
To use Shopify, you don’t need to have a lot of technical expertise or coding skills. They take care of your site’s server, software, website management, hosting, payment gateway, as well software updates. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about technical issues and you can just focus on running your business.
#4 Marketing apps and tools
Shopify provides all the key marketing apps and tools you need to promote your e-commerce business. It has integrated SEO features, advanced analytics, social network integrations, targeted e-mail marketing, discount codes, custom gift cards, coupon engine, etc. You can use any of the marketing apps and tools to generate more traffic to your site and boost your sales.
#5 Mobile friendly
Shopify includes mobile commerce features and can be managed from a mobile phone. All the themes are mobile responsive, and it includes a built-in mobile commerce shopping cart which means customers can buy from your store using a mobile phone. In addition, you can manage your store from anywhere using the Shopify mobile app, available for iOS and Android.
#6 Security and reliability
Shopify keeps your site secure by handling security compliance, security upgrades and hacker protection. They also provide reliability, by maintaining and upgrading your server in order to make sure your shopping cart is always available and loading quickly.
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If you want to easily launch and manage an online store, without having to bother with technical issues, then Shopify is the right choice for you.
by Sofi | Nov 10, 2017 | Other
What is mobile marketing?
Mobile marketing is a type of digital marketing aimed at reaching specific audiences on their cell phones, smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices via SMS, MMS, email, social media, and mobile applications.
Considering the rapid pace of technological advancement, mobile marketing is becoming an indispensable part of an effective marketing strategy. Some companies have been slower in adopting this concept, mainly due to the belief that this type of marketing only targets the younger population. But the truth is that people of all ages are using smartphones and other mobile devices, and this trend will continue in the future.
According to a statistic by Express Pigeon, “over 50% of smartphone users grab their smartphone immediately after waking up.” This shows how much people are attached to their devices, and this type of information should encourage companies to direct more of their efforts towards mobile marketing.
Companies need to constantly improve and adjust their strategies to succeed in the mobile world. Although effective, it’s no longer enough to connect with customers only by sending text messages, because people now use smartphones to engage in all the kind of online activities they can engage on desktop and laptop computers. This means that companies need to catch up with the times and evolve their mobile strategies to fit the current wishes, needs, and habits of their customers.
Benefits of using mobile marketing
Reach – Majority of people nowadays own smartphones, and spend a lot of time online, so mobile marketing can help companies reach very wide and diverse audiences. It’s also very important to be present on social media, since people regularly check into their social media networks on their smartphones. People share stuff they like online, so good social media presence will increase your brand awareness as well.
Immediacy – You can get immediate responses from your customers when you reach them by mobile, because people carry their smartphones with them almost all the time. If you send them a text message or an email, they will immediately receive it. If in your message or email you include a link to your new product, they might like it and decide to make a purchase right away.
Enhanced customer experience – Many businesses still don’t have optimized websites for smaller screens, and that results in inconvenience for users who surf the internet on their smartphones and other mobile devices. Adjusting your web content to fit on smaller screens will enhance the experience of your customers and increase engagement.
Location awareness – If you own an app for your business, you can track the location of your users by technologies such as GPS or beacons. You can deliver different information to your users by sending push notifications, at any time. With analytics, you can gather different types of data for your users, such as the time they visit a certain location, how long they stay there, and more. The location insights can help you create more personalized marketing strategies, and boost the odds of engagement and conversions.
Cost-effectiveness – Compared to other marketing techniques, mobile marketing is very affordable. You don’t need a big budget for an SMS campaign, and you can create any other kind of mobile marketing campaign at a relatively low cost. This makes mobile marketing a good option for small businesses that have a limited budget.
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Mobile marketing brings companies many opportunities for development and improvement of their business endeavors. It helps them reach many people at the same time, inexpensively, easy and fast. Think of all the benefits mobile marketing can bring to your business, and make it a part of your marketing strategy, if you haven’t done so already.
by Sofi | Nov 3, 2017 | Other
The holiday season is an opportunity for your business to grow in both sales and customer base, so it’s important for you to optimize your marketing strategy, and make the most of it. Here are some tips on how to make the busiest season of the year, the best part of the year for your business.
#1 Prepare social media content
People spend a lot of time on social media during holiday season. Before they go on their holiday shopping, they often go online to check for discount announcements, ask for product prices, and search other information about their favorite brands. Therefore, it’s essential for you to prepare a great holiday content for your social media profiles. Publish the kind of content your audience liked in the past, share some exciting news, discount offers, post cute holiday photos, or organize fun events.
By posting on social media during the holidays, you can reach a wider audience, and consequently increase engagement. A good idea is scheduling your posts for publishing in advance, instead of publishing each post individually. This can save you a lot of time that you can use to focus on other business issues, and you can schedule posts to be published at optimal times of the day when your audience is active the most. So, prepare awesome content and then schedule it for publishing at specific dates during the holidays.
#2 Optimize your website
Optimize the content and the look of your website for the holidays. Add relevant information, feature new products/services and discount offers, and include CTAs. Update your website with news about your work, your company, and your brand. Add the kind of content you think your website visitors would like, then organize it and make it easy to find.
Also, try to create a great user experience for people who visit your website. Consider editing the look of your website by adding a holiday flair. Design some cool graphics, change website colors, get creative with it and give it a nice festive look.
#3 Send emails to business clients
If you work with business clients, send a nicely crafted email to all of them, and wish them a great holiday season. You can design beautiful email templates in MailChimp, which is a great online platform for email marketing. It offers plenty of cool layouts and themes you can choose from, as well as content and design editing tools.
Sending a holiday email is a great opportunity to express your appreciation and gratitude for the opportunity to work with your clients, as well as your hopes for further collaboration. This is a great time to remind them of how great it is to work with you and strengthen your relationship. Show them how much you value them, and your clients will appreciate the attention.
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Use the holiday season to promote your business, attract new customers, and strengthen the relationship with your clients. It’s the busiest and most cheerful time of the year. Use this to your advantage, and prepare your marketing strategy accordingly.
We wish you a joyous and prosperous holiday season!
by Sofi | Oct 27, 2017 | Other
Content is a key part of a good digital marketing strategy. It’s what gets people interested in your brand and products. And the goal of every business is to reach as many people as possible, who can later become its followers, fans, and customers.
Creating viral content is one of the best ways to reach many people at once, so here are some tips you should keep in mind.
#1 Target people’s emotions
Content that arouses some kind of emotional response in people is always an attention-grabber. People can’t stay indifferent to content that makes them feel happiness, anger, shock, surprise, or any other emotion. They tend to like it, comment it, and share it with other people. Create content that strikes a chord with people and it will become viral in no time.
#2 Make it relatable
People are triggered by things they can relate to. Relatable content increases engagement. People click on it and share it with other people, because it means something to them. To create this type of content means you know and understand your audience. So, consider publishing content that is in some way relatable to many people.
#3 Make it positive
Positive online content performs better than negative online content. People like when they see something that makes them feel good. For instance, consider including humor in your posts, because everybody likes a good laugh. If you publish something that improves the mood of your online audience, they are very likely to want to share it with others.
#4 Make it short and useful
Although the optimal length of your posts depends on your business and your goals, short content is more likely to go viral. It’s easy to consume, it saves people time, and they are more likely to engage by posting comments, participating in discussions, and so on. They will be even more interested in your content if they find it useful. So, try to make it educational, practical, helpful, and informative.
#5 Include visuals
Visuals enrich your content and make it more compelling. Photos, videos, graphs and illustrations make your content eye-catching, and increase the chance of your content getting noticed by more people. So, include beautiful and useful visuals in your content to make it more attractive and share-worthy.
#6 Stand out
If you want to get people genuinely interested in your content, you need to make it unique. Try to make it different and better from the content of your competitors. Try to be original, and don’t copy ideas from other places. Include something new, something nobody else has thought of. Think of your audience and what they might like, and come up with something inventive and creative.
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Using the above tips, you can create content that people will notice and share. Creating viral content is important, if you want your business to grow. However, this doesn’t mean all your content needs to be viral. Just remember that it’s useful to create viral content from time to time, to increase your fan base, and get new customers.
