Retail Global Webinar: Content and Personalisation Tips

Let’s deep-dive in to all things Content and Personalisation!

This blog is a summary of all the juicy tips and tricks shared by Alita, Martin Wilkins from video marketing business Shootsta and Jim Stewart from StewartMedia in the Retail Global webinar.

You can view the full webinar here!

Alita kicked things off by exploring the importance of a positive user (UX) and customer experience (CX) in email marketing.

Simplicity is Key

If you really want to transform your email marketing CX and UX you shouldn’t be trying to add more, you should be looking at what you can take out! If you’re adding all the bells and whistles with no clear objective in mind then your email will be the equivalent of showing up to a pyjama party in a ball gown. You’ve wasted all that time getting dressed to the nines and now you look stupid.

Better design, better messaging and better emails are about learning to dial it back. Slow down to really consider the data sets and little footprints that are defining your audience personas and make sure every element has a purpose. As they say on MasterChef, don’t put it on the plate if you can’t eat it!

There’s Always Data

Time and time again we hear retailers say ‘we don’t have enough data to segment, we don’t know enough about our customers just yet.’ Don’t fall down that rabbit hole! There are always small little data ‘nuggets’ and user footprints sprinkled throughout the web that you can use to make better decisions and send better emails.

Are you tuning in to what your subscribers are engaging with on Facebook? What time of day are they opening their emails? What day of the week do they shop on your website? Where there is data, it should be used…and there’s always data. Trust me!

Learn to Save and Re-Assign Resources

Part of optimising your customer experience is understanding there cannot be a weak link. You can’t focus all of your time and energy on your checkout and shopping experience, just because that’s where the money is made. It just doesn’t work that way! If you have a weak link you haven’t closed the loop…and if you haven’t closed the loop you’re losing customers/missing opportunities somewhere.

Transactional emails, sadly, are often the most neglected element of the CX and this is a shame because they’re, in many ways the most powerful aspect the journey. Learning to optimise your emails such as an abandoned cart, post-purchase and shipping confirmations is a great way to save resources and time. Haven’t made the connection?

Let me explain! If you have a great post-purchase email that clearly defines the order number, when they should expect a shipping number/email and returns method you will cut the number of ‘when will my parcel arrive’, ‘how do I change my order’ sorta emails down to the bare minimum. Your customer service team will no longer be answering the same question over and over and will have far more time on their hands to assist in sales.

Martin Wilkins – Digital Marketer and Events Manager for Shootsta

For the next speaker, we deep-dived into the world of video marketing exploring how high-quality video can have a huge impact on audience engagement. If a picture is worth 1,000 words guess how much a 60-second video is worth? 1.8 million words according to research. I’m impressed!

Are you currently using video? If you’re not here are some stats that will make you rethink!

Almost 50% of users look for a video relating to a product before entering a store
4/5 consumers believe that demo videos are helpful
51% of marketers see video as their best ROI
Video on a landing page can increase conversions by 80 %
By 2020 80% of content on the web will be video

So what are Martin’s top tips for making great video content? Here they are!

Storytelling

Video is the only format that can combine text, sound, movement and imagery and for that reason, it’s great for telling stories. It appeals to those with a short attention span, which let’s be honest, is everyone! If you want to learn more about the power of storytelling in marketing you should check out my blog Why Is Storytelling Important In Marketing? The Emotion Economy

Here are the steps you need to take to ‘Find Your Story’:

Identify your passion
Prioritise authenticity
Understand your audience
Structure your message
Create a powerful ending

Balancing Your Content

Shootsta has pulled from the same playbook that Youtube and Google use for their video strategy. I’d try and explain it but I wouldn’t do it any justice. Check out the image below for a great summary!

Remember Video is Always ‘On’

The great thing about video is that it is always ‘on’. It’s so easily accessible with many social algorithms favouring it compared to other content and can be viewed across many devices at any time of the day. Video is far less time-sensitive compared to other marketing methods and when made right can be re-purposed over and over again.

Jim Stewart – SEO Expert from StewArt Media

The footing that your brand has online will support everything that you do, it affects your conversion rate, your customer experience, your ability to be chosen over your competitors…literally everything. In his segment, Jim reinforces the fact that in order to have a strong brand foundation you need to have people talking about you! So how do you get people talking about your brand? Here are Jim’s tips!

Forget the Backlinks!

Gone are the days where SEO was a numbers game and your success was based on how many backlinks you could get to your site (regardless of how dodgy they were). Google stomped out that lazy marketing with smarter algorithms and now it’s a matter of using the right content and marketing it to the right people.

However, before you can start sharing great content you need to set the stage for a great UX and CX. This means optimising your sites navigation and the speed in which visitors can find what they are looking for, ensuring you are tracking consumer behaviour with pixels and utm links and laying the breadcrumbs that will lead them to your end goal. If you want people to find you in search you need people to talk about your brand. Because when people are talking about you, people are searching for you and that’s more powerful than backlinks any day!

Branded Key Phrases

As I mentioned above, a strong brand is everything! So how do you measure brand strength? Jim notes that you should focus on the success of your branded keywords. For example, our branded key phrases would be Milk it Academy 0r Milk it Academy digital marketing training. These are the keywords you really need to be ranking high on! Jim recommends that your branded keywords should make up 50% or more of your keywords.

Google Search Console

Jim’s last tip is one that you can action right now! If you aren’t currently using Google Search Console then get onto it ASAP! Google Search Console allows you to see everything the Google bot finds out about your site while crawling your site. It allows you see the phrases people are searching to find your website and tonnes of other super useful information!

Come See us at Retail Global

Both Alita and Jim will be presenting at Retail Global in a matter of weeks and you catch the team from Shootsta on the exhibition floor. There are still a few spots left in Alita’s Email Marketing Masterclass. We will be exploring all things email UX and CX, click here to learn more and secure your spot!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg-w8BcBUCc