To succeed in e-commerce, the trick is to make use of marketing strategies where businesses create ‘top of mind recall’ among consumers. The objective is to become the ‘go-to’ site for products in your category. This way, consumers don’t have to search for your products on Google, thus exposing them to competition. PR is the most sustainable strategy to achieve this objective. In this blog post we discuss how to establish your brand, identify consumer triggers and ways to invoke action.
Creating A Powerful Brand
PR is all about establishing the right brand and positioning it in the minds of your customer. It is important to pick a domain name that is easy to remember and aligns with your brand values.
There are two ways to do this. If you are an established brick-and-mortar business, it makes sense to purchase a domain name that carries the same branding forward. However, if you are just starting, you could look at buying an existing brand from your industry. Building a brand from scratch can be time-consuming, and purchasing an established brand can help immensely with your PR strategy. E-commerce platforms like Shopify have their own marketplace where you can find established brands for sale that fit your own business values.
Identify Consumer Triggers
Consumer emotion is the heart of a successful PR strategy and there are two ways to trigger this. The first way is to reinforce something a consumer already believes in. Alternatively, you could establish something that is diagonally opposite to what your consumer believes in. In both cases, your PR triggers the emotions necessary for a consumer to take action. For instance, most people believe they have a “sleeping position” – we either sleep on our side, our stomach or our back. One study by a bedding company triggered consumer emotion by stating the opposite of this common belief.
Take this study on the other hand – most of us spend time on social media and websites like Facebook and Instagram, which are well-known time sinks. The study reinforces this common belief with substantiated numbers that help trigger consumer emotions. It was thus successful at generating PR. In both cases, the objective of a PR exercise is to generate information that triggers a reaction or emotion from your consumers.
Invoking Action From Consumers
Utilizing social media is a great PR strategy to get the word out about your business.
The best PR campaigns are viral in nature and require no forced nudges. However, such campaigns are few and far between and luck and timing often play a part in executing these. That being said, you can still make your non-viral PR campaigns successful through diligent execution.
Social media campaigns and email blasts are wonderful enablers of broadcasting your brand messaging. Build and nurture an email list of journalists and bloggers who write about news in your industry and help them at work by providing them with insightful newsworthy tidbits. Nurturing a list this way helps you gain influence, which is handy while reaching out to the press with your own PR story. If you are just starting, it makes sense to subscribe to a journalist-outreach service like we offer at Three Girls Media that can help you reach blogs and websites in your industry.
Social media followers, who are typically your consumers as well, are a critical component of your PR exercise. Build a social media following that is passionate about your industry. Nurture and engage with this audience by sharing news and tips that appeal to this audience. When you have a highly engaged social media following, it becomes easier to create virality around your PR activities. Invest in Facebook or Instagram advertising to get the first set of readers and followers who can then set the ball moving on virality.
The success of a PR campaign depends on reaching influencers and in turn, hitting a critical mass of readers who then share your story with their followers in such a way that the campaign becomes self-sustaining. This can be done either organically or through paid advertising. The success of a campaign is measured by how much brand equity you gain through the process. A sustained PR campaign helps your business in establishing a brand that consumers come directly to instead of searching for your products on third-party platforms like Google.
Do You Need Help With Your PR Strategy?
If you struggle find yourself struggling with your PR efforts or just don’t know where to start, contact us at Three Girls Media. Our team of experienced marketing and PR specialists is ready and willing to begin planning your press strategy today. We offer a complimentary, 30-minute phone consultation to discuss the specific needs and goals of your business.
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