Amazon is the leading eCommerce retailer in the United States and one of the largest in the world. According to some estimates, Amazon accounts for as much as 50% of the online retail market in the United States. As a result of its market dominance, many brands devote most of their online ad spend to placements on Amazon. However, Amazon is far from the only eCommerce retailer. Other retailers are rising, both by emulating the strategies that have been so successful for Amazon and by introducing their own eCommerce innovations.
Recently, we spoke with Brian Pflaum and Maria Mazariegos, two eCommerce account managers at Compass Marketing. We asked them to share their tips and tricks for navigating digital advertising off Amazon, and to predict where digital advertising itself is headed. This post contains snapshots of that conversation we think you will find interesting.
1. DIVERSIFY YOUR AD SPEND & YOUR AD STRATEGY
We work with a wide variety of brands. Some are brand new start-ups, while others are well-established leaders in their categories; we actively manage the entire eCommerce business for some brands, while for others we serve as strategic consultants, or only manage their advertising. However, one thing is a constant across all the brands we work with: we recommend that they diversify their eCommerce advertising strategy.
Kroger, Instacart, Walmart, and Target have surged as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated consumer adoption of online shopping. All four retailers have unveiled new or improved advertising platforms which give brands greater options for getting their products and messaging in front of shoppers.
2. DEMOGRAPHICS ARE KEY
When advertising across multiple eCommerce retailers and platforms, it’s important to remember who your audience is. Not only the audience for your brand, but the audience for your brand at each retailer. The audience for your brand on Amazon may have different demographic traits than the audience for your brand on Walmart. The same applies to Kroger, Target, Instacart, and any other online retailer. Tap into sources of demographic information for your brand—social media, for example—when planning your advertising campaigns.
3. OBSERVE THE COMPETITION
Look at what your competitors are doing before jumping into advertising. This is especially true if you are planning your first advertising campaign on an eCommerce retailer or if you are beginning to diversify your digital advertising spend and strategy. Spend time looking at the retailer’s website, see where and how your competitors are advertising, and see if you can find weak points in their strategy. If you can, find the “low-hanging fruit” that they are missing and consider including this in your own advertising strategy.
4. PAY ATTENTION TO NEW DEVELOPMENTS
eCommerce retailers are constantly looking for an edge in the market—they want to stand out from other retailers. Instacart, for example, while still overwhelmingly focused on groceries, is beginning to branch out into other categories. From general home goods to pet products and sporting goods, Instacart is expanding the types of products it delivers—often within hours of a consumer of placing an order. This push into other categories is helping Instacart differentiate itself from other retailers, while at the same time offering consumers fewer reasons to use another retailer. As you expand the scope of your own brand’s online efforts, keep a tab on developments with retailers and don’t be afraid to adjust your strategy.
5. KNOW YOUR KEYWORDS
Knowing your top-performing keywords is crucial to help your brand plan its campaigns. Avoid randomly bidding on keywords: putting money behind keywords that are not relevant or that do not drive search traffic is not likely to help your brand.
Digging into your search data can help uncover the most relevant keywords for your brand. If your brand currently does not have a reliable, in-depth source of keyword insights, reach out to Compass Marketing. We would be happy to talk to you about our Compass Digital Analytics Platform (CDAP), our proprietary software that helps us gain actionable insights into the motivations and behaviors of shoppers.
6. EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT KEYWORD MATCH TYPES
Also, remember that different retailers will offer different keyword match types (broad match, modified broad match, phrase match, exact match, negative match, etc.). Not all these match types will be offered by all retailers, but we encourage you to bid on all the match types offered. Some of the bids will not work out in your favor, but the experience will help refine your advertising strategy.
7. VIDEO IS CRUCIAL
Video content is the newest trend in digital advertising, and for good reason: research shows its effectiveness.
- 84% of people say they have been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video.2
- 69% of people said they would prefer to watch a short video to learn about a product or service.2
- People are twice as likely to share video content with friends than other types of content.
Unfortunately, many brands are falling behind because they are not investing the necessary resources to create video content. The good news is that since video encompasses a wide range of ad vehicles—from fully-produced content (think a traditional commercial) to more basic animations—there are many opportunities for brands big and small to start producing video.
8. DON’T FORGET ABOUT MOBILE
Brands need to remember to include mobile ads in their advertising budget. Ensuring that mobile is part of your strategy helps ensure your brand’s messaging and products are in front of consumers on whatever device they are using. Mobile ads are available in distinct sizes from desktop ads and often require different creative. The Compass Marketing creative services team works alongside our clients and our digital team to create effective and persuasive ads. If you would like to learn more about our creative services, please feel free to reach out to us.
9. TAKE A FULL FUNNEL APPROACH
Many brands shy away from mid- to upper-funnel marketing tactics. Instead, they often become obsessed with ROI. While some tactics may not deliver spectacular returns, running campaigns that do not have ROI as the main goal can help diversify your approach. Increasing product detail page (PDP) views or getting consumers to add products to their carts, even if they do not complete the purchase, can continue to get your brand in front of new consumers. Eventually, you can drive them down the funnel with retargeting tactics which can, ultimately, positively impact ROI and lead to brand growth.
SOURCES
- Sabanoglu, T. (2020, December 1) Projected retail e-commerce GMV share of Amazon in the United States from 2016 to 2021. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/788109/amazon-retail-market-share-usa/
- Video Marketing Statistics 2021. Wyzowl. https://www.wyzowl.com/video-marketing-statistics/
