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Crystal Media

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3 Steps to Building an Awesome, Scalable eCommerce Website

In this current world climate riddled with COVID-19 shut downs, social distancing mandates, and skyrocketing consumer online shopping, it’s obvious eCommerce websites are a sales channel that you should be leveraging. 💻

Whether or not you have a dedicated website, I am dedicated to seeing small business owners succeed during this trying time. Here are 3 simple tips to either help give you a running start with a new site or provide fresh ideas to increase your current site’s effectiveness. (Psst… If you don’t have a website yet, we can build you one! Click here to join the waitlist.)

1. Pick your platform. 🤔 Thankfully, there are so many great companies that make it easy to build an eCommerce website. Not a coder? No problem! Don’t know a developer (or have a budget for one)? No worries! With sites like Shopify, WooCommerce and Wix, you can be up and running in no time. My personal favorite is Shopify, and that’s the platform we build websites for retailers on. A few reasons I love it:

    • Their customer support is amazing– even for the absolute eCommerce beginner. Live chat, email option, and even jump on the phone.
    • They have awesome Themes that make your website functionality user-friendly. The paid Themes are better than the free ones, mostly because they have more options for Navigation, Product Filtering and Marketing.
    • Easy to customize. After you pick your Theme, you can still add your brand colors, fonts and custom pages.
    • Easier to scale. Because Shopify has access to over 3,000 apps, it makes it easier to grow and scale your eCommerce website using apps. One of my favorites is ReConvert which allows you to upsell, cross sell, optimize thank you pages and more.

2. Start simply. 👍🏻 It’s easy to get stuck in the weeds with details (like uploading tons of product info, deciding on the best pictures, adding SEO rich copy, or choosing a Theme). If you’re just starting with a new website, keep it simple. Your eCommerce website will evolve over time. You’ll learn how customers navigate your website, what they’re buying, and become more comfortable with your platform to know what your next traffic and sales-driving steps are. I recommend starting with just 20-50 products. And when choosing a Theme, I recommend picking one you can grow into that has a multi-level sidebar menu for product filtering. It will make it easier for customers to shop your inventory (unless you sell 10 or less products).

3. Build with marketing in mind. 🧱 Once you launch your website, you still need to spend time (and often money) marketing and advertising your eCommerce website. Look for functionality that allows you to:

    • Collect an email address and first name from website visitors
    • Add your Facebook Pixel for remarketing Facebook and Instagram Ads
    • Add apps that can upsell, cross sell, or gather reviews from customers
    • Add loyalty possibilities so you can send special promotions or discounts to your top customers and/or feature them on your social media

Marketing and advertising your eCommerce website are of the utmost importance to your success, otherwise you’ll have a site that simply sits there producing anxiety because no one is buying from you.

Good luck to all of you endeavoring with online selling right now and, in case you missed it up top, my team and I can build you a Shopify website of your own! Click here to join the waitlist or email us at  hello@crystalmediaco.com with any of your questions. We’re happy to help! 😁

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Effective Organic Social Media Strategies 👍🏻

There’s a lot of clutter on social media. We often talk about how you’ve got to push through the clutter by advertising to get your posts in front of your customers. While the rule “pay to play” is often true and a great strategy, it’s most effective when your organic content is strong too. 📊 And, there are times (like during COVID-19) when you want additional options.  I’m going to share with you some free or low-cost strategies that’ll help increase your organic social media presence 🤳.

Shine a light on others. 🔦

Put a spotlight on clients, feature your employees, or give credit to other businesses/organizations. People appreciate being recognized and thanked. And, remember people buy from people. The more often you shine a light on your employees the better your customers will get to know them. 

Do good in your community. 👍🏻

Donate money to an organization. Ask a school or hospital to nominate a deserving student, teacher, or nurse/doctor and give the winner a prize from your store. Your fans love to see what you’re doing to help others in your local area! You’ve probably been doing this for years, donating to the local little league or boys and girls club now is the time to talk about it! 

Leverage a local complimentary business. 🏪

Partner with a business complementary to yours and co-host an event or social media campaign. Not only will you be able to share any expenses, but you’ll also get extra organic exposure from your partner business posting about it on their socials too! 

Host virtual events. 💻

Not only is this a great tool during COVID-19, but this can also help limit the cost of in-person events in the future too. Hosting the event virtually will cut back on the costs of refreshments or entertainment you might have at an in-person event. Use what’s already popular in your town. Host a virtual fashion show or a game of bingo! Be sure to post about the event leading up to it so more people can tune in.

The key to effective organic strategies is posting content that people want to see, so make sure it’s relevant and have fun with it! 🥳

Comment below which organic strategies have worked for you!

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It’s Time to Lean In 👍🏻

While you might think that the current business environment is a time to back off advertising, now is actually the time to lean in! More people are spending more time online and you want to show up. I recently created a training video for our Insiders on how to run and manage ads during COVID-19, so if you’re an Insider be sure to check it out here. Below, I’m sharing 3 reasons ads are an answer to the weird time we’re in : 👇🏼

  1. Run ads, no matter your store’s status. 📲 Whether you are open, only selling online, offering curbside pick-up, or completely closed, you should still run ads. With people spending time at home and on social media, it is a great way to introduce your brand to them and retain loyalty from those that already know you. For as low as 1$/day, Facebook and Instagram are an efficient, and effective, way to go.
  2. Stay active. 👋🏻 Some business owners are pulling back from social media just because they are doing less or no business. Engage and stay active to build a relationship with your customers and pull those posts into ads to keep the relationship going. When your store does open back up, you’ll be top-of-mind of customer’s minds (and their first stop).
  3. Make your ads work for you. 👩🏼‍💻 Runnings ads doesn’t have to take up all your time. Try running a more general ad that doesn’t need to be switched or updated constantly, such as how customers can shop with you or tutorials that highlight your products. That way you can set it, forget it, and update it only as the status of your store changes.

As the county starts to reopen, different retailers will be in different stages. No matter where you’re at, ads are a great way to reach your customers and potential customers so when they can shop with you, they will! 🎉

P.S. If you’d like more information on how to access the COVID-19 training by becoming an Insider click here or email hello@crystalmediaco.com.

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3 Free Ways to Market Your Local Business 🛍

It’s obvious that you need to market your business, and social media is the way to do it! Your customers are on social media every single day, multiple times a day. It is CRUCIAL that you’re showing up where your customers are and getting your content in front of them. Below I’ll share some tips on how you can market your business on social media and ensure you’re staying top of your customers’ minds.

Three Free (to start) Tips: 

Consistency ✅

  • Consistency is key. Make sure you’re posting a good mix of valuable content to relevant platforms every single day. Use the Insights tool to learn when your audience is most active on social media. 

Video 📹

  • Video is one of the most effective tools today. Videos capture attention and they’re memorable. Film pre-recorded videos or go Live to sell products, educate, or entertain. Answer FAQs or demonstrate how to use products. Consider hosting a weekly show or podcast to train your audience to tune in.

Follow your competitor’s followers 📲

  • Another great tactic for exposure and easy to do on Instagram! Chances are if they like what your competitor is posting they’ll like what you’ve got too. 

Two Bonus Tips: 

Influencers 💁🏻‍♀️💁🏼‍♀️💁🏽‍♀️💁🏿‍♀️

  • Consider partnering with influencers to get more exposure. Host an influencer meetup at your store or have one take over your social media for a day. Provide content or offers to incentivize the influencer and have him/her post and direct followers to your page.

Advertise 💰

  • There’s a lot of clutter on social media so you’ve got to pay to play. Make sure your content is seen by advertising it for as low as $1/day! Consider using retargeting to reach those people who are more likely to engage with your content.

You have to meet your customers where they are. Social media is an easy and cost-efficient way to do so. Follow these tips and you’ll be sure to see awesome results!

Share in the comments what your favorite social media tactics are.

📣If you’re looking for the most relevant training on Facebook and Instagram ads our Facebook and Instagram Ads Manager, Jess, created the Facebook and Instagram Ads COVID-19 Edition. This training is available in our Insider Membership, click here to learn how you can access it and much more for just $97/month.

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Another Helpful Resource 📑

Are you seeing it too? 👀

Everywhere we look we see another wonderful company creating helpful resources to keep your small business going during these uncertain times. The reason we are all trying our best to help retailers pull through is that we love you, and we don’t want to see you go. RETAILMavens recently created a list that is packed with great ideas and tips on how to play offense. They explain “Be ready to: Stop.Pivot.Reset.” and challenges you to ask yourself “What else is possible?” Here is a sneak peek of a few of the points:

  • Know that Cash is King now. More than ever we have to protect it 💰
  • Ask your Landlord for rent abatement – not deferral – Abatement! They have a template for you to use. 📝
  • Call credit cards and ask that they defer your interest so that it is not accumulating 💳

➡️ To download the entire “Play Offense” list from RETAILMavens for free, click here. ⬅️

If you keep hearing more about selling through social and you don’t know where to start, or how to stay relevant during these rapidly changing time, be sure to check out our newest course: The Social Selling Course: A Step-By-Step Guide To Selling On Social Media, Even Without an E-Commerce Site!

Hear from Crystal, and learn more about it, click here. 🤳🏼

These resources are here to aid you in doing what you do best! Running the small businesses we all know and love, and that we can’t WAIT to visit. We are here to help you, retailers, and please know that everyone is cheering you on. You’ve got this!