2015 was a good year for many eCommerce businesses, but regardless of how prosperous your company was, there’s always room for improvement! With the new year upon us, BLACK + GOLD has come up with five New Year’s resolutions that can help make 2016 progressive and prosperous for your business.
- Get engaged with social media marketing
Social media 
continues to grow like a weed, and it has become a great venue for not only marketing but also selling using newly introduced “buy buttons” where people can buy directly from the social media site. Everything is testable on social media, including which types of “content” resonate with your target audience, reflected by what they choose to engage with and share.
- Start your own blog (and post frequently)
More and more companies are using marketing to “invite a conversation” with their customers rather than “talk at them” the way traditional advertising does. A blog can tell your story, or invite your customers to share their stories about your brand. Authentic and engaging content produces results: people will think your blog is worthy of sharing and commenting on, and it will build your brand in the process.
- Upgrade your website content
Your website is your “digital storefront” and it should be treated with great care. Take an objective look at your site (or have someone else do it) to make sure the content makes sense. Look at your web analytics for simple metrics like the “bounce rate” off your site (people who only look at the home page then leave, often never to return). Be sure to change a homepage that is boring or off-putting. Make sure you have a clear call-to-action and use relevant key words to consistently drive web search traffic.
- Create a consistent / high quality visual brand image
Consider creating visual keywords. Does your website and its product images convey a consistent, high-quality look and feel? Are all the images easily identifiable as your brand? This applies to static images and video /streamed content as well. Consider developing visual keywords for your website. Check out our blog post on the best ways to do this.
- Take reasonable risks
In his book “The Start-up of You” LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman suggests that people should act like a start-up and be in “permanent beta” or constantly challenging the status quo by testing new things. This can include your merchandise, distribution channels, website images, pricing strategy, marketing efforts or even evolving your business model. Try a test-learn-apply approach to business. Disruption can create big value, just look at Uber and Airbnb.
Here’s to a healthy, happy, and- most of all -prosperous 2016 from the team at BLACK + GOLD.