This is the second part of the blog titled “Why Your Ecommerce Website Needs to Be More Than Just a Shop.” In case you missed it, read the first part here.

Before you get started with your organic marketing, make a plan. It can be tempting to start posting content as fast as possible. But, a good plan will help create a cohesive brand story and will attract conscious consumers.

Start With Your Website

It’s important to be critical of your current ecommerce store. If you need to, find some strangers to give you honest feedback about what could make your site more appealing, reputable, or clearer. 

You can also use websites like Uber Suggest, which will break down SEO issues on your site. Fixing slow website loading times, optimizing for mobile, and easy to navigate UX can make all the difference in converting a conscious consumer who’s never heard of you before into a customer.  

Don’t skip keyword research and keyword planning at this stage. Keywords are common search terms people use to find information they’re looking for. Here’s a beginner’s guide to keyword planning. The better you utilize keywords the more likely your audience is to find you and your eco-friendly products. 

One thing often overlooked by brands is their product descriptions. Make sure you have great product descriptions. Include all the information someone may need. Conscious consumers are looking at every aspect of your product before casting their vote for a more people and planet forward world with their almighty dollar. Your website traffic may include many people who have never heard of your products. Don’t lose your sale here because they can’t find the information to finalize a purchase.  

Use Marketing Channels That Are Already Working

Infographics, blog posts, social media posts, and email marketing strategies take time. Identify what is working well for you right now and expand from there. 

• Does your website traffic regularly download things from your website?
• Does your email list have a high click through rate or open rate?
• Do your posts on one social media platform far outperform the rest?

Questions like these can help you identify what is already working well. From there, you can expand your organic marketing efforts to maximize results. 

Give Your Customers The Content They Want

It’s important to have a deep understanding of who your ideal conscious consumer is and what they care about. While you know your followers care about eco-friendly products and the planet, here’s a couple other questions to ask yourself:

• Do your followers ascribe to any particular diets (vegetarian, mediterranean, vegan)?
• Does your audience look for more information on one type of terrain, like the mountains, the ocean, the desert, or the arctic? Are they concerned about protecting it?
• Do your customers have a particular type of humor your brand could leverage?
• Would it be important for you to champion specific environmental issues in your town, county, state, or country?
• Do your followers have any environmental hobbies that you could share more information on? Think gardening/composting, sewing, or making their own cleaning products.
• Are there movies, environmental documentaries or music that your customers gravitate towards?  
• Does your audience engage in a particular activity that you could share more information on? Such as reading and books that support environmental knowledge.   

When you start outlining content, make sure it’s evergreen. By evergreen, we mean despite the time that passes from publishing until someone finds it, the information should still be useful. The best content can stand the test of time, regardless of if it’s two weeks or two years old. 

One Last Very Important Detail: Be Honest 

When it comes to your eco-friendly products and business, present the facts. Be honest. People will appreciate it and will be more likely to trust you. 

Organic and Green Marketing Pitfalls to Avoid

• Don’t create clickbait. You’ll likely get more bounces than you do conversions and you won’t build any trust with your brand. 
• Do one thing well, like a blog, a podcast, or a social media campaign rather than trying to do everything. 
• Optimize your website for desktop and mobile. Phones account for over 50% of organic searches. People are also more likely to buy from a website that loads quickly. 
• Consider outsourcing if needed. If you aren’t a great designer, copywriter, email marketer, or social media manager, seek out help from a professional. 
• If you don’t actually have an eco-friendly product, or you aren’t doing anything that’s sustainable, don’t market it like it is. Doing so is greenwashing, and it can damage your brand’s reputation.

The Best Time For Your Sustainable Business to Start an Organic  Marketing Strategy is Now

According to Glowfox, the top ad in Google gets about 2% of clicks. The top organic search result, however, can get almost 20x that. While it may not have the fastest return, organic marketing can create some of your best marketing results. 

In 2019 a study found that 71% of people would buy from a purpose-driven company over another company if the price and quality of the product were the same. This shows that it’s valuable for you to stand out and tell your sustainable story well when green marketing. 

So, if you’re not a marketing or design wizard, partner with someone who is. Don’t take any chances on your message, or your brand, being lost in an increasingly crowded cyberspace. Your genius is based in creating your products.

Partnering with a professional gives you the opportunity to continue to lead your business while an expert creates your marketing plan. And, whatever you do, do not take a chance on your website not performing to its full potential.

Working with a web and brand designer on your eco-friendly business will lay the solid foundations for your green and organic marketing strategy.

Great branding acts like a compass when it comes to creating content that is memorable both verbally in it’s messaging and visually in it’s design. A well branded, strategically designed shop creates meaning, inspires action, instills trust, and converts site traffic into customers. 

We know how overwhelming branding can be while trying to run your business, which is why we’re here to help. We can expand your eco-friendly business’ positive environmental impact. Book a call with me. Let’s take the next steps to creating a solid, strategically designed brand and website that magnetically attracts the right customers to your shop so your organic marketing plan will easily bring in more sales and grow your business.