SILKFAIR Blog

As more businesses begin to expand themselves across the internet, we must change and adapt to succeed with our online stores. Because of this, we can’t afford to ignore localized internet marketing. With all the other businesses out there in the world, it can be difficult to compete with everyone, so we must include ourselves in our own general area.

Localized marketing for an online store might seem a little strange, specifically since your online presence would be your local area. But, consider localized searches for a moment. When someone is seeking a product, search engines take into consideration where they are searching from. This can make a big difference when it comes down to finding your online store. Don’t overlook your local market potential.

An effective site

As a reminder, when it comes to online marketing, don’t rely exclusively on word of mouth to market your store. Indeed, it is a powerful tool, but you need to empower customers who do not know you to be able to find you. This requires that you place your store in as many locations across the web as you possibly can.

First of all, it’s important to plan your website effectively. This applies to your online store as well. Don’t just “toss” one up just to have a store or site for customers. Most businesses won’t just put up some boards around a desk and shelf to open their store, so you shouldn’t either. For your online store, make quality use of your keywords to optimize searches across the internet. If you’re going to make a website, make sure that its architecture and structure are quality and easy for users to navigate. Make sure that your site can be localized to be searched through local SEO’s as well in order to increase your online presence.

Other social outlets

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons we neglect local marketing is that social media focuses on a broad and very extensive range throughout the world. Don’t just rely on just Facebook and Twitter for social encounters and business practices. There are many other different methods out there to put to effective use. Facebook and Twitter are wide-coverage social media, allowing you to talk and discuss with anyone, anywhere in the world. But, sites such as LinkedIn provide many useful tools for local businesses. You can easily sign up, enter your businesses data and get far more internet coverage in the process. LinkedIn will bring your online store up and increase your coverage in localized marketing. Here, you can also organize a professional portfolio for online reference.

The Local SEO

Perhaps one of the key points is to ensure that you utilize several search engines for your site. Take into account that even though Google is a prime search engine, there are many others out there where your sites can be found by- specifically local SEO. This is where knowing and understanding your audience will help you to understand what you need to do, especially for local marketing. Analyze and choose what subjects your customers are likely to search and find the best keys that they’ll be using when looking for you. But be wary of over emphasizing your keywords, as it can counteract your searches and potentially push customers away.

Though we often do get a break that brings us customers and traffic, we can’t rely on luck to do our work for us. When it comes to localized marketing, there are various ways you can potentially increase your web coverage by signing up with certain sites to boost your ratings on local search engines. Google Places is a big winner when it comes to localized searches. Yahoo! Local, City Searches, and Local.Com are also other sites that will increase your search engine awareness and make your online store available to everyone, especially those around you.

Your online store is one location on the internet in a world of many other businesses that also competes for face-time through customer searches. While it may seem difficult to compete with everyone else in the business world, by keeping up with research and practicing a few techniques, your localized marketing methods can help expand your store by ensuring that you cover all of your bases when it comes to marketing your online store effectively.

Your online business depends on your ability to constantly be proactive with your business. Ensuring that you take advantage of all of Silkfair’s resources is necessary to do this. Utilizing the proper tag lines, keeping fresh images and descriptions available on your site, and even taking advantage of video to make descriptions even more in-depth are all benefits that are readily available to you through Silkfair’s services.

Besides the basic online shop, you can also upgrade to a custom shop, allowing for an even more personalized store where you can create your own style. These custom shops offer all the amenities of a basic store plus more.

Keeping your items up-to-date

Pictures are worth a thousand words, and when it comes to making a sale they can hold their own value. But pictures do get old, or maybe they aren’t flashy enough. Make sure that you keep your photos updated, particularly for seasonal or promotional reasons. Give your items the feel for the time and environment they’re in.

Even descriptions should be updated periodically. Perhaps there’s a catchy way you can say things to help your items sell. Since SEOs constantly search for new images and data, keeping your descriptions and photos fresh can help bring your store and its items to the top of the list.

Be sure that your tags are catchy- SEO style

This brings us to the assistance that SEOs provide. Silkfair provides Google based product submission, so you need to make sure that your tittle tags and meta tags will ensure that your items will catch the attention of Google. This is why it’s important to keep your information fresh, since Google likes to draw upon fresh information. Besides just posting a meta tag for your shop, Silkfair also allows you to add meta tags to your items as well. This is a great opportunity to utilize popular items to draw in an audience.

Make use of your video descriptions

Perhaps one of the most interesting additions to Silkfair is their video marketing ability. Besides a photo and a brief description, you can make your own sales video to describe your items. This gives your store a personalized feel, and you’re able to completely describe and show off your items to your audience. Nothing makes a sale more personal than being able to hear and see what they are buying just like they’re in a hometown store. Just make sure that you follow Silkfair’s guidelines for videos.

Have your say

Another bonus that Silkfair offers is the opportunity to post your own blogs and discuss in-personalized forums. This gives you a chance to start conversations with your own words. The articles you write aren’t just for you to talk out loud, but are there to grab the attention of your audience. Because fresh information is what people are interested in, it is important that you constantly update blogs with new material. Although it can be difficult to say different things about what your store does, keep in mind that this is your shop, so don’t be afraid to get a little creative with the material. Make use of the season, sales, and stories that you’ve experienced with your store. If you have a forum, make sure that you continuously keep up with what’s going on there. Keep up with what others are talking about, and keep fresh information posted as well.

Silkfair helps you advertise

While there are various things you can do within Silkfair’s site, you can expand its abilities onto your own or other exterior sites with a Silkfairbadge. This static advertising is easily used, and allows a direct channel from a separate site to your online store at Silkfair.

The Mini Store Widget is another advertising item that allows for you to advertise your site through other sites. It is a link between social media, websites, and other online opportunities that will allow a direct window for your audience to see and visit your store. Conveniently, the widget can be picked up by friends and associates to be posted on their own sites to give your store more face time.
Silkfair is your online opportunity to make the most of your online store. All of these benefits are just waiting for you to take advantage of them. Make sure that you keep your information fresh, pictures and videos up-to-date, and your name out there and visible!

Have you ever talked to someone who was just plain boring? Yes? I’m sure we all have at some point (even I’ve found myself a little boring from time to time). But when you’re providing your audience with a reason to visit your site, the last thing you want to do is bore them right out of your store. You have to provide them with more than just good merchandise. You have to have the right sales pitch as well. Your words and content sell your brand, and your brand sells your merchandise. So what you say, sells your product.

Quality content

How do you come up with quality content? Anyone can state the facts, so it’s up to you to make them colorful. Facts supported by stories or even comments make information far more interesting to read.  Speaking of comments, this is where some of your best material can come from. When people talk to you, listen. You may find something interesting to talk about.

You may even want to try helpful hints regarding certain situations (holiday shopping or shopping for the kids) can be a great incentive to enter your site to see what you’ve said. Keep in mind that not everyone is shopping when they’re surfing the web. Sometimes they’re just looking for information. When they click on your site for some info, they may find themselves intrigued by what you have in store for them. Quality content is a great way to pick up new customers.

Mix and remix

Same song- same dance. That’s something you don’t really want to be singing for your audience. While a classic never seems to get old, folks are always looking for something new and shiny. So mix things up by shifting conversation gears constantly. When you’re writing a blog, cover a new topic this week. If you keep talking about the same thing, folks are bound to get bored. That doesn’t mean that you can’t circle around and come back to that topic at a later time, but you don’t want to burn folks out with a monotonous dialogue in which the words are the only thing that change. Needless to say, all you have to do is mix things up, and when in doubt, remix a classic.

Website, blogs, and even your social media

Content isn’t just limited to your articles and blogs, it’s in everything you write. From simple product description to comments and tweets, people read what you say. If you start off well, they continue to read. And that’s what you want. Folks that visit your site are not only looking for merchandise, but also want to find something that makes your site unique and special.

Since social media is one of the largest outlets and inlets of content, this is one of the best places to be creative. Make use of pictures, quotes, and discussion. While blogs have comments where you can discuss with the public, using social media to constantly get new ideas and post them can be one of the best ways to be creative. Because of the wide audience you are in contact with, developing relationships with your audience is so much easier. This in mind, when you have a frequent reviewer or commenters on your sites, it is helpful to write their names down and keep tabs on what they say. And always remember to speak when spoken to. Discussion is a two-way street, so keep traffic moving along to generate good content. You don’t want folks to feel like it’s a dead-end street when they leave a comment. Who knows, something that they say can lead to a great idea for an article, blog, or even a product that you should carry in the future.

Don’t forget that your brand website also needs to be full of good and colorful information. A site littered with advertisements and sales pitches isn’t exactly the most unique site. Though these ads may be important, you don’t want them composing 90% of your website. You want it filled with something that folks will see it and say to themselves: Well, that’s interesting. That’s what gets folks traveling to your site- a view worth seeing.

Essentially, people aren’t just shopping for merchandise, sometimes they’re shopping for information. So, it only makes sense to attract both groups. With a colorful and creative shop that is filled with good quality info, you’re bound to find your customers returning to your shop for something more than just your merchandise.

We work to make our business grow. That’s what it’s all about- growing. Unfortunately, just like a garden, without proper care our business can begin to wilt as it shows signs of trouble. Of course, the first step in saving your online store is realizing that it’s in trouble. Sometimes it’s little things that we oft not notice, and sometimes they can slap us in the face with a wake-up call. Regardless, if you’re in trouble, don’t hesitate to make the necessary changes to turn your online store around.

The numbers dwindle

One of the first hints to trouble is when your customer count begins to dwindle. Not just sales, but the actual amount of people that are buying from you. This is usually quite blatant, and can definitely wake us up with the fact that something we’re doing needs adjustment. Whether it is your sales pitch, your product, or the way your shop site functions (make sure it’s easy to navigate and easy to buy from your store), a change may definitely be in order.

Repeat business, as well as new referrals, make up a large amount of any business’ structure. We rely on our customers remaining satisfied so that they are inclined to not only return to frequent our establishment, but also to refer their friends to our store. When you notice that your old customers aren’t shopping anymore, and you’re receiving fewer referrals, it may be time to change up your store’s charisma. Your charm might not be right, or you just might not be offering the right products to your audience.

A little off balance

Something else you may notice, perhaps not at first, is that your sales are going to a few select customers. Sales are good, but when disproportionate, they can be risky. If you find that you’re relying on only a few customers for the majority of your income, it can be a large blow to your store if just one of them stops buying from you. This is where you need to focus on spreading out your business. Just because you’re making the sales, doesn’t mean you’re safe. Focus on growing your garden of clients.
Buying from only one vendor also may prove to be an underlying problem. It is never recommended to put all of your eggs in one basket, so don’t. While you may have a favorite, always keep your options open, or you may find yourself at the mercy of your vendor’s prices, choices, or even their inability to supply you. If they happen to run out of inventory, then you will too. Make sure that you have a variety of vendors when it comes to supplying your store.

Income affects the outcome

Another problem that may arise is when your books begin to show signs of trouble. Cost numbers should stay comparative to your sales. If you notice that things are beginning to cost more, but you’re still making the same amount, trouble is definitely brewing. It can be difficult to mark up your product, especially if you’re afraid that it will frighten off customers. But, that isn’t always the solution. A business has many costs, not just products, so you can get a little creative here and find out if you may be spending too much on your product (perhaps go with another vendor) or find unneeded costs within your store.
Your inventory is an investment, and when inventory begins stocking up but not going anywhere, you may quickly find yourself in a bind. The last thing you want is to end up with surplus merchandise and nowhere and no way to move it. Keep an eye on your inventory to make sure that you aren’t buying and keeping more than you can move effectively.

I’ve seen various small businesses have trouble with collecting properly. Luckily, most online stores utilize Pay Pal, and outside payment sources. But, in case you offer your own credit, particularly to specific or special customers, you need to make sure that you are paid what is owed. That’s money that you don’t have, product that you don’t have, and time that you’ve now lost. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Lost time is never found again.” Avoid situations in which you have to struggle to collect, and you can prevent costing yourself unneeded trouble.

Not every business finds itself in a heap of distress, but it’s good to be aware and know what to look for just in case trouble comes a knocking on your online store door.

With the holidays now here, it’s time to get them to work for you. This time of year brings about a mass of shopping for both online and non-online stores. Items flying off the shelves and sales making themselves, and it’s time to take full advantage of the holiday shopping madness.

A few tricks up your sleeve

The simplest way to start things off is to get your online store and advertising in the season. Twitter offers a variety of backgrounds to choose from, so come up with something that welcomes the time of year- especially big, colorfully wrapped up presents. For Facebook, use pictures to celebrate the season. Don’t forget to tag yourself in them to get your name out there.

Contests on your social media sites are going to be good this time of year, but keep in mind that folks are going to be focusing on primarily shopping with little time to stop and get into anything really deep. Keep your contests simple and easy to enter in so that they aren’t time consumptive, but would still provide a little entertainment during a break from work. Consider a single statement or picture contest such as the best gift ever received or even funniest holiday story. Keep it simple, and keep it fun. Make sure the reward is worth it though, so that you’ll have some good publicity and interaction.

Package deals are definitely something folks are looking for when they’re shopping online. They may want a particular hot item, but a few additions might actually make things a little easier for them to take care of their bulk holiday shopping for the office or your kid’s school teachers. They might not really like a particular item, but when they’re giving it away at a party or to a coworker, it might not matter.

Make it easy to buy

Try posting some shopping tips and good gift combos on your social pages or business website. This might be one of the coolest things you can do to simplify things for those parents that are trying to figure out what their teenager might like this year. It’ll take a bit of research.  Keep in mind what your store’s target audience is going to be so that you can come up with your own set of shopping tips to boost your store’s popularity.

The nice thing about holiday stores is that since folks are usually doing a lot of traveling, ordering some items and having them shipped directly to their holiday destination can prove valuable for shoppers. They don’t have to worry about packing it in a suitcase and hoping that it doesn’t get crushed or lost at the airport. This is definitely something to take advantage of, so make sure that folks know you’re ready to send ordered items wherever they want. Make sure that you have the option to modify shipping addresses, especially for any shoppers that might be doing some last minute purchasing when they’re away from home.

Online shopping has become more popular each year. People can explore a much larger world of items at the speed of a click, so we have to make purchases as easy as possible. Make sure you have the option of saving carts, since they might be a wish list, and that you accept a good reliable variety of payments- especially PayPal since it is used widely across the internet world.

The holidays indeed make it easy to move some merchandise. Everyone is out there trying to find the right gifts for their friends and family. With some intuitive ideas and the right direction, online stores can make the holidays work for them.