So, you have a product and have now taken the leap to launch your own ecommerce business. Now that it’s time to generate sales, you might be confused as to where you should start. Do you need a creative advertising agency? A digital agency? Better yet, what’s the difference?
Simply put, a creative advertising agency is hired to tell the story about your product through visuals on your website, landing pages, ads and emails. Once creative is developed, a digital agency then distributes it across various digital mediums such as Facebook, Google, TikTok, Pinterest, display networks and other platforms to reach new and existing customers.
So the question remains…where to begin? Do you need a creative advertising agency, a digital agency or both?
Fortunately, Evestar is BOTH. Above all, we specialize in making sure you achieve your goals, meaning you ultimately make money. With Evestar, you’ll have access to a creative in-house and best-in-class media buying team. Our ecommerce growth marketing experts deliver results by developing a comprehensive brand story that we then distribute across the right channels at just the right time.
Throughout this article, you’ll get a first-hand look at just how our creative team brings your story to life.
Our Creative Approach
Most of the time, brands focus too much on ‘how great their brand is’ instead of how much value their brand will bring to the customer. Their creative story is centered around themselves versus the customer. At Evestar, we use principles from Donald Miller’s, ‘Building a Brand Story’ to approach customers as the hero and your brand as their guide. Once you grasp this concept, it can be a powerful game-changer that will take your success to new heights.
That’s why at Evestar, we don’t just help to sell your products, we sell a narrative that positions those products as a solution to address customers’ pain points, thus adding value to their lives.
From email to advertising campaigns, landing pages and more, we understand the importance of delivering a cohesive brand experience that makes it easy for customers to say ‘yes.’
Below we go over the different types of creatives that we use to help bring your story to life.
Ad Creation
The goal of an ad is to drive as much traffic as possible. By featuring eye-catching ads that maximize user clicks, you’re well on your way to ecommerce success.
There’s no denying that platforms like Facebook and YouTube are some of the most powerful advertising platforms for eCommerce brands. However, to be effective, you need to use the right ad type/format at the right stage of the customer journey to get the biggest bang for your buck.
Continue reading to discover how you can optimize campaign performance using the right ad formats at the right time.
Buzzfeed Video
Introducing the Brand
When you launch prospecting campaigns to customers who haven’t heard of you, Buzzfeed-style videos are proven to get the highest click-through rates. Particularly effective for top-of-the-funnel customers, this is a great way to introduce cold audiences to your brand.
As the initial touch point, this is an opportunity to tell your story, how you started, who uses the brand, where you’ve been featured and other key introductory points. These dynamic videos are usually 1-minute long and include a caption to keep the user engaged with your video.
Testimonials
User Generated Content
User-generated content is the most powerful way to establish trust with your audience. Prospective shoppers care about what existing customers have to say; and this is a stage for them to hear about others’ experiences with a brand instead of the brand talking about itself.
UGC helps to reinvigorate an organic connection that feels real both to the brand and to the buyer. Testimonials in particular are effective for connecting with audiences at the top of the funnel and extremely successful when reaching those at the middle of the funnel.
How-to Videos
Tutorials that Sell
How-to-videos work best for products that require an explanation for use. Brands in the beauty and consumer product industry are just a few of many that rely on how-to-videos to help better sell their products.
Unlike traditional VSL, tutorial videos serve as a guide that showcases how products work. Keep in mind that this content should NOT be salesy or pushy. Rather, delicately demonstrate how a product will improve a customer’s life.
When looking to introduce more organic content, we’ll often pivot towards a UGC how-to video. These powerful videos consist of a real customer reviewing the product as they use it in action. Similar to other UGC content, portraying a user’s experience in-real time also helps to establish more trust with potential customers.
GIFs / SlideShow
When done properly, it’s hard to go wrong with an ad that quickly introduces a range of what you have to offer. To create scroll-stopping content, present audiences with a fast-paced curation of a brand’s collection using bright, colorful creatives.
Image Ads
Don’t dismiss the power of a traditional static ad. With the right copy, this format is just as effective as any other multimedia alternatives. Using bold statements and catchy verbiage, we make sure your ad stands out.
DPA/Collection Ads
Increase conversions among bottom-of-funnel shoppers using Dynamic Product Ads. Also known as DPA’s, these ads deliver a richer experience that showcases multiple products or collections based on customers’ shopping behavior.
Retarget prospective customers with products they’ve previously expressed interest in. To increase impact, create a collection featuring both images and videos of relevant items. This is a great way to create a hyper-personalized experience that increases conversion.
Your Ecommerce Website
Your website is your store…it’s where purchases happen. Since customers can’t touch your product as they would in store, they have to rely on product visuals that convince them to make a purchase. Website aesthetics are also a way for customers to determine if they trust you or your store. Have you ever shopped on a website where you thought you liked/wanted the product but were unsure if you could trust the brand based on the site design? Elevated and organized websites are proven to increase conversion rates by 50% (standard conversion rate between 2-3% for ecommerce products).
Remember: you only have seconds to keep the user’s attention; so you need to communicate your offering using the least amount of calories. From eye-catching imagery to clear and concise copy, the site needs to be engaging, easy-to-navigate and even easier for users to complete the transaction.
We prefer a product-centric approach that builds a narrative around the benefits and how they will help the customer. Your online experience needs to serve as a clear roadmap designed to guide the shopper to purchase in the least amount of clicks.
Last but not least, ensuring a seamless UX will help guide the user to checkout in the least amount of clicks.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is a highly effective channel for ecommerce brands looking to reach new and potential customers. With nearly all transactions touched by email at some point throughout the customer journey, this channel should represent anywhere from 30-60% of ecommerce revenue.
Automated Flows
Automated flows reach users with messaging based on where they are along the funnel. By aligning content with the customer journey, triggered emails personalize the brand experience.
Almost every brand we work with thinks their flows are set up for success. However; it’s not until our team conducts a thorough deep dive, that we discover they’re poorly designed. They may also lack clear CTA and are actually negatively impacting brands from reaching their goals.
The Evestar creative advertising agency and digital team understands that just like your company, automated flows are a living organism that constantly need to be tweaked, improved and optimized.
Weekly Lead Nurturing Campaigns
Evestar is acutely strategic when it comes to our clients’ email marketing efforts. Whether it’s content and promotional messaging, or weekly campaign emails, we understand that the deal is in the details. Remember: an email is the opportunity to bring your story to life. That’s why you can trust the Evestar team to develop creatives that include aesthetically pleasing visuals, attention grabbing content and a clear CTA that encourages the audience to act.
SMS Marketing Creative
SMS marketing has become one of the most effective channels for reaching users at the bottom of the funnel. Standing for Short Message Service Marketing, it’s no different than MMS marketing. With SMS, we can duplicate aesthetics that are identical to ones used across email.
As the fastest-growing bottom of the funnel channel, SMS campaigns offer brands an opportunity to get creative with their messaging. Similar to an email, deliver beautifully designed GIFS/images or other dynamic creatives straight to users’ cell phones and bridge the gap between browsing a product and buying a product.
Putting It All Together
As a creative advertising agency specializing in ecommerce, we’re committed to helping your brand unlock its ultimate potential. Evestar offers it all from ad campaigns to landing pages, email marketing and more, giving you access to both a creative and digital team who understand how to create and distribute your brand’s story effectively and profitably.