Hello!
B2C (business-to-consumer) digital marketing is any marketing activity that helps businesses communicate with consumers. These can be individuals or companies who are the end-users of the product or service. They have a personal stake in your offerings and wish to use them to meet a personal need.
The internet has introduced several new digital marketing strategies. They provide new ways of reaching users besides traditional channels like TV or billboards. Digital platforms provide new ways for companies to market their products to end-users. Yet, they come with the difficulty of learning how to use each platform to deliver your message.
While this may seem daunting, it comes down to knowing which strategies to implement. In doing so, you can connect with target consumers and nurture your brand. This improves your customer acquisition and business profitability.
Top 8 B2C Digital Marketing Strategies
Bad marketing can be as worse than no marketing at all. If you plan to use a marketing strategy, it’s best to use it effectively.
Most brands that succeed in B2C digital marketing have gone through a lot of trial and error. This should not be a reason to fear experimentation. Testing often results in new learnings and can be done for relatively cheap.
With that in mind, here are the top B2C digital marketing strategies today. Besides covering each strategy, we’ll provide examples of companies executing each one.
1. Know your Customers
Think about the last time you read a blog or social media post that drove you to buy something. You likely made a purchase after reading a post that resonated with your pain points. This is the heart of content marketing – speaking to consumers on a personal level.
Unfortunately, few brands do this. Most brands communicate with their customers by trying to promote their products. Instead, they could be building relationships by first getting to know their customers and addressing their needs. This allows you to communicate an effective solution to their problems.
Warby Parker, a direct-to-consumer brand that sells glasses, noticed a pain point. Most customers were afraid of purchasing glasses online without first trying them out. To address this, the brand created a Home-Try-On program. This allows customers to try on frames at home before making a purchase.
2. Drive Engagement with Contests
People love entering contests. Contests work best when the rules are simple, and the prizes are worth it. Whether it is on social media, email or your blog, you can engage followers with a fun contest. Plus, contests are easy to organize, making them an effective B2C marketing strategy.
Make the prize something that your customers find valuable. If your brand sells natural health products, it makes no sense to give them a coupon for McDonald’s. While a Big Mac is tasty, it is not in line with your customers’ values and would contradict your brand’s message.
A good example of using contests is zero plastic waste brand MOOP. They ran a promotion where customers who refer the most friends receive free products. Visitors could reserve their free spot by referring more people. This resulted in almost 4,000 referrals within a few weeks.
3. Grow Traffic with SEO
About 82% of digital marketers agree that SEO as a digital marketing strategy is on the rise. To win at SEO, you need to find what your customers are searching for on search engines like Google. This will help you find their intent. You will also be able to create content around those keywords to rank in the search engines.
If someone is looking for a toaster oven, they might search for “best toaster ovens”. Knowing this can help you create content that answers questions related to their searches.
It is important to note that potential customers can be anywhere in the buyer’s journey. They could be researching, comparing options, or be ready to buy. Create content that targets all these stages.
A company that uses keywords to produce high-ranking content is Casper (mattress brand). They know which keywords their customers are searching for and use this information as part of their SEO content strategy.
4. Give a Bonus Gift with Each Purchase
Who doesn’t love freebies? Providing a bonus gift with each purchase is a must-try B2C marketing strategy. You shouldn’t underestimate the power of giving value away for free. It will increase the value of the product you are trying to sell. A good first purchase experience increases the chances that customers will buy from you again.
Make sure the bonus gift is something that complements your main product. Let's say you sell books on how to save money. Why not throw in an extra downloadable guide with extra money-saving tips?
Grove Collaborative sells many household and personal care products. They offer customers a $35 Meyer’s Cleaning Set when they make their first purchase. This results in higher conversion rates and increased long-term retention.
5. Build a Following on Social Media
Social media has transformed the digital marketing landscape. It allows businesses with little to no money to grow their customer base. For those with some money, they can further amplify their efforts with paid ads.
When starting on social, organic growth is the way to go. It allows your potential customers to interact with your brand. This can encourage up to 71% of customers recommend you to family and friends.
Social media strategies to grow organically include:
- Following and interacting with influencers in your niche
- Creating a branded hashtag for your brand and customers to share
- Sharing engaging and relevant posts for your audience
A company that does this well is Glossier. They share engaging and informative posts related to beauty and makeup on their Instagram account. This has resulted in them acquiring over two million followers.
6. Use Influencers to Build Trust
Many large companies partner with celebrities to market their brand. For example, Nike paid Christiano Ronaldo one billion dollars to market their brand. In return, he features Nike on TV, billboards, magazines and any other media outlets.
But not every company has that amount of budget. Luckily, many brands can afford influencer marketing.
Influencers are internet celebrities with thousands, even millions of followers on social media. Positive word of mouth from them can build social proof and influence the buyer’s decision. Influencers are also still far less expensive than major celebrities.
Look at Colourpop, for example. Their collaborations page features many influencers, which help promote the brand. These include Zoe Sugg (@zoella), Karen Sarahi Gonzalez (@iluvsarahii) and Bretman Rock.
7. Create a Loyalty Program
If you reward customers for interacting with your brand, they will be more likely to engage. By offering loyalty programs with special rewards and tiers, you gamify the process. Customers strive to achieve more rewards with each brand interaction. On top of that, you instill a sense of brand loyalty that can create customer advocates.
For instance, Rhone has a loyalty program called Rhone Rewards. Their loyalty program encourages customers to make more purchases. Customers get rewarded with a point for every dollar spent. Once the points accumulate, they redeem points to receive free products.
8. Remember to Retarget
If a customer has purchased from you in the past, they may be open to purchasing again. That is why retargeting, re-engaging with past customers, is a must-try B2C digital marketing strategy. Retargeting is usually done through paid advertising. It’s a more costly strategy, but it provides a positive ROI that’s worth the investment.
It is easy for customers to forget a brand they interacted with in the past. Something as simple as a Facebook ad can bring back interest in your brand. While they might not buy from you immediately, customers will think of your brand next time they need your product.
There are marketing tools like Shoelace that help create automated retargeting campaigns. This is something that companies like Heyday Footwear use this to remind past purchasers about their brand. After the customer leaves their website, they show them a series of ads to get them to revisit their site.
Final Thoughts on B2C Digital Marketing Strategies
Reaching more customers to increase sales is a matter of using the right strategies. The aim of B2C digital marketing is to advertise to your target audience online. This gives people a compelling reason to choose your brand over others. Better yet, it gives you the power to communicate your message effectively.
Start by understanding your customers and their pain points. Drive engagement with viral contests. Use SEO to target specific keywords that will direct visitors to your website. Then, give them a bonus gift with each purchase to make your offer more valuable.
Utilize social media to increase your following organically and by leveraging influencers. You can use loyalty programs to make brand engagement worthwhile. Finally, don’t forget to retarget customers that have already purchased from you.
With these strategies in mind, you are ready to create a B2C marketing campaign. Which one will you try first?
How Does B2B Digital Marketing Differ from B2C Digital Marketing
Thank you!
Subscribe to our newsletter! Join us on social networks!
See you!
