The last two years have transformed the way brands promote their products. According to a recent Rithum survey, 43% of consumers will shop more online in the future than before the pandemic. With more channels for consumers to choose from than ever before, marketers must consider and assess every part of their online advertising strategy to better target consumers in increasingly overcrowded spaces. 

To win, brands must know their audience better than ever through data, engage them with relevant creative and continually adapt to meet their ever-changing needs. Retail media and social commerce solutions offer marketers an easier, more targeted way in. 

Target Your Retail Media Campaigns

Retail media includes any advertising across e-commerce websites and apps like Amazon, Walmart or Zalando (and likely many more to come). With so many channels, a standard listing strategy is no longer enough. To stand out, brands must cut through the noise with targeted advertising, following best practices like:  

  • Explore Different Options

Explore different options for all retail channels you sell on, not just one. If the majority of your advertising budget currently goes to Amazon, test other marketplaces like Allegro or eBay where you could gain greater traction and revenue with a smaller investment. 

  • Control How Your Brand is Showcased

An Amazon Store helps you control how Amazon showcases your brand and allows you to extend your website, customise your presence across the marketplace and share your brand story and offerings. Remember to continually update your store pages so Amazon can increase its relevance in customer searches. 

  • Ensure Placements are Not a Blind Spot

Where you choose to place your ad lets ad platforms know how aggressive you want to be. On Amazon, this could mean the top of the search page, bottom of the search page or product detail pages. Test your placements and adjust your bids regularly based on the data you collect.

  • Automate Ad Management

Automation not only saves you time and effort, but can affect your seller rank too. Though Amazon doesn’t offer extensive automation capabilities, you can start small with an automated ad management platform, which is especially helpful for brands with a larger catalogue who implement more campaigns. 

  • Win Against Competitors

Your competitors may not always be who you think. You may go up against big names, but you’re more likely to face non-branded products at competitive prices on Amazon. To win, don’t market your full catalogue. Choose the products that differentiate you from everyone else in various categories like review scores, price, quality, etc.

Meet New Audiences with Social Commerce

One of social media’s biggest benefits is that it’s both community-based and a natural spot for commerce. During the pandemic especially, this created new types of shopping behaviour among digitally-savvy consumers, from those just “window shopping” to others who were ready to buy. The pandemic even prompted older age groups to spend more time on social media, making them a viable target for social commerce. 

Yet, social’s rise in popularity also means an increase in competitors on the channel. To stand out:

  • Know your audience. Understand the differences between each platform and how your advertising will change based on the different user bases. 
  • Manage creative. Regularly refresh content to avoid burnout, and test as many creative types as possible. 
  • Tailor your optimisation strategy. Create a dedicated feed and tailor your strategies for each channel and product. 

Get Ready for the Future of E-Commerce

It’s an exciting time to be an advertiser. As existing channels heat up and new ones emerge, marketers like you have an unprecedented opportunity to make a big impact. To prepare, develop and continually improve a tailored product data optimisation strategy that will make your products stand out. 

Want to know what new trends to look for in retail media? Download our full ebook, Future Proofing Your Digital Marketing Strategy in the Era of Constant Change, to learn more about advertising in our evolving market.