Whether you are a China-based ecommerce business or based somewhere in the US or Europe, chances are that you want an international audience. Ecommerce businesses are after all based around online orders and international shipping. According to data, 54% of millennials across the globe prefer ecommerce purchases to retail. This is a huge number of potential customers which you can tap into with careful content planning.
However, engaging audiences from outside of your local territories can be difficult. Content such as images, videos and visual data can help sway their purchase decisions in your favor better than any text. But how do you create multimedia for your ecommerce store and ensure that it is a success? Let’s take a look at several steps which can help you achieve that goal.
Benefits of Multimedia in eCommerce
1 – Better online reach
Converting a visitor into a customer isn’t as simple as it seems, especially if you are a foreign online store. Multimedia content such as videos and images on your site can help you reach a much wider audience which would otherwise be left confused with your native product descriptions.
2 – Become competitive
Every ecommerce website exists within a competitive market. Numerous websites are always competing to better one another and attract the larger audience. Multimedia content can help you attract both Chinese and international visitors due to its accessibility. After all, people want to see as much proof of quality in regards to their future purchase as possible.
3 – Return on investment
Investing into multimedia content does bring back revenue. Any visual materials you create for your products will help you sell more units in the future. Once the content is created, you can safely use it for the foreseeable future without recreating it for the same products or services. This goes for products, discount offers, marketing campaigns and any other marketing activity you come up with.
Here are 5 secrets to Multimedia eCommerce Store Success:
1 – Set content types early
Depending on the markets that you want to sell to, your multimedia content may vary. For example, western customers like to see social proof and testimonials on their ecommerce websites. Asian audiences on the other hand prefer images of products, video demonstrations and other illustrative elements.
It’s important to set your content plan early on to avoid mixing and matching content later. This will help you organize your site better as well as to make the most out of SEO ranking of your website.
2 – Localization, not translation
Cultural differences create large gaps in habits and lifestyles of different regions. This means that your product descriptions, website UI and navigation should be localized for different languages. It’s highly important not to mistake localization for translation however. While the former takes cultural differences and barriers into account, translation doesn’t, opting for one-to-one interpretation. This can leave a lot of your customers confused or outright offended in terms of terminology and vocabulary used in your ecommerce website.
In order to avoid these problems, it’s a good idea to seek outsourced help through platforms such as Trust My Paper. If you have an in-house translator who can localize text and multimedia for global audiences, this might not be necessary. However, it is of outmost importance that all of your multimedia is available in different languages in order to boost sales in those regions as much as possible.
3 – Regional SEO matters
Each language territory features separate SEO keywords and formatting rules – this applies both for text and multimedia. For example, Chinese audiences might search for the word “running shoes” in their browsers, while the US customers prefer “athletic shoes”. It is also worth noting that grammar, spelling and alphabets vary across the world.
All of this falls under SEO jurisdiction, meaning that you will have to optimize each of your multimedia content pieces for international customers. Tools such as Google Adwords and SEM Rush can help you discover trending and popular terms in each country, region and industry. These words, phrases and formatting types can then be used to optimize your multimedia for international audiences.
4 – Avoid stock content
You might be tempted to use stock images or videos found on YouTube to demonstrate what products you have on sale. Avoid doing something like that at all costs. It’s very easy to be flagged for copyright infringement, especially if you sell products from or based on popular brands.
Make sure to always create your own multimedia content with the help of a photographer or a designer. That way, any content you publish on your ecommerce website belongs to you alone. This will help you build trust with international buyers who might not be familiar with your website at the moment. It will also help you avoid poor reception from overseas retailers or shipping companies who you will work with on handling your products.
5 – Consider the bandwidth
Global internet coverage and bandwidth varies drastically. As well all know, multimedia content does require bandwidth and load speeds to be optimal in order to make the most out of SEO. If you plan on pushing towards Asian markets, consider lowering the file sizes of all of your multimedia content pieces. Alternatively, use a third-party hosting website such as YouTube or ImageShack for your multimedia and link the content back to your site.
When it comes to western regions however, things are brighter in terms of internet speeds and multimedia content can be used in higher pixel counts and overall fidelity. This will make the content easier to load for users who don’t have high-speed internet access. You need to make sure that your ecommerce store is seen by as many potential customers as possible. Considering their internet speeds and access possibilities is a precaution worth taking into consideration.
In conclusion
It goes without saying that some concession has to be made in transitioning towards international customers. However, your website’s core idea and branding should stay intact no matter what region you want to push towards. The multimedia content you offer to foreign customers will often determine whether or not they will end up buying your products. Make sure to put some care and consideration it its optimization in order to achieve the best results.