ContentMeetsCommerce

Content Meets Commerce
Best practices, tips, and strategies for blending
content marketing with eCommerce
2015 OPTAROS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED OPTAROS.COM

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Commerce is competitive. It always has been. But the competition in today’s
digital commerce landscape is unlike anything we’ve seen before. The web
is saturated with companies trying to one-up each other, each competing
for their share of the massive influx of new customers that globalized digital
commerce has offered up for the taking.
These days, every brand and retailer is looking for a way to truly stand out from
the crowd, a way to attract and retain new customers without dropping prices
to a point where they’re selling at a loss. Yes, competitive pricing is important,
and a major deciding factor for many shoppers. But rich, engaging content has
also become a major deciding factor for many of today’s online shoppers. In
fact 72% of B2C marketers are producing more content than they did one year
ago , and still do not feel they have enough to meet customer demand1
.
So as prices points even out, and the commoditization of web stores becomes
a reality, it will be those who understand the importance of content and user
experience who will truly win out in the end. The winners will provide high levels
of personalization. They’ll offer innovative features to simplify and streamline
the shopping experience. They’ll provide a seamless flow between spec-
heavy product details and rich brand and product marketing assets. But most
importantly, they’ll differentiate through a single environment where customers
can engage at every stage of the funnel. They’ll provide conversion-driving
content for those ready to buy, and brand/product awareness tools (lookbooks,
shoppable imagery/video, etc.) to those still in the consideration stage.
Valuable content creates trust with shoppers, and trust is the key to standing
out from the crowd and attracting repeat customers. When you earn the trust
of your customers, it means they know you care about them as an individual.
And when you offer unique and exclusive content, it shows that you care about
your brand and products enough that you don’t always have to go for the hard
and fast sell.
Content Marketing Institute, B2C Content Marketing: 2014 Benchmarks,
Budgets, 2014 and Trends–North America
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Introduction
72% of B2C marketers are producing
more content than they did one year
ago, and still do not feel they have
enough to meet customer demand.
Content and User Experience go hand-in-hand. While content informs you,
engrosses you, and entertains you, UX guides you, comforts you, and compels
you to engage. But without the right user experience, you could have the
most innovative content in the world and it wouldn’t matter. Because there’s
more to UX design than just streamlining and making things “look pretty”.
In fact, the manner in which you serve your content to customers can have a
major impact on your bottom line. Nearly every consumer in the world uses
the web to research before shopping, so it’s critical that you deliver content
at the right place and in the right context or chances are, your competitor will.

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meet consumer expectations
According to a recent Customers 2020 Report, user experience will overtake
price and product as the top brand differentiator by 20203
. To prepare, you’ll
need to develop a feature-laden, content-rich, and brand-relevant customer
experience. You’ll also need to understand that content is such an important
part of today’s eCommerce experience because today’s customers expect a
one-stop-shop when they visit your site. They want to learn, to research, to
become completely immersed in look, feel, and function before hitting the
buy button. And they expect that all of this can happen in the same place.
Many of today’s customers, and nearly all customers in the future expect a
fully personalized experience that anticipates their every want or need. They
expect their experience to cater to their demographic, and leverage behavior
and situational data to deliver optimized content that aligns with their
tendencies and preferences.
Poor user experiences and site technology malfunctions lead to $83 Billion
in abandoned carts each year in the U.S. alone . And it’s not just short-term
revenue you could be missing out on. You may lose a customer for life. Eighty-
six percent of consumers will pay more for a better online experience; 89%
will go directly to your competitor if they encounter a roadblock on your site4
.
drive conversions
Detailed product content like product manuals, specs, and warranty
information will always be an important part of the buying process. But
what truly drives conversions is when you provide seamless access to
product information, unbiased comments, and interactive marketing tools.
For example, user reviews provide shoppers with opinions and use cases
similar to what they might find from an informed salesperson in a store,
or an industry blogger/expert, or even a friend. Rich imagery and videos,
meanwhile, bring products to life, and give customers an idea of what it
might be like to own or use the product at home.
avoiding the content/commerce separation
Before content and commerce began to merge and blend, disconnected
business processes and goals led to siloed content delivery, inconsistent
messaging, and wildly different user experiences. On the eCommerce side
of the house, the experience would be utilitarian in nature, a basic product
catalog designed to drive conversions and revenue. Meanwhile, on the
marketing side, they would be creating materials entice and educate
customers, such sleek landing pages and assets designed to generate buzz
and excitement.
This internal disconnect and lack of integrated technologies often requires
customers to exit the transactional side of the site and visit a microsite
filled with slick marketing content, only to again go back to the transactional
site before taking action. If we’ve learned anything in eCommerce, it’s that
you never want to lead a customer away from your site, even if you’re
sending them to a microsite supporting your brand2
. This sort of experience
can usually do more bad than good, often leading a disjointed experience,
confused shoppers, and very frustrated executives and business lines.
Some companies are taking retroactive measures to try and catch up.
They’re slowly weaving content together with commerce. But many times,
adding rich content in an incremental fashion can lead to more problems than
solutions. For example, your current platform technology might be outdated,
and restrict your ability to customize a product page or integrate with a CMS.
Or maybe your current visual design and user experience simply has no room
for new content.
Sometimes the easiest way to truly integrate content with commerce is to
start your visual design from scratch, and reconfigure the user experience
with content in mind. Lay a new foundation that allows for front-and-center
promotion of rich assets and creative merchandising. Plan your experience
user experience design and content strategies in tandem.
You may, however, find yourself in a situation where you need to re-platform
entirely, and implement new technologies in order to truly innovate. And in
a day and age where a 3-5 year old platform is considered “outdated”, this
scenario may be more likely than you think.
Regardless of the approach you take, don’t waste good content by simply
tacking it on to your existing site in an ad-hoc fashion. These rich assets
and experiences require a very large investment, and their prevalence and
prominence on your site (or lack thereof) could ultimately make or break a
deal with some fastidious shoppers. We know that customers want a unified
journey, so why send them on a wild goose chase and speak to them in two
different languages before they add to cart?
Key Drivers Behind the Blending of Content 01
Parature, The Cost of Poor Customer Service Infographic, 2013
RightNow, “Customer Experience Impact Report”, 2014
2
3
Rich Relevance, It’s Official: Engage™ is Now Generally Available to Personalize Content &
Campaign, 2015
4
Poor user experiences and site
technology malfunctions lead
to $83 Billion in abandoned carts
each year in the U.S. alone.

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In a recent study, eCommerce analysts monitored the purchasing patterns
of visitors who purchased directly from a product page versus those who
stopped to read and consume content before adding to a cart. According
to the study, customers who engage in content have a 40% higher average
order value than those who do not , simply because they became more
educated and engaged with the brand5
.
While there will always be a handful of utilitarian shoppers who’d prefer a basic,
practical website on which to make their purchases, today’s more engaged
shoppers have a genuine passion and interest in the items they’re shopping
for, and want know how they might integrate with their lifestyle.
Shoppers want to be taken on a journey before making a decision, and they’re
seeking guidance, advice, and inspiration along the way.
differentiate your brand
While interactive content can help you reach and exceed sales KPI’s, it can also
help you build your brand’s image and long-term viability. Feature rich and
interactive content brings new personality to your brand, providing an outlet
for you to express your identity, voice, and personality6
in a way that you
never could on a traditional product page.
While there will always be a handful of utilitarian customers who simply want a
basic, practical website where they can make a purchase and go, the majority
of today’s shoppers have a genuine passion for and interest in the items
they’re buying. They want to know everything there is to know about the
product, and in many cases even want to imagine and picture the product as
a part of their life. They want to visualize how their lifestyles will be enhanced
and improved by it, and are seeking advice, guidance, and inspiration along
the way. In essence, today’s online shoppers want the VIP treatment. They
want to be courted, taken on an informational journey before making a
decision. And sure, it may take a lot of work to appease them, but living up
to their expectations can have a remarkable impact on the way your brand is
perceived in the market.
When you separate yourself from the pack, and stay true to your brand
personality while providing honest and informative content, you tend to
quickly build a loyal following who will not only buy your products, but also act
as an extension to your marketing department - promoting your products to
their social circle, and encouraging interactions can have a ripple effect across
a large consumer base.
Key Drivers Behind the Blending of Content and Commerce
01
Social Media Today, Why Online Reviews Matter, 2015
eConsultancy, Ecommerce consumer reviews: why you need them and
how to use them, 2015
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Effective content to consider
Content can communicate expertise. It can display authority and passion for
a product while promoting evangelism and social sharing. Here are a number
of content formats to consider before developing your strategy.
reviews, success stories, and testimonials
While the fear of negative feedback has many companies hesitant to
implement ratings and reviews, it’s now proven that posting product reviews
(even negative ones) can be one of the most effective ways to quickly
increase conversion rates and boost revenue. Brands that implement product
reviews increase product conversion rates by 74%7
and boost online sales by
at least 14%8
.
So what makes reviews such an effective piece of content? First, unbiased
product reviews build trust with potential buyers. And trust goes a long way
with today’s fickle customer base. Also, reading reviews is one of the best
ways to truly research a product. In fact, 70% of shoppers will read reviews if
they are available, and after reading them they are 63% more likely to buy9
.
User-submitted review copy can also turn out to be SEO gold. That’s because
most reviewers use their own words when they post online; they speak with
the same colloquial terms and phraseologies that most shoppers use when
they Google a product or brand.
Reviews can add the type of copy to your site that Google loves. For example,
the marketing department for a company that makes Deer Repellent
probably wouldn’t use the phrase, “keep deer from eating my plants” in their
product copy. But these are the exact words that a potential buyer would use
if they weren’t really sure what they needed. A review could say something
like, “I was looking for something to keep deep from eating my plants…” or
“This product finally helped me keep deer from eating my plants”.
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shoppable imagery
Beautiful imagery can do amazing things for your site’s visual appeal. It can
also be great for social media sharing. But what pictures alone won’t do is
turn browsers into buyers. For example, let’s say you’re shopping online and
you see an image of a cute baby outfit, or a beautifully designed living room.
You want to buy everything in the picture so you can replicate the look and/
or design down to the last detail. But since each of the images you’re looking
at features multiple products, it’s nearly impossible for you to identify every
piece you need, and where to get it. You might Pin the image and use it for
inspiration, but unless that image is interactive, and capable of hyperlinking
out to let you purchase every product it displays, the beautiful image isn’t
really helping as much as it could.
Shoppable (or interactive) imagery can solve this problem. Brands and
retailers can add clickable hotspots to every individual product featured
within a single image, you can enable shoppers to immediately click any
part of that image to pull up details on a particular product and complete
the purchase without ever leaving the page. With shoppable imagery,
you immediately turn an asset that is usually relegated to enhancing the
browsing experience into an interactive revenue-driver that can actually turn
browsers into buyers.
Shoppable imagery is most effective when shared on social media. When an
interactive image is pushed out and shared by the masses, any consumer
who comes across it can hover their cursor over any product in that image
to quickly pull up product information. A direct buy link is embedded as well,
making it easy and seamless for shoppers to buy the product without ever
leaving the site they are on. Shoppable imagery can be especially helpful for
users of Pinterest and Instagram. Instead of asking the original poster where
they picked up a particular product, or sifting through the comments section
to see if they already mentioned it, users just hover, click, and buy.
shoppable (interactive) video
Next to ratings and reviews, product and brand videos are some of the most
influential pieces of content that a shopper can consume. After viewing
an entire product video, shoppers are 174% more likely to buy something
from your site . But non-interactive video suffers from high drop off rates,
resulting in missed opportunities. Interactive (or shoppable) video boasts a
completion rate of 90% and above , which is why many brands and retailers
Retail Touchpoints, Channel Innovation Awards, 2014
Impact TV Productions, Rise of Interactive Video, 2014
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8
Hubspot, 10 User Generated Content Campaigns That Actually Worked, 20149
Brands that implement product
reviews increase product
conversion rates by 74% and boost
online sales by at least 14%.

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Effective content to consider
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are turning to the technology to take their video merchandising experience
to the next level.
Retailers like Sears, Kohl’s and Barney’s have joined brands like Burberry, Juicy
Couture, and Ben Sherman in taking the next step to make their videos
‘shoppable.’ A shoppable video is a digital recording that lets users click an
item within a video to begin the buying process. Viewers can click a hotlink
from within the video and be taken to a merchant’s’ website where they can
learn more or make a purchase. More advanced technologies, however, are
truly innovating the experience. In these scenarios, the video features different
products as it plays. When a particular product is in-focus, a shadowbox or
window will fly in and display a panel which to learn more and buy. A simple
click lets viewers buy the product directly from the video.
It’s important to consider that shoppable videos don’t just have to be
marketing-focused or brand-driven. In fact, non-marketing content like
interactive product demos, how-to videos, and even troubleshooting videos,
when properly merchandised, can be some of the most high-performing
revenue generators in your content arsenal.
interactive lookbooks
Interactive lookbooks are editorial-style digital magazines illustrated
with interactive shoppable imagery in a lifestyle setting. An engaging
and interesting way to illustrate your products and evangelize your
brand, Interactive lookbooks are also a relatively easy way for brands
and retailers to increase unique site visits, social shares, and customer loyalty.
Embedded within lookbooks are a number of highly visual components
designed to capture a shopper’s attention, and cause them to take pause
while they consider your product as a part of their life. The accompanying
editorial weaves product detail and features into beautifully branded stories
that align perfectly with the ambitious lifestyle imagery. When properly
blended together, not only do these components drive revenue, but they
also play an important role in building brand awareness and cultivating or
validating a brand’s personality.
Lookbooks inspire consumers with new ideas and styles, and help them find
new ways to pair various products together10
. Consumers can quickly and
easily pull together an order with multiple items without every having to
search or even navigate your site. Brands also love them because they enrich
the user experience by captivating the user with content, which ultimately
leads to increased time on the site and higher average order values.
user-generated content and merchandising
What better way to get your users engaged in your site while enhancing your
user experience than to let shoppers get involved in your content creation
process? Publishing user-submitted pictures, videos, and other creative assets
will not only strengthen the relationship between merchant and customer,
but also encourage social sharing11
by users who want to show off their
creative work to friends and family.
While customer-submitted imagery, video, and editorial copy may lack the
professional polish typically associated with your brand, user-submitted
content has a feeling of realism that resonates with your customers. Sephora
and Zappos drive millions of new visitors each year with user-generated
content. Both companies are building troves of new content simply by
asking users to submit selfies of them using their products. These selfies then
uploaded to their sites and turned into shoppable images that link to all the
products in the look.
Heineken has been heavily involved in user-generated content, implementing
several innovative campaigns that enlist fans to submit content to help them
“design the nightclub of the future” and “reinvent the draught beer experience”.
Chobani, the skyrocketing yogurt brand, is taking advantage of user-
submitted content as well. They asked their loyal customers to submit videos
and images that described why they loved their yogurt. The user-submitted
content was shared on their website, throughout social media, and even
splashed across billboards all over the US. The campaign helped the thriving
brand realize a 225.9% increase in revenue12
.
Wishpond, [Infographic] The State of Content Marketing, 2013
Jason Spero, The Mobile Playbook, 2014
10
11
Content Marketing Institute, B2C Content Marketing: 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets, 2014 and
Trends–North America
12
After viewing an entire product
video, shoppers are 174% more likely
to buy something from your site.

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Content Creation Tips
Content marketing is made to create a feeling or change a behavior of the
reader. If it doesn’t do either, then it’s just plain content. If you don’t know
how to differentiate plain content from strategic content, then there are two
things you should be doing to ensure your content is generating likes, shares,
comments and leads.
provide relevant content
The key ensuring that you’re always creating relevant and effective content is
to strategize, develop and deliver a personalized experience based on each
individual customer’s needs, goals and behavior - at every stage of the funnel.
Many brands and retailers are doing their best to get there by implementing
personalization features on the home page and in checkout. But the
customization can’t stop there. Your actual content - the words, images, and
video that your customers encounter along their journey - should be just as
personalized, and just as targeted.
Personalized content is strategic content because it helps brands and retails
gain a deeper understanding of their customers’ needs. By analyzing when
and how a customer interacts with their content, merchants can get to know
their customers better, and use their findings to improve and grow for the
future.
As you plan you content strategy, ask yourself these questions.
Am I providing the information that buyers are looking for?
Am I providing it at the right time, on the right pages, and at the right stages
of the buying process?
Does the voice and tonality of the content resonate with my demographic?
If you can answer yes to all of these questions, you’re well on your way to
implementing a highly effective content strategy.
provide sharable content
While many brands and retailers are still spending millions trying to spark
conversations through traditional push marketing techniques (TV ads,
billboards, etc.), social media is still the primary and most effective way for
brands have a two-way conversation with customers, and a significantly
better way to build traction and word-of-worth through your investment.
Approximately 40% of all social media users have purchased a product either
in-store or online after sharing it on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. And 70%
of Pinterest users say they use the site for inspiration on what to buy. So
there’s no denying that social media plays a major role in consumer purchase.
As a result, more and more companies will continue shifting their traditional
“push” marketing dollars into the social commerce bucket to discover new and
effective ways to make content more sharable.
Blogs, entertaining videos, and editorials are also a tremendous way to
encourage social sharing. But the key is to remember that your content
should never push too hard for a sale. You can mention your product - you
can even promote your product. Just be sure you’re not sending out an
infomercial or sales pitch. Savvy customers will see right through it. Instead,
focus on what might be interesting to your customers, and create content
with real life examples and scenarios that entertain and inform.
03
Many brands and retailers are
doing their best to get irelevant
and effective content by
implementing personalization
features on the home page and in
checkout.

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Content Creation Tips
03
Not sure what topics would resonate best with your audience? According to
the Content Marketing Institute, people are most likely to share content that:
•reminds them of the overlooked or forgotten “basics”
•gives us a fresh point of view, even about common things
•tells them a story
•educates and entertains them
•reveals secrets
•takes them on a journey
•inspires them to take action
•makes them laugh or smile
•reminds them there is more
•surprises them
•confirms their assumptions
People will subscribe/follow/share/trust your content if they find it valuable.
And if you’re passionate about engaging better with consumers, and are fully
invested in making it happen, you won’t be able stop yourself from churning
out troves of useful, engaging and valuable content.

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the right strategy
In order to take full advantage of all of the great possibilities that arise when
content meets commerce, you’re going to need a comprehensive strategic plan.
The presence of a documented content strategy can make or break a content
marketing initiative.
The most difficult part of building a content strategy is getting internal
stakeholders to agree and align on a distribution plan. For example, how do you
decide when to promote a piece of editorial content versus something more
product-focused? Ultimately, product sales should always be the main focus of an
eCommerce site – you never want to be mistaken for an editorial publication. But
balance is key. A site without any content could actually turn some customers
away and prevent them from returning.
If content marketing is new to your organization, or if you’re having trouble
building or agreeing on a strategy, enlist an eCommerce-focused solution partner
for help. After all, you’re building a foundation for your future – a content strategy
is not something to be taken lightly.
the right user experience
Once you’ve outlined your content strategy, the key success will then hinge
on how you visually integrate your content in a way that delivers the best user
experience possible. You’ll need to conceive, design, and implement a design that
creates a seamless and meaningful blend of content and commerce.
In order to properly execute such an experience, you’ll need to do your research.
Proper UX planning requires advanced techniques, such interactive prototypes,
usability testing, and heuristic evaluations. After all, if you implement a user
experience without a data-driven strategy, chances are you’ll be missing out on
a great deal of potential conversions. To ensure this doesn’t happen, make sure
you enlist a professional UX team, and make sure they follow your strategic
roadmap as they implement their design.
the right technology
As the digital ecosystem continues to grow and evolve, so does its complexity
and importance. Brands and retailers need a flexible platform that can be
adapted to meet their unique needs. The vast amount of available platforms
and technologies available today can be dizzying for even the most veteran
eCommerce executives.
What it takes to succeed
But in order to deliver a truly connected experience, you’ll need to find a way to
sift through the complexity to find the technology the works for you. Selecting
the right technology, integrating the right ecosystem, and working with the
right partner team will be crucial to adhering to your strategy and meeting your
vision. Instead of adjusting your roadmap to meet to the capabilities of your
technology, construct a technical foundation that will enable your strategy and
vision. And while the technologies range in price and performance, it’s important
to remember that the highest rated options are not right for every company.
We at Optaros help companies identify the ideal technology for their business. In
fact,we’vefoundthatintegratingcontentandcommerceismosteffectivewhen
done in tandem with a primary platform implementation. When integrating rich
content before a re-platform, unnecessary ecosystem integration issues could
arise, which will only cause more problems down the road as the need for added
customizations and enhancements further complicate the situation.
the right partner
Technology alone cannot solve today’s complex content challenges. After all,
even the best technologies are worthless if poorly implemented, and many
leading retailers lack the tools, technologies, resources, and time to support
these complex exchanges. That’s why the service partner choice is as important
as your content itself.
Today, there’s a need for a new breed of services partner: one that combines the
deep technology configuration, customization, and integration skills of a system
integrator with the user experience design and development skills of a top
digital agency, and the thought leadership and stewardship of a top consultancy.
Optaros is that partner, offering commerce services these corporations and
retailers need to solve complex business problems by designing, developing,
building and hosting front and back-end solutions to accelerate growth while:
04
Brands and retailers need a flexible
platform that can be adapted to
meet their unique needs.

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the right partner
Technology alone cannot solve today’s complex content challenges. After all,
even the best technologies are worthless if poorly implemented, and many
leading retailers lack the tools, technologies, resources, and time to support these
complex exchanges. That’s why the service partner choice is as important as your
content itself.
Today, there’s a need for a new breed of services partner: one that combines the
deep technology configuration, customization, and integration skills of a system
integrator with the user experience design and development skills of a top
digital agency, and the thought leadership and stewardship of a top consultancy.
Optaros is that partner, offering commerce services these corporations and
retailers need to solve complex business problems by designing, developing,
building and hosting front and back-end solutions to accelerate growth while:
• Building channel relevance
• Increasing digital commerce revenue
• Embracing consumer needs
• Fostering multi-channel customer experiences
What it takes to succeed
04

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As the lines between content and commerce continue to blur, it will become
more and more important for brands and retailers to implement a strategic
content initiative aimed at driving customer interaction, brand awareness, and
overall revenue. But content marketing is becoming more technologically and
organizationally complex by the day. As a result, even brands and retailers with
a solid content strategy in place are racing find new ways to stand out from
the crowd, to differentiate. They’re looking for new ways to tell their story, new
ways to showcase their products in context, and new ways to embed shopping
experiences beyond the “online catalog.”
Blending content with commerce helps you build a connection with your
shoppers. Great content, whether in the form of imagery, editorial, or a video,
can forge lifelong connection between customers and retailers. Content
promotes trust, it increases brand loyalty, but most importantly, content can
bring a major revenue boost to your business. And at the end of the day, isn’t
that what we’re all after?
Conclusion

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At Optaros, we can help.
We have deep roots in designing, developing and supporting successful content
strategies, and content focused user experiences. We would be happy to share
some of these success stories with you and further discuss how our experience
could help you achieve your goals. Our experienced team of eCommerce
technology and User Experience experts can help guide you through the every
step of the process, from design and user experience to strategy, technology
selection, and integration.
For more information,
call (617) 227-1855 or
email ContactUs@optaros.com.
www.optaros.com
Got any questions?

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