The ecommerce space race isn’t a flash in the pan: half a million new businesses launched in January 2021. And from the start, they were greeted by serious consumer demand. Shoppers in 2020 had nowhere to go, so they went online. Global retail ecommerce sales grew by 25%, hitting $4.2 trillion. Even as the world reopened, experts predicted 2021 global ecommerce sales would approach $5 trillion.  

The pandemic changed how we do business. People responded to 2020’s dynamic medical, cultural, and financial hurdles with agility, and in the face of adversity, entrepreneurism triumphed. 2021’s first quarter saw the creation of 303,000 new US-based businesses, 16,000 more than the year before. Most of these new companies required an online presence because these days, “out of website, out of web-mind.”

Take a moment and consider your favorite brand: odds are, the reason that brand sticks with you is because of content. Whether it’s an earworm of a jingle, a funny video, or a thought-provoking blog post, companies rely on creativity to boost sales and connect with customers. And when it’s time to create a website to showcase their products and creative output, businesses turn to content management systems like WordPress for a CMS as agile as they are.  

More time spent online means more online spending

Of the four ecommerce categories—business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), consumer-to-business (C2B), and consumer-to-consumer (C2C)—in 2020, one quadrant emerged as the clear frontrunner. Eighty percent of new companies launched that year opted for a B2C model, and most employed a “digital-first” philosophy. With an estimated $2.14 billion people going online for their goods and services, business owners need a hosting platform they can rely on, a strong SEO strategy to connect their website with potential new customers, and of course, content.

Why does your business need content?

Without a brick and mortar store to set the stage for a business, a company’s website becomes their calling card, their best opportunity to curate a targeted user experience, create brand loyalty, and generate word of mouth. 

Consumers spend time online in infinite ways, but if you want to entice them to your site, entertain them. Blogs, videos, photos, and social posts inform prospects about your brand, provide utility, and foster moments of genuine connection. No wonder 82% of companies use content marketing—it works. The more positive interactions a user has with your content, the more likely they are to become a customer: according to HubSpot, ​​47% of buyers view three to five pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep. Content Marketing Institute notes 72% of marketers say content marketing increases engagement and their number of leads. 

Put simply, publishing content on channels that matter most to your audience is a key driver of business growth.

The bad news is good content takes time to create. In an April 2021 Salesforce survey, 59% of entrepreneurs said their business employed five or fewer people. The good news is small teams can do big things, and companies can save employees time and energy by providing creation tools optimized for efficiency. 

Content is king, but metrics are its kingdom 

If content exists to help sell your product, consider the benefits of your content and commerce existing in the same place. An integrated platform increases flexibility, allows for accelerated product launches, and ensures that all employees—regardless of their technological skill or level of software familiarity—can leverage its tools. 

Content can’t survive in a vacuum, so a good platform offers micro and macro insights into your business through analytics, and makes it easy to receive reports highlighting the metrics most important to you. 

When commerce and content become one, you reap three major benefits: agility, SEO tools, and analytics. 

• To stay competitive in today’s fast-changing environment, you need an agile content management system (CMS) that encourages content creator collaboration and adapts as new distribution channels come online or grow in popularity. Regardless of how people consume your content, an agile CMS provides a cohesive viewing experience across devices and channels. 

• If you want your business to live rent-free in people’s heads, aim to land at the top of their internet searches. That’s where search engine optimization (SEO) really pays off. Consider the SEO implications of website performance on Google’s Core Web Vitals grading mechanism. 

• Information is power, so schedule content performance reports for your team, or set up customized alerts so you know when a post overperforms. Become better acquainted with your customers through audience segmentation tools, traffic patterns, and content analytics.  

If your content marketing strategy works, it should create a domino effect where potential customers are inspired to sign up for your mailing list, or commit to a purchase. An integrated content and ecommerce platform makes it simple to track where the dominoes are hitting, and where there’s room for improvement. 

WordPress VIP + WooCommerce: content and commerce in one solution

You know what your customers want—create that experience for them by tapping into the powers of WordPress VIP and WooCommerce.

With more than 41% of the market share of websites, WordPress is the most popular CMS on the planet. Combined with the WooCommerce plugin, which powers more than 28% of the world’s top million online stores, you can reap all the benefits of having content creation and ecommerce in one place.

WordPress VIP supercharges this combination with enterprise-grade performance, security, and scaling. Plus, you can leverage the enterprise ecosystem to build the digital experience your customers demand.

Contact us for a free demo.