How to promote your Shopify store in 2024

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In a competitive market where only the most visible stores capture customer attention, learning how to promote your Shopify store is crucial for success. 

Millions of merchants use Shopify to bring their ecommerce dreams to life. However, many stores fail within their first year — not because of poor products but because of ineffective promotion. 

For this reason, learning how to promote your Shopify store can be the difference between thriving and joining those statistics.

Whether you’re just launching your store or looking to scale an existing business, we’ll walk you through proven promotional tactics that can help drive traffic and boost sales. 

We’ll discuss leveraging social media platforms and email marketing to maximize SEO. We’ll also discuss various advertising options, including free and paid methods to help you market your Shopify store. 

Best ways to promote a Shopify store in 2024

Promoting your Shopify store in 2024 requires a combination of different strategies for effective results. For more information on Shopify before exploring store promotion strategies, check out Omnisend’s excellent Shopify review to learn about Shopify’s plans and new features. 

Here are the most effective store promotion methods we’ll explore in this section:

• Promote your Shopify store using social media
• Promote your Shopify store using email marketing
• Promote your Shopify store using content marketing and blogging
• Promote your Shopify store using SEO tactics
• Promote your Shopify store using paid advertising
• Promote your Shopify store using influencers
• Promote your Shopify store using retargeting ads

Promote your Shopify store using social media

Learning how to promote your Shopify store for free effectively involves mastering social media platforms where your potential customers spend their time.

You can focus on organic growth through these proven strategies:

• Create platform-specific content that resonates with audience expectations (e.g., product tutorials on TikTok, lifestyle photos on Instagram)
• Post consistently using a content calendar to maintain engagement
• Research and use relevant hashtags specific to your niche
• Engage with followers through comments, Stories, and live sessions
• Share user-generated content to build social proof

These free strategies can help you promote your Shopify store organically. All they need is a focus on creating consistent, engaging content.

Each platform offers unique opportunities. Instagram and Pinterest excel at visual storytelling, TikTok drives viral product discoveries, and Facebook is a powerful tool for targeted advertising and community building.

Here’s an example of a sponsored ad on Facebook: 

You can use paid social media advertising to scale your reach on these platforms. Here are some strategies you can use: 

• Invest in LinkedIn Ads for B2B marketing and professional audiences
• Capture users in the planning phase with Pinterest Ads — these are especially ideal for those in shopping mode
• Utilize Facebook and Instagram’s advanced targeting features to reach specific customer groups by interests, behaviors, or demographics
• Engage younger demographics effectively by using TikTok’s advertising platform and experimenting with Snapchat Ads
• Implement retargeting campaigns to re-engage visitors who have shown interest in your products but didn’t buy
• Start with small budgets to test different ad formats and audience segments, then scale what works best

Promote your Shopify store using email marketing

Email marketing is one of the most effective tools for driving repeat purchases and fostering customer loyalty. With direct access to your audience, email allows you to build lasting relationships and personally promote your Shopify store.

Success starts with building a quality email marketing list through strategic lead magnets. These include exclusive discounts, free shipping offers, or valuable content that addresses your customers’ needs and offers them information about the products they’re eyeing.

Here’s a landing page template from Omnisend offering Black Friday deals in exchange for email information: 

The key to effective email marketing lies in segmentation and personalization. Break down your list based on the following:

• Purchase history and frequency
• Browse and cart abandonment behavior
• Engagement levels with previous campaigns
• Customer lifetime value
• Geographic location

Further, automated email workflows can significantly boost your results while saving time. Some essential automation include: 

• Welcome series to greet new subscribers
• Abandoned cart emails to recover lost sales
• Personalized recommendations and post-purchase or follow-up emails
• Win-back emails for inactive customers

Here’s an example of an abandoned cart value split automation from Omnisend:

Tools like Omnisend make these strategies easy to implement, offering pre-built automation workflows designed specifically for ecommerce. 

Omnisend’s platform integrates seamlessly with Shopify, allowing you to track customer behavior and trigger personalized emails based on shopping activity. Its drag-and-drop editor also makes creating professional-looking emails quick and easy.

Promote your Shopify store using content marketing and blogging

Blogging is a powerful way to promote your Shopify store for free by driving organic traffic through SEO and content marketing. 

Creating valuable, informative blog posts related to your products and niche can engage potential customers and improve your store’s visibility. Blog posts provide an excellent opportunity to redirect prospective customers to your Shopify store through multiple links.

Start by identifying topics that align with your products and customer interests. 

For example, if you sell skincare products, create comprehensive guides about skin types, ingredient benefits, and beauty routines. Focus on solving real customer problems and answering common questions in your industry. 

Here’s how CeraVe does it with its “Skin Concerns 101” section of its Skin Smarts blog:

To maximize your content’s impact while optimizing for SEO:

• Research and target long-tail keywords relevant to your niche
• Create in-depth, valuable content that goes beyond basic product promotion
• Include high-quality images and videos to enhance engagement
• Structure content with clear headings and easy-to-read paragraphs
• Link naturally to relevant products within your content

Consistency is key when promoting your Shopify store through content marketing. Develop a content calendar that ensures regular posting and diversify your content types. 

Here’s how regular content creation can establish authority in your niche and help improve search rankings:

• Enhances visibility: More content means more opportunities for your audience to find your brand
• Builds trust: Consistent, quality content establishes expertise and credibility
• Engages audiences: Regular posts keep readers returning, increasing site authority
• Encourages backlinks: Authoritative content is more likely to be shared and linked to
• Improves SEO: Fresh, frequent content signals relevancy and boosts search rankings

Remember to promote your blog content across social media channels and email newsletters to maximize reach and engagement. Over time, quality content will help improve your search rankings and establish your store as a trusted resource in your industry.

Promote your Shopify store using SEO tactics

Search engine optimization (SEO) is critical for improving your Shopify store’s visibility and driving organic traffic. It’s the top answer to the question, “how can I promote my Shopify store for free?” Well-optimized pages attract more organic traffic and convert better, leading to higher SERP rankings and increased sales. 

Some of the key on-page SEO strategies you can implement include:

• Optimizing product titles and descriptions with relevant keywords
• Creating unique, detailed meta descriptions for all pages
• Using alt text for images and optimizing file names
• Ensuring your site structure is clean and easy to navigate
• Improving site speed through image compression and code optimization

Additionally, you want to conduct thorough keyword research to understand what terms potential customers use when searching for products like yours and then use those search terms. 

Building quality backlinks from reputable websites or collaborating with influencers is crucial in SEO. These external links signal to search engines that your site is trustworthy, which helps promote Shopify store more effectively. 

You can conduct backlink analytics using tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz Pro, and Serpstat. Shown below is the backlink analytics tool offered by Semrush:

Building a strong backlink profile is crucial as it helps you:

• Improve search engine ranking
• Network and foster relationships with other websites
• Drive referral traffic from other sites, thus increasing traffic
• Enhance site credibility and trust
• Get new pages indexed faster

Your landing page optimization strategy should focus on both user experience and SEO elements to maximize conversions. Remember that higher rankings come from a combination of technical SEO excellence and high-quality, user-focused content. 

Consider implementing structured data markup to help search engines better understand your product information and improve your visibility in search results.

Promote your Shopify store using paid advertising

Understanding how to promote Shopify stores on Google requires a strategic approach to paid advertising. When done right, paid ads can yield quick results, helping your Shopify store stand out in a crowded market.

Running Google Ads campaigns is an example of one powerful way to promote your Shopify store on Google. Here’s how the Google Ads overview dashboard appears:

Target high-intent search queries, such as product-specific keywords or phrases customers will likely use when they’re ready to buy. For example, bidding on terms like “buy (Your product)” helps you capture customers at the decision stage. 

You can also create campaigns targeting different stages of the buyer’s journey. These include:

• Brand awareness campaigns using “Display Network”
• Shopping campaigns showcasing your product catalog
• Remarketing campaigns for previous site visitors

Meanwhile, social media ads on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok can widen your reach and introduce your store to new customers. 

When creating social media ads, focus on visually appealing content that grabs attention. Also, use specific targeting options based on demographics, interests, and behaviors. 

To easily promote Shopify store on TikTok, you can create short, engaging video ads that promote your products to a younger audience. To do the same for Facebook and Instagram ads:

• Use dynamic product ads to showcase your catalog
• Create lookalike audiences based on your best customers
• Test different ad formats (stories, reels, carousel)
• Include clear calls to action (CTAs)
• Optimize for mobile viewing

Remember to track your metrics closely across all platforms and adjust your strategy based on performance. Start with small budgets to test different ad formats and audience segments, then scale up successful campaigns. 

Promote your Shopify store using influencers

Collaborating with influencers is an excellent way to expand your Shopify store’s reach and build trust with new audiences. Influencers can showcase your products to their fan base, making your brand visible to a broader audience that you may not have been able to reach as quickly.

The key is finding ecommerce influencers whose followers align with your target market and whose content style matches your brand aesthetics. Consider various types of influencers when developing your strategy:

• Micro-influencers (10,000–100,000 followers): Have smaller but highly engaged audiences, making them ideal for targeting local markets. They’re often more affordable and can provide a more personal endorsement.
• Macro-influencers (over 100,000 followers): Have a broader reach and can quickly increase product awareness and visibility. They’re ideal for established brands with larger budgets and launching new products.

When building your influencer partnerships, focus on creating authentic connections that provide value to both parties. One way you can do this is by co-creating a new line or product in collaboration with an influencer like Feastables does with Mr Beast, pictured below: 

Consider different collaboration formats when working with influencers:

• Product reviews and unboxing videos
• Limited edition products or collections
• Tutorial or how-to content
• Exclusive discount codes
• Day-in-the-life features

At the same time, track metrics like engagement rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to measure campaign success and optimize future collaborations.

Promote your Shopify store using retargeting ads

Retargeting ads are crucial for converting visitors who have shown interest but haven’t completed a purchase. These campaigns typically deliver higher ROI than standard ads because they target warm leads already familiar with your brand.

To maximize your retargeting effectiveness:

• Segment your audience based on behavior (product views, cart abandonment, time spent on site)
• Create different ad sets for different stages of the customer journey
• Use dynamic product ads showing items visitors viewed
• Test different ad formats and messaging styles
• Set frequency caps to prevent ad fatigue

Building urgency into your retargeting campaigns can significantly boost conversion rates. Consider using:

• Free shipping countdown timers
• Limited-time discount codes
• Low stock notifications
• Price drop alerts

While Facebook and Google retargeting are powerful, combining them with the Omnisend omnichannel capabilities creates an even more effective strategy. 

Omnisend’s platform allows you to synchronize your retargeting efforts across channels, including web push notifications, email, and SMS. 

This means you can reach customers through their preferred channels at optimal times, whether they’re browsing social media, searching Google, or checking their phone notifications. 

Here’s an omnichannel retargeting campaign workflow by Omnisend that’s been triggered by an abandoned cart:

Conclusion 

In looking at how to promote a Shopify store, we’ve learned that it requires a well-rounded approach that combines various marketing strategies and channels. 

Leveraging social media and email marketing, implementing SEO strategies, and running retargeting campaigns are vital in building a sustainable ecommerce business.

While free methods help build long-term growth, paid strategies like retargeting ads and paid social media campaigns can boost your store’s visibility. The key is finding the right balance for your specific business needs and budget.

Start by implementing one or two strategies thoroughly before expanding to others. 

Monitor your results, adjust your approach based on data, and stay consistent with your efforts. Success in ecommerce isn’t about doing everything at once — it’s about doing the right things well.

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