Shopping Center of the 21st Century: 3 Important Marketing Practices

Technological progress causes enormous changes in every sector, and marketing is no exception. The real world combines with the virtual one, and entrepreneurs have to follow the changes and trends if they want to remain relevant. Today we will describe three digitally oriented practices essential for marketing specialists of the 21st century in shopping centers and large stores.

I. Website – clear and communicative

It is obvious that today everything needs a website, shopping centers even more so. It is less clear what should be located at the site and what should it look like. It is no longer sufficient to simply post information about opening hours and latest promotions. The website should act as a guide to the shops, but also be functional and simple. Latest trends indicate tile-based build with elaborated search function, as modern internet users prefer to search for materials on their own rather than only read what the main page has to offer.

Clear and readable center’s map is very important, perhaps even with a virtual tour. Directions on how to arrive on spot are also a requirement. It is a good idea to invest in multimedia, given that short videos might reach a larger amount of people than sheer text. Naturally the website should be integrated with social media channels, but more on that later. What should be avoided is overwhelming visitors with excessive amounts of communicates and articles, at least on the main page. All news should be posted to a dedicated subsection of the website or a cleverly integrated blog.

II. Blog often, but smart

Blog is the place where all news about the center should be posted, e.g. new stores appearing, or events that are planned in the next few days. In order to do that, the center should establish a cooperation with a PR agency. A blog might also be a perfect Google positioning tool. However, in order to see its effects it is necessary to post regularly.

Positioning is one thing, but many communicates can be extended by using blogs. Many places decide to post about fashion or new technologies in order to reflect the offer of the shops that are situated inside of them. Therefore the blog is not only a place where we choose topics or a positioning tool, but also a way to increase our clients’ knowledge.

III. Social Media Agencies = professionality

10 years ago convincing someone to that social media communication is important was not an easy task. Nowadays everyone knows it by heart. Some may claim that social media doesn’t sell, but various studies show something completely different. Statistical Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat user does not purchase a product immediately after noticing a communicate, but frequently begins to acquire knowledge about the product in order to make an informed decision.

If you think social media is not that relevant, then you should reconsider. The numbers do not lie. Twitter has been the leader of decision making rankings in the electronics sector for years. 58% of Facebook users believes that becoming a fan of a given brand gives them knowledge about its offer and promotions, which frequently translates into their shopping decisions. 72% of internet users trusts opinions posted on social media, while 32,5% of women believes that their decisions are affected by offers they have noticed on Facebook. Finally, over 40% of people believe that a blogger that they like only gives them good shopping advices.

How to successfully lead your channel communication? There are two ways to do it: either hire a social media specialist, or use an agency which will conduct those services for you. We recommend the latter option, because no person will substitute a team of people who have worked there for years. Besides, agencies tend to have various contacts that can promote fanpages, YouTube channels or Instagram profiles by using famous bloggers or vlogers or other large Facebook profiles. The third advantage of using an agency is its cost, which frequently can cost less than a salary of an employee with additional taxes.