Over 4.4 million ecommerce stores have been built using Shopify, and this is figure expected to grow to an even higher amount throughout 2024.

So attracting attention and drawing customers to your Shopify store has become more crucial than ever for e-commerce success.

We’ve developed a list of 6 cost-effective, successful, and easy-to-implement tips to boost your Shopify store’s marketing strategy in 2024, including:

• Utilising user-generated content (UGC)
• Making a referral program
• Adding product reviews to pages
• Putting a focus on SEO content marketing 
• Collaborating with other brands

For each of these tips, we will explain how and why to implement them, as well as the benefit doing so will have for your Shopify store.

1 - Utilise user-generated content (UGC)

User-generated content (UGC) is one of the best forms of social proof. Social proof is a form of social influence, and it’s often used as a marketing tool to show customers that people not only buy, but also enjoy your product and services.

This content, ranging from written reviews and testimonials to photos and videos shared by people on social media, is authentic evidence of customer satisfaction. It gives potential customers confidence and trust in your brand and offerings as others have had positive experiences. 

In 2024, the impact of UGC on consumer behaviour will continue to rise. The State of UGC report found that 93% of marketers agree that consumers trust content created by other customers more than content created by brands.

People trust people. 

So, it’s becoming even more important for Shopify merchants to use UGC to connect with their audience.

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How to utilise UGC to drive more Shopify sales:

• Getting people to talk and post about your products and offerings will attract new customers who will want to stay.
• Generating UGC is a great way to directly engage and involve your customers with your brand, which can make them feel valued, and build connection and loyalty.
• Your customers do all of the work for you by creating content that you can use in your marketing efforts. 
• It’s a low-budget, but effective strategy for your marketing efforts, which decreases your marketing spend. 

It’s better if your customers are producing organic UGC, that is, they do it because they love your brand and want to share their positive experience with it. However, incentives such as competitions can also be a great way to encourage useful UGC - especially around key sales dates, new product launches, and annual events.

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3 places to incorporate UGC:

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• Ad campaigns. By including user-generated images, reviews, testimonials, or videos, you can create ads that resonate with your target audience.

• Social media profiles. Generate a buzz around your Shopify store’s products or services through authentic experiences from your customers. By encouraging followers to share their experience with your brand through comments, hashtags, videos, pictures, and posts, you’re building up a stream of diverse and relatable UGC.

• Website. You can display user-generated photos/videos alongside product descriptions to boost the credibility of your brand and its products. Site visitors are more likely to convert when they see genuine feedback from satisfied customers.

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One of the best examples of an e-commerce brand utilising UGC is Glossier (shown above). For each product, they provide customers with various forms of UGC, including video, social media posts, written reviews, and lifestyle images.

You can learn more about user-generated content in this article. It covers the different types of UGC, why it is so powerful for Shopify businesses, and how it can improve your sales and marketing efforts. 

2 - Make a referral program

A customer referral program encourages customers to recommend your offerings to their network or social following. By offering rewards, discounts, or exclusive benefits to both the referrer and their friend, it helps both retain existing customers and attract new ones. 

You give, you get.

Referral programs are one of the best e-commerce marketing ideas for 2024, with customers referred by other customers having a 37% higher retention rate. 

All your customers need to do is register for your program, play their part, and receive a reward.

For example, Gousto, a popular meal kit retailer, has a very successful customer referral program. The referrer receives a one-time £15 credit per referred friend, which is added automatically to their account. And the referred friend receives a 60% discount on their first Gousto box, and 30% off all other boxes ordered in their first month. 

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Referral program benefits:

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• Customer referral programs contribute to organic word-of-mouth marketing, which attracts new customers who are more likely to convert because they come through a trusted recommendation.

• Referral programs incentivise customers to actively participate in promoting your store, boosting loyalty and engagement. And when individuals are rewarded for successful referrals, they feel appreciated, strengthening the bond between a brand and its customers.

• Through referrals, your Shopify store gains exposure to new audiences who might not have discovered it otherwise. Each successful referral extends your brand’s reach and therefore, awareness. 

• Referral programs are often a cost-effective marketing tactic. It relies on leveraging your customers’ networks to bring in new business. This results in higher return on investment (ROI) as the cost per acquisition is generally lower compared to other marketing channels. 

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To kickstart a successful referral program, think about what appeals to both your customer and who they’d refer. Discounts, store credits, or exclusive perks serve as compelling motivators. For example, ‘refer a friend and get £10 off your next order’.

Simplifying your Shopify store’s customer referral program is also important. Using automated systems or dedicated referral tools within the Shopify app store can streamline the process for both you and your customers.

Some of the most popular customer referral tools for Shopify include Referral Candy, InviteReferrals, and YotPo. You can discover more Shopify apps that you can use to boost your marketing efforts here.

Personalisation also plays a huge role in the effectiveness of referral programs. Customising referral messages or offering personalised incentives based on customer behaviour or past purchases can increase engagement and drive higher conversion rates because you’re showing genuine interest.

3 - Add product reviews to pages

‍66% of consumers state that displaying online reviews makes them more likely to trust a brand - and 92% of consumers hesitate to buy from a website when customer reviews aren’t available. 

Not only do product reviews benefit your customers’ purchasing journey, but also your SEO. The more you showcase reviews across your site and product pages, the more relevant content there is for search engines to index and rank your site for. 

To effectively utilise product reviews in your marketing strategy, you should work to seamlessly incorporate review sections or plugins on product pages.

For example, displaying star ratings, written testimonials, and user-generated images directly on these pages instils confidence in your customers when making purchasing decisions.

Many Shopify apps, such as Loox, help you to collect and highlight product reviews across all of the different stages of the buyer journey, and seamlessly work them into your website.

4 - Use a Shopify Mobile App Builder

By 2024, it’s expected that global ecommerce sales from mobile devices will reach $4.5 trillion, making up the majority of total online sales. 

To stay ahead of the competition, you need to prioritise being mobile-first, not just mobile-optimised. The best way to do this is by using a Shopify mobile app builder. 

Why?

With 79% of traffic to Shopify stores coming from mobile, they’re going to be your best marketing channel for making more sales throughout 2024. 

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Plus, Shopify mobile apps can…

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• Improve customer retention
• Bring better return on investment (ROI)
• Drive more conversions
• Easily turn mobile traffic into mobile orders

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Mobile apps are specifically designed to provide your customers with the best experience on mobile. With 80% of Americans expecting an excellent customer experience, providing them with a mobile app is the best way to meet this expectation. 

One reason why mobile apps offer a better customer experience than mobile websites is because of their speedy loading times. They’re designed to be both fast and responsive, which means they load much quicker than mobile websites, providing a seamless user experience, smoother transitions, and instant response to user interactions.

You can learn more about how a mobile app can improve your customer experience here. 

Building a mobile app for your Shopify store is actually easier than you think - you just need to find the right tool. 

‍No-code Shopify mobile app builders like StoreLab are an ideal solution for businesses that want to develop a mobile app quickly without any hassle. They provide reduced development time and costs, a wide range of built-in features and templates, and no need for coding knowledge or experience, making them the perfect solution for businesses of all sizes.

StoreLab allows you to create a professional, custom, and fully optimised no-code mobile app for your Shopify store in under 2 weeks from just $79 per month. Learn more about our plans or get in touch with a member of our team. 

Alternatively, you can learn more about how and why to use a Shopify mobile app builder in the article, How to Build a Mobile App for your Shopify Store.

5 - Focus on SEO content marketing

Even though there are many new marketing avenues, such as video marketing, that will continue to grow throughout 2024, SEO is here to stay. 

A very common opinion is that people will only buy your products after seeing them advertised on other platforms, such as social media. However, a survey by HubSpot via Lucid found that 56% of surveyed consumers have purchased something from a company after reading a blog post.

Therefore, building quality SEO content for your brand is a key marketing strategy for your Shopify store. 

Not only do tools such as blogging help to drive conversions from organic search, increase rankings in SERPs, and build brand credibility, but it’s one of the best ways for consumers to discover online Shopify stores. 

SEO content marketing allows you to easily guide your audience through the marketing funnel. Starting from the initial stage where they’re searching for a solution to their needs and have limited knowledge about your brand, all the way down to the final stage where they’re prepared to make a purchase. 

The key is to keep it subtle. Your copywriting efforts don’t always need to focus on pushing your products, you want to first educate and support your audience, and then later offer your product as a solution to their problems. 

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But just writing blog content here and there on various aspects of your industry isn’t going to help you  outrank your competitors in 2024. It requires:

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• In-depth keyword research using tools such as SEMRush, Moz, and Neil Patel’s Ubersuggest.
• Deep understanding of your target audience and what they are looking for.
• Detailed content plan, including a content calendar. 
• Many more considerations. 

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But when you think of all of the benefits that come from building a successful SEO content marketing strategy, it’s definitely worth the time and effort: 

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• Improved customer engagement and trust, which will contribute to better retention rates.
• Enhanced brand awareness as you will appear in more searches related to your business niche.
• Build authority in your industry and in the eyes of search engines by providing users with valuable, high-quality, and relevant content. 
• Increase your rankings in search engine results, boosting your credibility and visibility.

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Remember that it takes time to see results from SEO content marketing. So it’s something that needs to be worked on as a long-term strategy, whilst also utilising some of the other new or easier tips shared throughout this article. 

If you’re looking for more guidance on how to create an SEO or content marketing strategy for your Shopify store, our Ultimate Guide to Shopify SEO will help.

6 - Collaborate with other brands

Although one of the most important considerations of Shopify marketing is looking for ways to stand out from your competitors, when it comes to brand collaboration, you shouldn't view all Shopify stores as competition. You can find brands that offer complimentary and valuable products or services that your customers will love. 

For example, a Shopify store that sells meal kits might collaborate with a brand that sells kitchenware or utensils, or a Shopify store that sells sports equipment could collaborate with a brand that sells sportswear and apparel. 

Consumer data shows that brand collaboration is particularly effective with Gen-Z and Millennial consumers, with 71% reported to enjoy co-branding partnerships. 

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Some of the benefits of brand collaboration as a marketing strategy in 2024 include:

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• The potential to reach a new audience. Collaborating with other brands, influencers, or businesses enables Shopify stores to reach new segments of audience that they might not have been able to reach before. Partnering with those who have a slightly different, but relevant audience means that you can gain this exposure to new, potential customers who may love your product or service. 

• Diverse content creation. Collaborations mean that you are creating a diverse range of engaging content for your Shopify store’s marketing strategy. Whether it’s co-created campaigns, cross-promotional content, or something else, these collaborations bring fresh perspectives and creative approaches that will stand out to both your new and existing audiences.

• Increased brand credibility and trust. Associating with established or respected brands or influencers will boost the credibility and trustworthiness of a Shopify store, especially if it is a new or smaller brand. Aligning with businesses that have brand values and initiatives that are not only respectable, but similar to yours will also help to prove to customers that your business is reliable.

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Brand collaboration is a pretty straightforward marketing strategy. First, you need to identify a brand that would complement your product or service, but that won’t cause too much competition. Then, you should think of various ways to collaborate with each other, such as through social media and guest blogging. 

Social media is a great place to partner with brands or influencers, as you can cross-promote each other’s products or services through shared posts, stories, live sessions, or giveaways. 

Guest blogging is where a Shopify store features articles, blogs, guides, and other content that has been written and provided by industry influencers, experts, or complementary brands. Not only does this allow you to tap into new audiences and gain exposure to readers interested in related topics, but you are also boosting your store’s SEO by building high-quality backlink links with other websites. You can find an example of guest blogging here.

The opportunities for brand collaborations are endless, all of them working together to get your brand in front of a new customer base, increasing your visibility and sales. 

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Final thoughts 

More brands than ever before are starting their journey into the world of ecommerce, which means more competition, but also, more innovation. So not only is it crucial to create an effective marketing strategy for your Shopify store 2024, but you also need to keep up to date with all of the new and upcoming trends. 

We’ve compiled a list of the top 10 Shopify and ecommerce trends to expect in 2024, as well as how to implement them right now to get ahead of the competition. Find out more.

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Shopify Marketing FAQs

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What is Shopify marketing?

Shopify provides built-in marketing tools to help businesses build their marketing strategy. This proved to be especially helpful for small Shopify stores who have little to no knowledge in how to market their brand. 

Using the marketing tab in your Shopify admin, you can create and manage marketing campaigns for your Shopify store in just a few clicks. The marketing page also includes recommendations to improve your marketing strategy. 

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Are there Shopify apps that can help to improve my marketing efforts?

Yes. The Shopify app store hosts thousands of apps that you can use to customise your store, improve your marketing, generate leads, create customer rewards, and increase revenue, all with the goal of boosting your sales. 

We’ve created a guide that talks you through 21 of the top Shopify apps that will benefit your online store and drive sales, from mobile app and ecommerce page builders, to marketing and automation apps. You can find it here. 

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What is UGC and its benefits for my Shopify store’s marketing strategy?

‍User-generated content (UGC) is one of the easiest, but most effective forms of content marketing for Shopify stores to build relationships with their audience, establish trust, and ultimately, drive more sales. 

UGC can include reviews, photos, videos, social media posts, testimonials, and more. 

It gives potential customers confidence and trust in your brand and offerings as others have had positive experiences. In essence, your customers are doing the marketing for you. 

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How do I boost my Shopify store’s SEO?

Whether you run a small online Shopify store or have a large, established website, it’s super important to maintain a good flow of organic traffic, and SEO has a huge impact on your success. 

To successfully boost your Shopify store’s SEO and increase your traffic, you need to use keywords throughout your site, create high-quality blog content, get backlinks, and promote your brand on social media. 

Learn more in The Ultimate Guide to Shopify SEO.

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What are the steps to creating a successful organic social strategy for my Shopify store?

Social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest offer a goldmine of opportunities for Shopify merchants to connect with their audience, build brand awareness, and most importantly, boost sales. 

StoreLab’s guide provides you with 14 social media strategies to propel your Shopify sales to new heights whilst building a following and growing your brand awareness, including:

• Getting to know your audience inside out 
• Choosing the right social platforms
• Crafting high-quality visual content
• Leveraging influencer marketing

You can find the article here. 

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How do I effectively build a content marketing strategy for my Shopify store?

Creating an effective content strategy for your Shopify store involves coming up with a structured, organised, and comprehensive plan that outlines how your content will be created, managed, and distributed to achieve specific goals. 

The 3 key steps to execute this strategy effectively are:

1. Defining your audience and goals
2. Content planning and creation
3. Promotion and distribution 

The article 3 Steps to Creating an Effective Content Strategy for your Shopify Store goes into each of these steps in detail, as well as providing you with ways to apply them to your unique brand. 

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What is the best way to further the success of my Shopify business?

The best way to further the success of your Shopify business is to create a mobile app for your Shopify store.

On average, mobile apps have a 157% higher conversion rate than mobile websites.

This is because they are designed to provide your customers with the best experience on mobile, and with 79% of traffic to Shopify stores coming from mobile, they’re going to be your best marketing channel for making more sales throughout 2024.

There are many Shopify mobile app builders, like StoreLab, that allow you to create a professional, custom, and fully-optimised mobile app for your Shopify store. Plus, it can be done in under 2 weeks from just $79 per month. 

Learn more about why you should create a mobile app for your Shopify store here. Alternatively, you can chat to a member of the StoreLab team.