We’ve told you time and time again, when it comes to selling products online: content is king. No matter what you’re selling, consumers appreciate having more content to peruse through during their purchase journey. Things like images, bullets and reviews often are the determining factors of a product page conversion, which is why it is important for brands to create eye-catching and engaging content in order to consistently drive sales. But, is regular content enough to be successful in today’s ecommerce world?

While static images and good reviews may be enough to keep brands relevant, today’s ecommerce content star is enhanced content, which you may know as A+ content, rich media or below the fold content. Enhanced content encompasses a wide variety of media assets, but includes things like product comparison charts, 360° product spins, and product hotspot modules, all of which significantly improve the buyer’s purchase journey and can increase product page conversions. Enhanced content sounds experimental, have brands seen success using it? Reports have shown that brands that have implemented this below the fold content have seen a 10% increase in sales on Amazon, and as much as 36% increase in sales on Walmart, making it a really instrumental feature worth leveraging during Q4 to boost holiday sales.

Is your brand looking to take advantage of enhanced content? Here are some ways winning brands are using enhanced content to boost their performance on ecommerce sites:

Incorporating Visually Rich Design

Having visually appealing aesthetic to product pages is one of the main aspect of developing enhanced content and including things like large format and high-resolution images, strategically placed text, banners and call to actions (CTAs) is part of convincing customers to trust your brand and your product. Some of the other strategies that have helped brands increase conversions is by humanizing product specifications and focusing on value propositions instead of directly calling out consumers to purchase the product. Focus on answering the question of: How can this product fit into my daily life and lifestyle?

Harnessing User Generated Content (UGC)

One of the easiest ways for brands to build a rapport with consumers is by prominently featuring and showcasing UGC - images, videos, reviews, etc. When consumers can more easily imagine how they might put a product to use, they will more quickly convert, and perhaps even buy multiples! Brands have also seen success in creating product use guides and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) documents to better manage expectations and clarify ambiguous product information, which in turn reduces the amount of negative reviews and increases sales.

Creating Scalable Enhanced Content

While it is true that every product can benefit from enhanced content, it is also true that not all brands have the team size or resources to create individualized rich media for every SKU, but that does not mean that enhanced content is impossible to leverage! By creating scalable content - adjustable brand templates and formats that can be used across a variety of products or product lines, companies can benefit from the increased sales boost without breaking the bank.

Picking a Platform that Supports Their Ecommerce Needs

Last but not least, selecting a platform that can provide the support a brand’s ecommerce needs. While this might not be the same for everyone, there are a variety of tools out there that can help in the creation, management, publication and syndication of the content - the best fit depends on the maturity of the brand! For some, Salsify may be the best option, and now with our enhanced content capabilities feature, brands can take a unified approach to Product Experience Management (PXM) by controlling everything from the product page information to whatever appears below the fold.