At the beginning of COVID-19, retail and brick and mortar stores had one of the biggest shifts in the century, online behavior and shopping patterns changed, and with lock-downs and stay-at-home orders, online shopping and ordering skyrocketed. 

Between November to December 2020, consumers shifted their behavior again and online shopping generated over $41.5 billion. Just from one holiday season alone, which is historically higher than any other.

As cities find themselves opening back up, and companies are allowed to have physically distant customers and sell in-store products, companies are continuously finding the value in the “online store-front” that now holds an even larger reputation in their community and nationally. 

While this client’s success story is a bit different due to their website and marketing strategies in place pre-COVID-19, it sheds light on the importance of going digital in a pandemic that changes each and every week. 

This is about the pre and during COVID-19 problems, solutions and ongoing efforts that Omaha Media Group has continued to provide this luxury jewelry store with over the past couple of years!

Pre-COVID-19

Pre-COVID-19 circumstances, 14 Karat’s website was a bit dated, and like many companies out there, making the switch to e-commerce possessed a number of new and difficult challenges that needed to be addressed, handled and managed from the very beginning properly. 

The website was the beginning of the e-commerce website that showcased their products and vendors that 14 Karat offered, and at the same time, making sure the site had a great store! At Omaha Media Group, our e-commerce website designers in Omaha were able to create the storefront using Exp-resso which integrates with their vendors' main site while providing a cohesive brand and experience. 

14 Karat was searching to gain major traction in the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) sphere on a local and national level. Their online jewelry business would start to rise locally and nationally.

With a large majority of their clientele based in the Omaha region, the adoption of their new online jewelry business would provide customers with the ability to purchase their products from afar, and a hyper-local and national SEO strategy combined with backlinking and other strategies was the perfect solution. 

During COVID-19

As COVID-19 continues throughout the United States, not only is online shopping and marketing imperative,  but omnichannel strategies are the future of online marketing. Omnichannel strategies refer to marketing in terms of consistent digital touchpoints from web, mobile, social media, email and more that customers use to make that final decision to make a purchase. 

However, while companies kept this omnichannel strategy during COVID-19 and even vamped it up more than ever before, a new process within all of this is store front with online pickups and safe shopping. 

14 Karat did exactly this- with their convenience of online shopping and multitude of ways for consumers to reach out- their storefront became a hub that supports their online shopping and marketing efforts. 

As this year continues, convenience has been at the forefront of shopping! Yes, not all online shopping is convenient, and 14 Karat’s online store is easy to navigate, has clear categories and is mobile friendly. The very definition of convenience!

As the holiday season approached, 14 Karat saw an increase in their lead generation of products from their social media marketing strategies that Omaha Media Group manages. 

From Black Friday to engagement season and New Year’s, social media marketing was a large strategy to continue to provide lead generation for 14 Karat. 

As we continue through this pandemic, 14 Karat’s SEO continues to rise, while there has been a bit of a decline in traffic with the holiday seasons finally over, this is common to see! 

Their organic keywords continue to skyrocket and organic search is twice at what it once was.

This shows that even during a global pandemic, slowing down omnichannel marketing strategies is not advised. If anything, companies should put their strategies into hyper-drive and come out on top once COVID-19 is finally over. 

Omaha Media Group is proud to continue to work with 14 Karat throughout these unprecedented times and provide their customers with the best online jewelry business and shopping experience and social media marketing strategies. 

For any engagement rings, necklaces, bracelets and other jewelry, check out 14 Karat online and in-store!