It’s time again to revisit the various and sundry “tips and tricks” feature that serves up a reminder on how to make your online store work for you. Search engines are littered with hints from analysts, fellow ecommerce vendors, and influencers alike, all poised to help you kickstart or continue to grow your business. Peruse every hint you’re given; choose the ones that may fluidly be put into practice.
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Just think! At some point you may be in a position to hand out advice. Until then, embrace the lessons learned by those whose trails were blazed before you, and those who have kept close watch on the booming commercial phenomenon of internet sales.
Here are four useful tips, in no particular order:

1. Spread yourself thick
   The beauty of cyberspace as a virtual shopping mall is its reach, obviously. Though it can be confusing, or bogged down with competition, focus forward and look specifically for ideas that address your needs, your niche, and your passion. The rest will follow.
   
   That means building a presence on as many social networks as possible. The analogy for conventional retail biz would be advertising in as many media platforms and physical areas as possible. For our purposes, it’s a tad more fun. Facebook, the social media giant, is a start. With more than 1 billion unique users worldwide, it’s the biggest stage, but increasingly not the best. Depending on your product mix, a younger crowd on Instagram and Snapchat may be more lucrative; niche collectors congregating on Pinterest turn out impressive endorsements; and don’t forget that run-of-the-mill neighborhood community pages are opening up to ads. 
   
   
2. Get noticed
   Tempting as it is to refine and re-refine your product inventory, customers won’t appreciate your efforts unless they know you. Keep your focus intently on marketing, building a growing list of loyal buyers you reach through social media, or through expanded post-sale contact with current clientele. Post daily (or several times daily) to social media. Reach out to product-specific magazines and high-profile blogs, enticing them with well-crafted writing, photographs, and products that will catch their attention.
   
   Name recognition is vital currency, but getting it isn’t automatic. Of course quality and excellent service are part of this equation, but selling to buyers who have never heard of you is next to impossible.
   
   
   
3. Make a toolbox
   Applications, or apps, are your best friends and life-giving entities. Ecommerce sites aren’t successful without them, but the key lies in determining what’s suitable for a business of your size, what will fill needs you can’t fill, and what will make your everyday efforts easier. Try out the array of apps in the Shopify ad store, using free trials until you find something that gels. Redbytes offers a primo list of suggestions as well. Give each a look-over. This invaluable piece from Influencer Marketing Hub does a fab job of summarizing the process with breakdowns of areas you can best use an app, such as supplier directories, branding and design, shipping, and more.
   
   
4. Hire help
   Speaking of filling holes, the typical ecommerce newbie may be resistant to relinquish control. This could be a mistake, as there are limitless opportunities for outsourcing tasks you may not have mastered. A good second-hand vendor might be the glue that joins your already stellar store. Oberlo has some resources for you.
   
   

Perhaps you’re tiring of the endless stream of “tips and tricks” directed at new and growing ecommerce stores. They can be a dizzying spate of redundance, or a useful collection from which you carefully consider and choose. Go for the latter. Building a successful online business is not for the faint of heart, but it is for anyone with a dream, some time, and a desire to be the best.

Creating a strong social media presence has never been easier or more effective.
 
More and more people are flocking to various social media platforms to connect and share with loved ones. Whether it’s scrolling through a Facebook group or sharing the perfect vacation selfie on Instagram, it’s hard to imagine a world without social media at the forefront.
 
With billions of users who spend, on average, three hours a day on social media, businesses have a stronger opportunity than ever to target their message to those who are eager to hear it. But with social media trends constantly changing, and so many different marketing options out there, staying on top of the most effective strategies and putting them into practice can be a full time job in and of itself.
 
Who has time for that when you have a business to run?
 
Luckily, there are a wide variety of wonderful tools that take the guesswork out of social media marketing while saving precious time. And who doesn’t need more of that?
 
Let’s look at a few important strategies for any business to thrive, and the social media marketing tools that can help do just that.
 
Best for Lead Generation - Audiense 
 
Audiense offers a convenient array of tools to help you not only identify your audience, but to zero in on smaller segments within that audience to target your message accordingly. It gives you insights into their personalities and buying habits to help you communicate more effectively. And it provides reports and data to back it all up, making customer engagement a breeze.
 
Best for Analytics - Facebook Analytics
 
Facebook continues to dominate as the leading social media platform. Over two-thirds of American adults reported using it in 2019. When it comes to marketing, Facebook Analytics gives you all the tools and statistics you need to analyze what works and what doesn’t. It offers in-depth reporting on the customer process from beginning to end, showing you when, where, and how people are interacting with your content.
 
Best for Content Creation - Tagboard
 
Tagboard allows you to search for topics, keywords, and hashtags so you can see what’s trending and what your audience is paying attention to. You can use that information to share popular stories or create fresh, new content based on the things your customers care about. Focusing on what people are actually reading about, rather than just guessing, will help keep your business relevant and get your content more views, likes, and shares.
 
Best for Chatbots - MobileMonkey
 
Chatbots help deliver a smooth customer experience by interacting and answering their questions in real-time. MobileMonkey is a free service that makes it easy to set up a chatbot and talk to your customers on messaging apps they’re already using, like SMS and Facebook messenger. To make things even simpler, it allows you to type out your chat content once, then use it across different platforms.
 
Best for Graphics - Canva
 
You don’t need to be a professional web designer to create eye-catching graphics that will draw attention to your brand. With an attractive array of pre-made layouts to choose from, Canva makes it easy to do just that. From logos to flyers to educational infographics, there’s an option to help every part of your marketing campaign stand out. And with both free and paid services, they make it accessible for every budget.