In the past, it was nearly impossible for a business owner or manager to stay abreast of the ever-changing world of online marketing and social media – especially when you’re already running a business and have a full-time job. But thanks to the innovation of tools like HubSpot and Hootsuite, as well as platforms like Twitter and Facebook, it’s now possible to manage all aspects of an online marketing campaign in one place, from creating content to measuring results. And that’s exactly what makes this medium so valuable – it allows you to fully automate your marketing process, putting you back in control of your time and allowing you to focus on what’s important to you.

Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been doing this for a while, identifying the ultimate guide to marketing via online channels will prove invaluable. So here it is, our hand-picked collection of the best online marketing and social media tips and tricks, to help you get started or improve your existing process.

Set A Budget

The first step to planning your e-commerce marketing strategy is to set a budget. This is especially important if you’re managing a large marketing campaign, as you don’t want to overextend yourself and sacrifice quality just to make sure you can afford everything. So take some time to carefully consider how much you’re willing to spend and what you’ll need to achieve your goals.

It’s also a good idea to set a time limit for how long you’ll spend on the campaign – say, for example, you decide to focus on online marketing during the month of May, you’ll have a month to achieve your main goals. Having a clear deadline will help you keep track of what you’ve accomplished and what’s still left to do.

Determine Your Target Markets

The next step is to determine your target markets. This is not as easy as it sounds – after all, you’re aiming to sell something to someone, so it follows that you’ll need to establish a target audience. But rather than heading into the traditional demographics-based modeling (what we traditionally think of as “market research”), consider instead using online tools and social platforms to reach your ideal customer. This way, you’ll determine what people are looking for, not just what demographic groups they belong to. For example, if you’re creating a store selling swimwear, you might want to consider using an app like SurveyMonkey to get insight into the minds of your potential customers.

This is an especially valuable tool when running an e-commerce store, as it allows you to create surveys asking customers about their shopping experience. You can then use that information to determine what changes you need to make to improve your products or services – as well as the way you communicate about them.

Choose The Right Location For Your Website

Once you’ve determined your target markets, it’s time to choose your web hosting service and pick a suitable domain name. This is the address people will use to reach your site – it should be easy to type and remember, and should accurately represent your brand. If you’re considering the.com domain extension, make sure you are not already registered with another site using that domain name.

If you decide to go with a subdomain, be sure to choose one that is meaningful and relevant to your business (e.g., blog.yourbrand.com or reviews.yourbrand.com). Don’t worry too much about the design of your site – as long as everything functions as expected, your visitors won’t care about how it looks. They’ll just want to get the content.

Find The Right Email Marketing Platform

After choosing your web host, it’s time to pick an email marketing platform. This is the tool you’ll use to collect email addresses of potential customers – after all, everyone loves to get a freebie right? You could start with something as straight-forward as a simple free email service like MailChimp, or go the extra mile with a tool designed specifically for online marketing, like HubSpot. You’ll also need a place to store and forward emails you receive – in the event someone gets on your bad side and sends you malicious content, you’ll need a way to keep it from going live.

It’s also important to pick a service that provides you with robust features and is easy to use – if you’re technologically inclined, you don’t want to dive into the deep end of technical wizardry just to make your email campaign work right. When choosing a marketing automation platform, keep in mind the level of sophistication of your target audience and whether you’re looking for a simple or advanced solution.

Get To Work

You now have everything you need to get started with your e-commerce marketing campaign – simply follow these easy steps and before you know it, you’ll have developed a steady stream of new customers, increased web traffic, and raised your conversion rate. And it’ll be all thanks to some good old-fashioned elbow grease and a bit of strategic planning!

Setting up an e-commerce store is a lot easier than it seems – all you need is a web host, a domain name, and a bit of software – but getting it to run successfully requires a bit of research, thought, and planning. With these basic guidelines in hand, you’ll be able to launch a successful e-commerce store that provides valuable information about your target audience, allowing you to craft the perfect pitch for each individual customer. Better still, if you apply these tips and tricks to your existing business and marketing processes, you’ll be able to further refine your strategy and drive more revenue – something every business owner or manager dreams of.