Having a website simply isn’t enough. While having a website that is beautifully designed and takes into account user experience is essential, it’s important to realize that promoting your site is a necessity. Regardless of what industry you’re in, there’s a lot of competition and you need to ensure your website is found online and keeps people on your site long enough for them to consider making a purchase.

These 5 e-commerce marketing tips help to get people to your site.

Tip #1: Offer a contest or giveaway

This is a great e-commerce marketing tool because it plays into something everyone loves (winning) while generating buzz for your site and brand. Make sure you’re offering a prize your ideal client/customer actually wants and once you’ve announced that the competition is life, keep the momentum going right up until it closes. Promote the competition via every channel accessible to you.

Tip #2: Use video effectively

Making how-to videos can help give the customers an idea of your products.

How-To videos are simple but highly effective marketing tools. They show your customer what their experience will be like before they need to invest anything or even before they’ve made a connection with your brand. In a brief 2 to 3 minute timeframe, a video establishes if your product or service is ideal for the customer in question.

Tip #3: Showcase your own original content

When your site is rich with unique content, you’re displaying your expertise while building credibility for your site. Of course, original content is also ideal and highly beneficial for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) – be aware that it’s dangerous to copy/paste content from elsewhere on your website. This could land you in legal trouble and at the end of the day, you’re not achieving anything because you haven’t tailored the content to your audience.

Tip #4: Ask customers for testimonials

Is there a more powerful tool in the online world? It can take quite a bit of time to establish trust with a potential customer. When people can easily see a number of testimonials from other satisfied customers, it helps to nurture the relationship. Of course, it’s always more powerful to have customers spreading your message than to self-promote.

You can ask satisfied customers for testimonials for your products to help you in promoting your business.

Tip #5: Use personalization to your benefit

There is so much noise in the online space. Within your industry, you may be competing with hundreds or even thousands of competitors at any given time. Personalisation is becoming more and more important, especially as consumers grow savvier. Getting this right isn’t hard but it does take thought—audit all of your communication points and assess where you could be doing better. Wherever possible, use your customer’s names, provide them with relevant links and ask for their feedback so that you can continue personalizing their experience. Once you know enough about them and their habits, you can tailor your emails accordingly.

Using the above tips as part of a clear marketing strategy helps to ensure that people are visiting your website. You can’t expect your ideal customers to just stumble across your website. It’s important to be proactive with your marketing so that you’re driving people to your e-commerce site.

Original article on Born2Invest.