12 Tips to Take Your E-Commerce Ads to the Next Level

E-commerce is a great way for a business to boost its sales, especially in today’s world of social distancing and online shopping. But with so many businesses gravitating toward e-commerce, the space has become rather crowded.

Companies that want to sell their goods and services online successfully need to maximize their advertising efforts and keep attracting new customers. To help, 12 members of the Young Entrepreneur Council shared some effective ways to take your e-commerce advertising to the next level. Follow these tips to keep customers coming in your virtual door, even during your off-season.

1. Capitalize on Trends and Calendar Events

The way e-commerce is growing, there really isn’t any off-season. Business may spike around the holidays, but people are spending more and more online throughout the year. You have to keep up with the smaller holidays that occur all year. Top sellers are also good at leveraging the very latest trends and events and tailor products to them. —Kalin Kassabov, ProTexting

2. Create Valuable Content

You can take your e-commerce advertising to the next level by starting a blog and creating valuable content. When done well, your content can help you improve lead generation, grow your business and increase sales. It’ll naturally attract the right audience: the ones who are engaged with your website and who will take action. —Jared Atchison, WPForms

3. Buy Traditional Media Placements

There’s a reason why signs have been around for hundreds of years — they work. With the rising costs of clicks and views, oftentimes the cost per impression can be significantly cheaper by investing in a billboard sign pointing to your website, business or brand. Being a contrarian in how you think about spending advertising dollars can pay off big for your next campaign. —Jason Duff, SMALL NATION

4. Personalize Your Communication

Focus on developing real relationships with your customers. People have many options for any product they may want to buy online. The best way to grow your business is to personalize your communication and add components that deepen relationships. When customers make their next decision about whom to purchase from, you’ll stand out and earn their repeat business. —Arian Radmand, IgnitePost

5. Create FOMO

Adding an element of FOMO (short for Fear of Missing Out) can be a powerful way to improve the performance of your ads. Inform your audience that you have a time-bound sales campaign or that your products are running out quickly. FOMO tactics will boost your conversion rates by convincing people that they’re getting a great or exclusive deal, even during the off-season. —Blair Williams, MemberPress

6. Invest in a Paid Content Strategy

There are many ways to tweak customer segmentation and ad content to squeeze in a little more sales with your marketing campaigns, but have you tried a paid content strategy? This is where you use ads to promote your content instead of your products. The competition in this space is very limited compared to running traditional ad campaigns. You’re buying leads for cheap and building brands. —Samuel Thimothy, OneIMS

7. Gather Video Testimonials

One thing that has worked for me is getting customer video testimonials and using those real-life videos in retargeting campaigns. Potential customers see actual customers speaking about the product that they’re on the fence about and take action. —John Murphy, eBike Generation

8. Tap Into Influencer and Blogger Communities

Leverage influencer marketing and blogger outreach to connect with highly engaged audiences looking for the latest products. Send your top customers free samples, engage them to become brand ambassadors and help authentically promote your products. If your products resonate with your target audience, this approach is sure to create brand equity, boost site impressions and lift sales considerably. —Terry Tateossian, Socialfix Media

9. Offer Free Samples or Trials

Offer free samples or free trials of your product. This form of advertising removes buyer hesitation and actually puts your products in their hands. By removing people’s doubts or questions about your brand, you can build trust with new leads even during your off-season. Be sure to have a strong follow-up campaign to maximize your advertising dollars on each free trial you offer. —Jordan Conrad, Writing Explained

10. Use Retargeting Ads

E-commerce businesses can improve their advertising by using retargeted ads. Retargeting goes after abandoned visitors to grab their attention so they go back to your site and take action. Showing ads to users based on their existing behaviors and interests increases the chance of them revisiting your website. —Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms

11. Display Social Proof

Feature social proof in the form of reviews, ratings or testimonials in your advertisement. People will feel hesitant to buy from a brand they know nothing about. When you add real reviews and testimonials to your website, your audience will trust you faster and more easily. The use of social proof in your ad campaigns will also show higher conversion rates. —Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner

12. Make It Eccentric and Unique

Have an eccentric ad — something unconventional that people would talk about and say, “What was that about?” Make an ad that could be featured on Ellen. Huge, eccentric ads make an impact for a brand, not just for a year, but for a lifetime. —Daisy Jing, Banish

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