This is part one of a two-part series. Read part two here.

Summer is upon us yet again, but this year you can do more with the downtime than you ever imagined.

While everybody else is out enjoying the sunshine and taking vacations to far away destinations, spend some energy focusing on growing your online business. This slow season is perfect for implementing business-wide changes, trying out new marketing tactics and sniffing out inefficiency anywhere it can be found.

Looking for some ideas to grow your business this summer? Look no further than the list we’ve created below:

Get to know your visitors. If you’ve not had the time to get to know the people who are buying from your eCommerce business, do it now. Summer’s a slow season for most retailers, and that makes it a great time analyze data and build a new marketing strategy with that information. After all, if you don’t know who you’re selling to, how can you possibly optimize your business to serve their needs?

Get involved in social media. Even if your business is plugging along just fine, you’re missing out on a huge group of captive customers by avoiding social media. Not only does having a Facebook or Twitter account help you connect with the outside world, happy customers can share your business with their friends and, in turn, help you develop a following.

When using social media for promotion, remember that it’s not about you – it’s about what you give to your customers. So instead of constantly yelling “Look at me!,” share useful information about your business, offer sneak peaks at new merchandise or inject a little tasteful humor. Social media branding is all about sharing – so make sure you share what you’ve got to offer with the world.

Increase attention with promotions. Everybody loves a sale – especially your customers. If you don’t already have a database of email addresses from your past order fulfillment, start compiling one now. In the meantime, use your social media to push an inexpensive, but popular and attractive, promotion like free shipping or a small discount on products at checkout. You’ll be surprised how many shares coupons can generate.

Direct email campaigns can help your company, grow, too. Give your customers a way to opt in or out, then design some attractive emails that can go out a few times a month. Exclusive offers and reminders about abandoned shopping carts are excellent tools to use to recapture lukewarm customers and catch the eye of die-hard fans.

Growing your business is a year-round job, but the summer is the best time to take care of the bigger chores. Take advantage of the lull in orders from your online shop and find new and exciting ways to expand your reach.

We’ll discuss even more ideas in part two of this two-part series.