Today we’ll learn how to use social media to promote your small business.
There are a lot of social media websites that you can use to promote your business, but two critical ones to focus on are Twitter and Facebook.
It’s important to establish your company’s presence on these two social networks. Not only do they provide a stream of traffic, but they make your business look more official.
Of course, creating an account on these social media platforms is not enough!
You’ll have to learn how to use social media to promote your small business, that means actively marketing content on these two main websites (and others if you can).
How to Use Social Media to Promote Your Small Business:
I think everyone who plans to work online should create a Twitter account.
Everyone is on Twitter, and you can use it to find leads for your business, not to mention boost website traffic.
Creating a Twitter account is super easy, but I recommend taking sometime to edit your account and make it look as official as possible.
This means…
- Creating a cover image for your small business.
- Filling in your bio.
- And adding a link to your website.
Take a look at other profiles of authority figures and copy what they do. 🙂
Like LinkedIn, it’s also important to include a professional looking profile picture. Ideally one of you smiling and looking happy, clean, and professional (someone you would want to hire).
Promoting Your Site On Twitter:
Once the account is set up, here comes the hard part; promoting your business on Twitter.
Well, it’s actually not that hard, but like most things, it requires time.
See, like most social media websites, Twitter is all about sharing; Tweeting and linking to articles or media.
So that’s what you have to do; write Tweets about your business, share related links, share your websites links, and make it a point to be active on Twitter.
Since Twitter is all about sharing content, if you want to use social media to promote your business, I suggest creating a blog for your website, and regularly write articles about your business.
Blogging and Social Media:
It’s simple; if you write for your own website, as a blogger, then you’ll have more content to share on Twitter, content that people can interact with, Like and Re-tweet.
Social media is playing an increasingly larger roll in ranking content as well. And every single post you create, should be socially shared with you social accounts from your website.
That means more people to your website, and more people means more clients!
My entire business is based on writing keyword targeted articles, and you can use the same model to promote literally any type of business.
I’m a firm believer in blogs and I think every website, regardless of the niche, should regularly write articles for their own blog because it brings in traffic.
Not to mention the search engine traffic that comes from targeting keywords!
Here’s a review of my favorite keyword research tool, it has a free trial.
Twitter Recap:
How to use social media to promote your small business…
- Create a Twitter account, make it look professional with images, descriptions, and anything else.
- Consider writing a blog for your website, the articles will give you something to share on Twitter.
Promote Your Small Business Using Facebook:
Legitimate small businesses are always active on Facebook. They have Facebook pages where they regularly share content and interact with members.
Just like Twitter, ideally marketers will want to create a professional Facebook page for their business. This means working on a cover and profile picture and description.
The cover picture should have your website’s logo, description, website URL, name, and maybe handles for other social media accounts, such as Twitter.
Then, it’s all a matter of getting Likes on your Facebook Page, this can be done either manually or with ads.
Facebook ads are pretty cheap and you can get a few hundred targeted likes for a relatively small amount of cash.
Of course, if you don’t want to spend cash, marketing manually is an option. This means promoting the page wherever possible, in niche specific groups, or share it with your friends.
Facebook Marketing Tips:
I recommend sharing the page with your friends on Facebook. Ask them to Like it, and maybe they’ll even hire you if your services are useful. There are always some potential clients hidden in your friends list.
But creating a Facebook page and sharing it with your friends is not enough.
Need help managing all your social profiles for your online business? Check out our latest review of HootSuite. It makes posting a breeze and increases social engagement.
Be Active on Social Media:
The worst thing that you can do for your small business is not reply to people’s questions on social media.
Be active!
That means replying to comment on the page, explaining things clearly, replying to private messages, and helping anyone with their problems.
I know this might seem like a lot of work, but in the first few stages of your small business there won’t be too many inquiries, so managing a Facebook page is not too much work.
If it gets to be too much of a burden, consider hiring a virtual assistant.
Share Your Social Media Accounts on Your Website:
Another mistake a lot of people make when it comes to promoting a small business on social media is that they don’t link to their social media accounts from their website.
This is a mistake!
You want people to find your social media accounts with ease!
So, if you use WordPress, include a Facebook page widget somewhere on your website, ideally the sidebar, and then do the same for Twitter.
Many paid WordPress themes automatically allow you to include a number of social profiles.
This makes it easy for people who land on your website to find your social media accounts, and follow you.
It’s not unusual to have a lot of clients following you on social media.
That also gives you the opportunity to advertise discounts and other offers!
Recap on Using Social Media to Promote Your Business:
Let’s recap what we learned in this article:
- Creating a social media account for your small business is important, don’t forget about it.
- When creating a social media account, make it look as professional as possible, with good images, and a good picture of yourself, friendly and sociable.
- Creating a Facebook page for your business, consider using Facebook ads to bring in some fast Likes, or share the page with your friends.
- Be active on social media, it’s important. Share content and interact with people, reply to messages as quickly as possible.
- Make it easy for people to find your social media accounts, include widgets on your website so clients can follow you.
- Continue sharing content and interacting with people, that’s how you promote your small business on social media.
So that’s it, now you know how to use social media to promote your small business!
If you’re looking for more information on how to create a successful online business, take a look at our free online business training course, it’s free to check out, so there’s nothing to lose!
Great article. I have all my social media profiles set up but have not been posting often enough. I never really know what kind of thing to post about. I don’t want to promote my site too much but also don’t want to go too off topic. It’s difficult knowing what to say.
What would you suggest?
Thanks for the interesting and helpful read by the way.
You’re welcome Hannah. Try to spend an hour or 3 on these social sites and look for groups that based on your niche site. I’m on over 30 of these sites. I make it a regular post publishing task to socially share my content after I publish a post on my social profiles, but also on the groups I’ve joined.
As your on the social group pages, check out some of the other posts, share what you like and comment on posts if you feel like it.
Then if you find other cool posts or social shares, share them on your page. You’re trying to be an authority in your niche and this takes time, education, and a bit of passion.
Hope this helps,
Todd
I have never thought of promoting my business/website through social media. I’m old school and do things the old school way so word of mouth was always the way for me.
But after reading this I am inspired to give it a shot seeing the unlimited potential behind it.
Do you prefer any one social media site over the others?
Absolutely, social media is just a quicker way to reach and connect with 1,000’s of more people. For me, I like Pinterest, Twitter, G-Plus, Facebook, and now days, you should also have an instagram profile as well.
It can be tough at first, but just dedicate a 1/2 hour or so to it each day and you’ll see a difference.
Best,
Todd
Todd,
Excellent article as usual and something that I’ve come to expect from you with your knowledge about online marketing.
A question about Google +. You really seem to promote this, especially in a past article. I also watched the live Webinar conducted by Jay, although back in 2013.
Is it me, or have a lot of WA members moved away from Google + as a form of social media strategies in their businesses? I see so many people on Google + dating back several years ago who appear to be no longer active. Do you use Google + a lot yourself now? I noticed that you feel that the site is really good for improving rankings for a person’s website.
I”m thinking of creating a professional Facebook acct. as you suggested. I have a personal one which I never use. However even writing articles on Facebook myself and the dangers I’ve found through research, I also realize that scammers abound on the site, creating issues for people who aren’t careful as to who they allow to see their actual Facebook page.
Thank you ahead of time for your input, sir!
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for your feedback and questions about using social media. I’ve seen more than one webinar where Jay talks about the positive influence Google search results give Google Plus posts. I’ve even seen mine and other internet marketers ranking for specific posts the Google Plus. I like using it personally and also have my personal limitations about spending all my time on social media. I feel my time is better working on producing quality content that’s based on keyword research.
Facebook is loaded with make money online scams and you should always enter any program promoted on this social platform with caution. I think this is true with any online money making product. You need to research it before giving over any credit card info.
I’d go with professional accounts as well. I’ve done both and whichever way you go, you need to dedicate a little time to each platform to push your brand forward.
Social media is here to stay and you get what you put into it. I’ve gotten sales from social media and know other marketers who base their entire business plan on one specific social network. For me, I try to balance those that I use and focus more on the content. If I did video, I’d be working YouTube and the social platforms as well as written content. And WA can teach you how to rank on YouTube as well. Check out Jay’s webinar of it.
For those that want to check this info out, click here and sign up for a free WA membership.
Cheers,
Todd
It is amazing to me – that you can always learn something new that will help you in your direction to success. I picked up some useful tips from your website.
I would love it if you would critique my website – Oh yes back to your site – It is easy to read and understand I need to add other social media to my site which I now feel confident to do after reading your post.
I am on facebook and have been doing boost pages – and have had thousands of people view – hundreds liking – tons of loves – several comments but maybe thirty actually went to the website to buy – do you have a way to get a larger population to buy?
Hi Charlene, I’ve boosted a few posts with Facebook but haven’t had much success. I use social media to not only bring more traffic to my site, but more for back links and increased social interaction for improved Google rankings.
I’m pretty focused in writing low competition keyword based posts that rank fast. I find that if I get some comments and social shares, the rank gets to page one of Goolge and that’s when I see the most traffic and sales.
But using a combination of these methods and staying consistent to publishing helpful content is the focus that I think is tried and true.
Cheers,
Todd
Great blog on using social media to boost your online business, this seems to be a gray area for many newbies starting out online. Great work researching this and delivering solid content. I could not stop reading, the information was flowing and that’s not something I can say about most social media guides I’ve read. I know social media is very important to business these days and I need to start getting involved.
Can I ask which of the social media platforms is the best to start with?
Thank you for your post, Cheers Kev
Hey Kevin, happy to help. Go with Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google Plus is a must, and then you can add Instagram just to have a link to your site.
Google Plus is possible the most useful to boost your rankings in Google, which is what I focus on primarily. If you continue to work through Wealthy Affiliate’s Training Program, you learn how to bounce your links from these social media outlets as well as boost affiliate commissions through attaching Amazon products within photo based sites like Pinterest.
Just dedicate an hour per day to social media and then scale from there.
Best,
Todd
Hi Todd,
I did not realise the power of social media until I joined a few sites, since then I have seen better rankings in Google. Totally agree with being active in blogging, new blog posts and content really help increase my followers and keep the website alive. I was just wondering how exactly does twitter help my website as I currently do not use it, Am I really missing out?
Keldyn, I felt the same, maybe worse. My attitude was to forget about Twitter, even Google Plus and Pinterest.
But as I continued to follow the WA proven system, I began to see results. In one webinar at Wealthy Affiliate, I learned how to take Amazon links and embed them in photos/pins, the share those pins on Pinterest and was able to generate some Amazon affiliate sales.
Twitter is huge and not going away. I was particularly turned off by Twitter, but it’s easy to use, fun, and a great way to get that content out to increase traffic and sales.
Google Plus is another great one that seems to give increased Google juice in the rankings on, of course, Google search engine results page go figure.
Cheers,
Todd
Wow really informative post on how to use social media to promote businesses!! I was trying to promote one of my websites on twitter with no avail but have since gotten 30 followers. May not seem like alot but it leads to more traffic. Thank you will keep up with your website and post, also signed up for the free ebook on targeting traffic to convert more sales. More thanks!
You’re welcome Erwin and you’re on the right path. Getting started with social media is the first step, then implementing an hour per day at it. It wasn’t my favorite thing to do, but it does add an additional 15% for my site.
However, some sites rely more on social media and other don’t want anything to do with it. One cool thing that Wealthy Affiliate teaches is how to incorporate videos with each blog post and also how to rank those videos in YouTube as well.
The choice is yours but I’d encourage you to continue working the social media aspect for your online business.
Thanks,
Todd
Helpful website and post, really high quality content and everyone can learn a lot from your articles. Lot of photos and colors in your articles, which is good so it’s easier to read.
Social media is a great tool and you explained in great detail everything one needs to know about it when learn how to use social media and market your online business.
I hope you to read more of your posts and updates for your website. Cheers and have a good one 🙂
Thanks Max for your feedback. Socia media is a significant aspect for any online business or local website.
These tips are easy to implement to improve your social online presence. Wealthy Affiliate covers training webinars on most social sites. Or you can find tutorials about how successful marketers manage this aspect.
Wealthy Affiliate did a Pinterest training that taught me to pin Amazon products (as an Amazon affiliate) and then make sales when people shared my pins and then went on to Amazon to make a purchase.
And this training.. How to use Google Plus Effectively in Marketing is worth a review.
Thanks,
Todd
Hello Todd,
First of all great article. You always produce great articles.
Personally, i am having quite some trouble with social media, specifically facebook. i am just having trouble getting viewers. I created a page specifically for my niche but it seems a bit harder to get viewers this way. Would you think i would be better off using my personal account to maybe create more trust?
You know Josue, that’s what I did and I’m not sure if it’s the right move. Facebook has many Like For Like exchanges that will help give you some social media recognition once more people engage with your content.
Try to connect with similar niches and exchange some likes, maybe even do some guest blogging. I’d encourage you to strive for quality and engaging content, even if it’s a bit controversial, and then see what happens. Sometimes you can be in the hot seat, but you’ll be amazed at how many people will engage with you on social media sites if you have some great content to read.
Spend an hour to start off with and try to get more likes/followers and post things people will enjoy.
Thanks,
Todd
Hi Todd, this is a great article on how one can promote his or her business through social media. I think social media is not only meant for small businesses but for big corporates as well.
However, this article is really useful for people who are running small businesses or even for newbies who have no clue where to start.
I do agree with you that a personal social media page and a professional page does make a difference. It is indeed very important to keep it as professional as possible.
Great tips you have here! Thanks for sharing!
You bet Alex, thanks for your feedback. Yeah, this is a great post about how to get started to promote your business via social media. I think when your small business turns into a larger business, you need to look at outsourcing some of these tasks.
If you really direct your efforts to marketing on social media sites, you can spend hours engaging people and growing your audience, but it’s a great strategy and yes, all the corporate businesses use social media these days and have teams of people who manager their twitter/facebook/instagram/etc. accounts.
Thanks,
Todd
I seem to have a challenge with using social media to promote my online business. I suppose I need to work through that in order to more firmly establish my presence online. I have about 50 contacts on facebook. Mostly family and friend or acquaintances. I feel like I am in their face with sharing my blog articles.
Hi Ellen, you may want to consider getting another FB account for your online brand/business. This is another good way to brand your business and won’t be tied directly to your personal FB account.
Take an hour a day and dedicate it to the social media groups you want to join. Follow this guide and you’ll build your social presense and this will in turn build up your online business.
Thanks,
Todd
Thanks, that is a helpful suggestions on how to utilize social sites to improve your traffic to your business or products. I must say, this is a topic that many people struggle with, but you’ve given a good guideline on how to get started.
Thanks Ellen,
The key is to take a post like this, jot down some notes and then take action everyday to build out your social media profile as well as connect with people in whatever niche market your online or offline business is involved in.
Thanks,
Todd
I really liked this post because I do use social media and wasn’t sure how to promote my small business. I got myself a Twitter account and added a business page to my FB account. That being said, I have not been very active on those social media sites. I guess it is hard to get into a habit. Should we post once a day? How often is a good number to post? Would love some guidance 🙂
Post everyday if you have something beneficial to post if it’s based on your small business or anything related to your niche.
You can even post your blog posts several times over time. For example, I have a helpful post on How to Make Money Off Your Credit Cards. So every now and then, I’ll post it and this also helps give it a little Google juice and push up my rankings.
The key is to engage with others in your small business/online business niche and to build up a good reputation.
It’s an extra task to do, but one that carries a good amount of weight to help your business get more traffic to your products/services.
Thanks,
Todd