How To Promote Your Business With Social Media

If you’re selling products online, social media can benefit your business.

That said, I wouldn’t recommend spending a ton of money on social media workshops, ebooks and online courses.

Even getting started is pretty simple. First, find out which sites your target market are on. If you’re selling rock band t-shirts to teenagers, your target may be on MySpace. If you’re selling baby clothes to moms, you may want to check out Facebook and Twitter.

But don’t take my word for it. Ask your target market.

Once you know where they are, setup a profile for your business. (Unless you’re doing Facebook. You want to setup a profile for yourself on Facebook, then a fan page for your business.)

Now, you need to have a strategy in place.

For Twitter, I recommend following those in your industry who have something to say. If you’re in fashion design, for example, Kathleen Fasanella of Fashion Incubator is someone you want to follow.

I also recommend following your customers, competitors and anyone who has an interest in your industry.

Don’t worry about who is following you or whether or not you should follow someone just because they are following you.

Do download a Twitter client such as Seesmic or Tweetdeck and use them to keep up with those who direct message you, the replies you get and use the search featues to follow your business name and industry keywords. This way, you can start and participate in conversations.

You can also keep up with what’s being said about you or your company. This is an excellent way to be there to thank those who say something great about your company, answer any questions people may have, and take care of any bad situations in a positive and proactive way.

For Facebook, I recommend that you setup you personal profile as a place to chat with your real-life friends. You can adjust your privacy settings so only certain groups of people can see your status updates (and you can create your own groups as well). Then create your fan page for your business and send an invitation to all your customers and potential customers. You can tie your WordPress blog into your fan page and you can post business updates/sales on the page.

I also recommend keeping an eye on your competition here, as well.

If any of you have stories to share about how you’ve used social media to promote your business, please share them here.