50 Ways to Use Social Media for Business

If you’re a business person and if you’re reading this blog then chances are you’ve got a social media profile. You may even manage it. There are a lot of articles out there that give you step-by-step instructions on how to set up a profile but very few on how to promote your business once you get there. That’s why I’ve put together 50 different ideas on how you can leverage social media to reach out to your prospects and customers as well as monitor your brand.

We’ve chosen to focus on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn – the three largest social networking sites.  Likely you won’t be able to implement all of these ideas to market your business but you can certainly take some of them.  I encourage you to especially look at the LinkedIn section because I believe it is the most under appreciated network when it comes to business.

1. Send coupons to fans
2. Announce new items
3. Ask open-ended questions to your follower base
4. Broaden the reach of your blog through the use of RSS
5. Listen to what industry leaders have to say
6. Ask questions of your industry leaders
7. Find the blogs of market influencers and begin commenting
8. Monitor what others are saying about you
9. Respond to complaints with offers to help or fix the mistakes
10. Listen what your competitors are talking about
11. Observe the buzz-words in your marketplace and respond when appropriate
12. Help others by answering questions or directing them to resources
13. Use a Vanity URL to promote and protect your brand
14. Post links to articles that are relevant to your products, services, and industry
15. Use the RSS feature to automatically pull and post content relevant to your industry
16. Get insight about a possible new hire
    

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17. Ask your fans to participate in discussion
18. Allow fans to post on your wall, post pictures, and upload videos (just monitor it)
19. Create custom tabs to give your Page a look that matches your brand
20. Upload photos from your events and ask fans to tag them
21. Post time-sensitive coupons (TODAY ONLY:  $5 soup and salad for our fans)
22. Get feedback on new products
23. Share stories relevant to your industry
24. Run ads asking people to “Like” you
25. Post excerpts from your blog as “notes” so they’re easier to comment on
26. Use the RSS feature to automatically post your blog articles
27. Buy ads and do A/B testing to find the most effective copy before paying for Adwords
28. Get a vanity URL to expand and protect your brand
29. Promote “Fan Only” specials
30. Use the “Default landing page” settings to put important content at the forefront of your page
31. Use the “Send Update” feature to stay in contact with your fans
32. Get an idea of the character of someone you’re considering for a position
    

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33. Get a vanity URL for your name
34. Add your company website to your personal profile
35. Use custom anchor text on the websites you list
36. Find strategic partners
37. Find out if the salesman you’re working with is reliable or not
38. Get recommendations
39. Refer skeptical prospects to your LinkedIn profile
40. Answer questions in the “Answer” section to establish yourself as an industry expert
41. Get warm introductions to prospects from your current connections
42. Do research on job applicants
43. Use your profile update to announce important business
44. Create and manage a group centered around your business
45. Create and actively manage a group centered around your industry niche
46. Use customized emails when you invite someone to connect – the default won’t do!
47. Use customized emails to reply to people who ask you to connect – seize the opportunity!
48. Optimize your profile to rank high for the phrases your customers are using
49. Ask questions in the “Answers” section to use the collective LinkedIn brain trust to solve problems
50. Join groups of your industry’s thought leaders  to stay on top of current trends

There you go – 50 different ideas on how to use Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to grow your business through social media.  What ideas have worked for you?

P.s. Don’t forget to read our 12 Tips to Getting Business Handed to You on LinkedIn!