I’m sure you’ve heard plenty of stories about how people built million-dollar empires overnight using Facebook.

But if you ask real business owners, the fact is, many of them haven’t figured out the “Facebook thing” and how to use social media to actually make money.

After reading this article, you’ll have heard about four proven strategies that will help you make more business income, are easily implemented and will transform your business results.

Contrary to popular hype, social media is not a magic wand for creating instant sales. However, it is a VERY important part of your overall marketing strategy.

Here are four proven tips to boost your business brand and grow your profits with social media:

1. Brand Visibility: Social media is a powerful branding tool for your business. It allows you to instantly increase your business visibility, expand reach and develop relationships online.

   It’s a powerful way for people to check out what you are about; as you provide useful tips and information, it builds trust and rapport.

   That opens the door for connecting and engaging directly with your audience.

   However many businesses are quick to set up a social media presence without much thought or planned effort.

   Some important areas to pay close attention to are having a graphic designer create a cover image that matches your website branding; this can add polish and professionalism to your Facebook presence.

   You’ll want to take time to properly fill in your “About” section and profile to ensure you are sharing a consistent marketing message. And you want to definitely use a professional headshot for your profile pic.

   Also make sure your social media content is specifically geared to your ideal target audience. A consistent brand message acts as a powerful tool to attract customers who are interested in what you have to offer.

2. Generating Website Traffic: Not just any lead is a good lead; social media helps you drive qualified traffic to your website.

   Social media puts the prospects in charge; they choose and click on what interests them when it’s convenient for them. Millennials in particular demand what they want, when they want it.

   The result is “hot leads” that are very interested in what you have to share. This is a much more effective approach than cold calling or “spam” email marketing.

   Social media provides a platform for you to post content, freebies, and special offers that you can drive readers to visit your website to find out more.

   Now Facebook features a Call to Action button that makes it easy to drive visitors to your website. It gives you the option to Book Now, Contact Us, Use App, Play Game, Shop Now, Sign Up, or Watch Video right on your page.

   Additionally, staying at the top of the search engines to drive traffic for top keyword phrases can be difficult. That’s why social media is a great traffic generation tool that is accessible to everyone. It’s easy to use and you don’t have to be a “tech geek” to implement this effectively.

3. Building your Database: Everyone knows the money is in the list and social media helps you build a robust marketing list. Starting an email marketing list from scratch can be challenging but social media allows you to build targeted lists of your ideal potential clients.

   For example if you have three core customers: divorced women, midlife women, and empty nest women, you can create a separate special report written for each of these groups. By offering these free reports on social media and using targeted ad campaigns that require people to opt in to receive them, you are filling your list with potential core customers. You could take it one step further and sort your general audience into targeted email lists that you can email further resources, offers, and products for that unique audience.

   Sharing more relevant communications and offerings can boost your conversion rates significantly. Take advantage of social media to share free audios, special reports, videos, checklists, and other tools that can help you build your email marketing list.

4. Lead Nurturing: Social media is the first step in relationship building. Getting that first exposure to a new prospect can be difficult and social media makes it easy.

   Strive to be a genuinely caring and helpful person – not just someone trying to get the sale. If someone leaves a comment on your posts, you can continue the conversation by replying and sharing additional information.

   Plus, anyone can LIKE your Facebook business page or share a Tweet. Once content is shared, it is exposed to that person’s newsfeed, exposing you to a wider audience.

   The next step is building upon that relationship. That’s where blogging and email marketing comes in. Driving social media traffic to your website allows you to continue the conversation. Fans can dive into content found on your blog that they find interesting. From there, they can sign up for a freebie you offer.

   It takes multiple exposures to turn a stranger into a lead and ultimately drive a sale.  Social media is the handshake that begins building the rapport that builds the trust that leads to a sale.

   By seeing social media as the first step in a series of exposures with your business, you can nurture that lead into a fan and ultimately a customer.

Start Increasing Your Revenues with Social Media Today

If you aren’t embracing social media as part of your overall marketing, now’s the time.  Social media can help you build your brand, drive traffic, grow your marketing list, and nurture leads.

These are proven strategies to make more business income that are easily implemented and will transform your business results.

Do you need someone to manage your activity on social media? Why not set up a free 30-minute consultation with me to find out how we can help?

About the Author, Susan Friesen

Located in the lower mainland of B.C., Susan Friesen is a visionary brand strategist, entrepreneur, and founder of British Columbia’s premiere boutique web development and digital marketing agency, eVision Media.

With over 20 years of experience in the industry, she is an expert in helping businesses establish their online presence and create a strong brand identity.

Her passion for empowering entrepreneurs and small business owners to succeed in the digital world has earned her a reputation as a leading authority in the branding and marketing industry.

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