How do you know which social media platforms are the right place to market your business? You’ve probably been advised of a lot of different places you should be, so I want to help you decide what is best for you and where you should be. This post is full of my tips and tricks on how to use social media to build your business. 

 

Money Maker Method

I can’t believe we are on the final step on my Money Maker Method! Social media is level 5 of my Money Maker Method, which is “Yell to your People.” If you’ve missed the previous levels, scroll to the bottom of this post to catch the rest. I share all of my biz secrets from how to really know your customer to how to set up your website, and everything in between. I want to help you make more money for your business, and I promise this Money Maker Method is what will help you get there! 

If you haven’t joined my text list yet, text “money maker” to 951-309-7885 so you can receive updates and resources to make more money for your biz, as well as notes of encouragement from me. You shouldn’t have to do business alone, and I’ll be the first to tell you it’s way more fun when you have support along the way. 

Speaking of support, if you want to go all in and get the support you need, join my Money Makers coaching group! You will have access to all of my courses business owners need, have coaching calls with me, and be a part of one of the best communities you could ask for. 

OK, OK, I’m ready to get back on track. Let’s jump into how to use social media to build your business. 

 

4 Questions to Ask Yourself When Learning How to Use Social Media to Build Your Business 

To help you decide which social media platforms to use, there are 4 questions to ask yourself. These 4 questions help you narrow down your options and help you focus on one or two social media platforms rather than trying to do them all and quickly getting overwhelmed by it. 

The whole reason you are “yelling to your people” is to attract the right audience that will be interested in your business and your products. But where are they showing up? And, who are you really trying to attract? 

Remember, you are speaking to one person with one specific problem and giving them a product that is their solution along with their promise of transformation. Knowing who this “one person” is will help you know where to show up online. (Read this post to learn more about this concept.) 

 

Question #1: Where do you make money?

Do you make money from your blog, Facebook ads, course sign-ups, etc.? Where do you directly make the most money for your business? Knowing this will help you know where to spend most of your time when marketing your business and sharing content. 

 

Question #2: Where do you like showing up?

You’re going to show up almost daily, or regularly, on your social media platform, in order to make an impact. Where do you like to show up? (It’s OK to not like some places!) It may help to make a list of all the social media platforms you can think of and write them in order of the ones you love most to the ones you love the least. 

 

Question #3: Where is it best to consume your content?

Think about what type of business you are and what type of product you sell. If you have something more visual, e.g. a cooking show, then a podcast is not going to be the most ideal place for you to show up. It would probably be Instagram or YouTube. 

So, which platform best showcases your product to your people?

 

Question #4: Where are your people? Where do they like to show up?

If your target audience is older, maybe it would be Facebook. If your audience is millennials and young moms, it would be Instagram. If you want to specifically target younger people, maybe it’s TikTok. Think about who your products are for and pick the social media platform to market your business that they are using. 

Once you have these four questions answered, you’ll have a better idea about which platform is best for you. Not saying to only use one, but where you should devote most of your time and attention to first. As you grow, you can slowly add in more platforms. Do what feels best for your business. You’ll know when to add another platform to your content strategy. 

 

How to Use Social Media to Build Your Business: Pros & Cons to Each Platform

 

Social Media Platform #1: Facebook

If you’re using Facebook to market your business, the best place to be is in Facebook groups. (Or to get paid Facebook ads.) Organic views on your Facebook business page are pretty low right now. Due to how Facebook’s algorithm is set up, very few people will discover your business profile let alone see the posts you make on it. 

So, creating a Facebook group would be the best way to go. Facebook users love communities, so groups would be the most influential tool to use on this platform. There are several advantages to using a Facebook group too. People are already on Facebook, so it will be easy to find your people, it’s free to use, it’s easy for you to go live, and it’s easy for people to get to know each other.

 

Social Media Platform #2: Instagram

I love Instagram. It’s where my people show up, so it’s easy for them to find me and see my content. A pro and con to Instagram are how it’s changing all the time. It can be hard to keep up with it and learn how to do reels, for example, in order to reach your audience. 

On the other hand, because it’s changing so often that proves it is trying to stay up to date for its users. People are changing all the time, so Instagram is just trying to stay relevant to us. As a business owner, it’s nice to know that Instagram is constantly working on staying relevant for its audience. 

 

 

Social Media Platform #3: Blog

How do you feel about blogging? If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I’m a huge fan of it. I recommend having a short-term and long-term traffic source for your content. Instagram (or another social media site) can be your short-term source and your long-term source can be your blog. 

One of the things I love most about blogging is that I can create a blog post today that could make me money for years. Blogs are searchable on Google and Pinterest, which covers two of the three main search engines. That is a big deal! 

Since it’s not as common today for people to religiously follow blogs, most of the time your blog posts are found from organic searches. Therefore, your SEO is super important. I recommend WordPress for your blog site because it is the #1 website in SEO, which will help you show up in the top search results. 

 

Social Media Platform #4: Podcast

Podcasting is my main place for sharing my content. It’s my origin place and then I spread the content shared there across other platforms like my blog and my Instagram. I love how personal podcasts are because it’s your voice and your listeners can take you anywhere they go. 

The downside to podcasting is how the algorithm is set up when people search for certain things. It doesn’t work like Google where you can type in some keywords and it pulls up exactly what you need. For example, if you were to search “Michelle Gifford Podcast” on your podcast site, you’d find my podcast. However, if you searched “business building” my podcast wouldn’t necessarily come up. 

I’m hoping they progress in this area soon, but for now, I solve the problem with my blog posts. As I mentioned earlier, I spread the content I share in my podcast to my blog. I do this by creating a blog post based on the podcast episode I share. (This very blog post is an example!) I always include my podcast at the top of my blog posts, and this makes my podcast more searchable, so hopefully more of my people can find me through an organic search. 

 

Social Media Platform #5: YouTube

YouTube is a really great platform because if you turn your video into a blog post, it covers all three of the content search engines (Google, Pinterest, and YouTube). I know it takes more time to make and edit videos for YouTube, but I think it would be worth it. 

If I were starting out again with my business, I would make YouTube one of the main places that I show up because it’s so easy to reuse and repurpose that content. Think about it…you could take pieces from your video and create videos and/or reels for Instagram, pull audio and create a podcast, etc. There’s so much you can do from just one piece of content. I’m all about repurposing content and not having to create more if you don’t have to. 

 

How to Use Social Media to Build Your Business 

Alright, that was a lot, so take a deep breath. Remember, you don’t have to implement every single thing right now. This post on how to use social media to build your business is just an overview of all of your options. They are not requirements and your business can still grow without you trying to show up on every single platform. 

You can start with answering the four questions I listed at the beginning and then deciding which one platform will be best for you in growing your business. 

Biz Side Bar:

The trick is not to increase your number of followers. It’s to make sure the ones who do follow you are loyal to you and your brand. The theory of one thousand is that if you have one thousand true fans, you could be making six figures every year. This is your goal–finding one thousand true fans.

If you want some extra support in growing your biz, you should be a part of my Money Makers coaching group. It’s time you start enjoying this journey and doing it with one of the best communities out there. 

Make sure you’re on my text list too where you’ll get all the tips and encouragement you’ll need to keep going in your biz journey. Text “money maker” to 951-309-7885 to join. Are you following me on Instagram? You can find me @iammichellegifford. 

Missed an episode?

If you missed the previous podcast episodes/blog posts in my Money Maker Method series, you can check them out here: 

• Introduction to the Money Maker Method: 5 Steps to Making More Money for your Business
• Level 1 | Make Your Mark: How to Find Your Why and How it Will Change Your Business
• Level 1 | Make Your Mark: The Top 4 Secrets to a Solid Brand Message
• Level 1 | Make Your Mark: 5 Steps to Creating a Killer Visual Brand
• Level 2 | Optimize Your Opportunity: How to Lead Your Customers to Buy Your Products
• Level 3 | Nurture and Notify: Why You Need an Email List + Email Marketing 101
• Level 3 | Nurture and Notify: How to Get Started with Text Marketing
• Level 4 | Establish an Ecosystem: Top 5 Elements of a Money-making Website
• Level 4 | Establish an Ecosystem: 3 Ways to Make More Money for your Biz in Less Time