A majority of your customers are probably already using a variety of social media networking sites. However, many business owners haven't yet started using these sites to form relationships with people that lead to increased business. Below are a several suggestions on using social media to grow your business.

Social media is a great way to expose your special offers to a large audience. Something like a buy-one-get-one offer, a 50% discount, or even a prize drawing can bring people to your site in droves. Anything that draws people to your site in a positive way is a plus, but getting more people there is only half the battle. You still have to work to keep them coming back.

Even with constant revolutions in how we communicate on social networks, we should still maintain the same basic mannerisms and professional characteristics. Maintain a professional tone in your posts, profile and any other correspondence. Do not allow yourself to engage in an online argument; however, you may choose to delete comments that are inappropriate or misleading. Always use a separate profile for your personal social networking and your business operations.

Try making your content humorous now and then to keep it from going stale. When the things you post make someone laugh, they might share it with others. When they share your updates, you get free advertising.

Advertise limited offers on social media sites like Twitter or Facebook. Communicate urgency in your advertisement, but give your customers sufficient time to visit your store. If a customer happens to miss your great deal or limited time offer, they are sure to pay closer attention to your future updates. Let your website readers know that you post these time-sensitive offers on your social media feeds and they'll be signing up in droves!

Update your social network profiles when you post new content on your blog. By back-linking to your blog, you will be able to tell your social media followers that you have new content available.

To get people excited about upcoming events, take advantage of social networks. Give your followers some advanced notice and keep dropping hints about the amazing offers you'll be providing on that day. Once you launch your new products or offer something new, your customers will already know and be anticipating it.

Today's social media marketing is all about Web 2.0, so make sure that you're using the appropriate widgets and applications on your site. The ideal way to glean followers is by placing widgets onto your site. A widget on your site lets your readers re-tweet your content and vote on it's quality. You won't need to rely on anonymous reviews on non-connected websites.

Let your followers know of some of the accomplishments your business has earned. It may feel awkward, but it will give people comfort to know that they are not your very first friend and that other people like you. Emphasize on your blog that you have many friends on Facebook and lots of Twitter followers. Be sure to include links to other pages too.

Studies show that the most popular times for people to read your social media posts are during business hours during the week. Utilize tools that allow you to write your posts anytime you want to, but they are uploaded and published during hours that you choose, including those when most people are actively online.

If blogging is part of your plan, utilize a "Retweet" option on each blog posting. Placing it strategically at the top of the page will make it quick and easy for viewers to share your content over Twitter. It will allow you to reach more people, more often.

Don't rush into just any strategy that looks good, but instead carefully consider the level of marketing that will genuinely benefit your business. If you put too much time and money into trends, then your long-term marketing success will be limited by the duration of each trend. Plan out your strategy, make sure it is detailed, and follow it.

If you use Twitter for the promotion of your business, it is important that you respond to followers regularly. Thank anyone who mentions your company, and let them know you appreciate their patronage. This will build a good social relationship with those that visit your site. This will show your customers that you're a real human answering their questions, which will build rapport with them.

When you are going to use social media marketing, you should branch out and use several sites. Using multiple websites to increase the viewers one can reach will help to expand the market for a business. Utilizing these different tools can also help you in different ways.

Do not sit idly by while your competition takes full advantage of this powerful promotional tool. Use these suggestions to create an effective plan. Harness the benefits of social media!