How Women-Owned Businesses Can Use Social Media Marketing

Women’s entrepreneurship and social media

Women have long faced obstacles to starting and growing their own businesses, from limited access to capital to smaller professional networks. Social media and other digital tools have helped lower those barriers by making it easier to reach customers, test ideas and market products without a large upfront investment. Here’s how women’s entrepreneurship and social media intersect today:

• Social media helps women entrepreneurs get the word out. As more women start businesses with limited upfront capital, social media offers a low-cost way to reach customers and grow. The results show up in the numbers. According to Gusto’s 2025 New Business Formation report, women started 49 percent of new businesses last year, up 69 percent since 2019 — the highest share in the past five years.
• Women are more likely to use social media for their businesses: In the United States, social media is already a go-to marketing tool for many women entrepreneurs. According to QuickBooks Small Business Insights, 61 percent of women-led small businesses say they use social media to promote products or services, compared with 49 percent of men-led businesses. In practice, women business owners are more likely to use social media to build brand awareness, connect with customers and grow their businesses.
• Women use social media for more than marketing. Social media isn’t just about promotion. For many women entrepreneurs, it’s also a way to connect with peers, share resources and reach customers who value what they do. [Read related article: 5 Feminine Traits That Make Leaders Great]

That reliance on digital tools fits with the scale of women-owned businesses nationwide. Wells Fargo’s 2025 Impact of Women-Owned Businesses report found that women own 14.5 million businesses in the U.S., representing 39.2 percent of all firms and generating $3.3 trillion in annual revenue. With women-owned businesses growing faster than men-owned firms, digital tools like social media are increasingly part of how entrepreneurs compete and grow.

How women use social media to grow their businesses

Social media plays an important role for many women entrepreneurs, starting with cost. Many platforms allow business owners to reach and connect with their target audience organically, without investing in expensive ad campaigns, which makes social media especially appealing for newer or leaner businesses.

Amy Bartko, founder of Chatterbox PR & Marketing, encourages female entrepreneurs to go all in when it comes to social media. “When you increase your visibility, you not only grow your brand but also build credibility and expand your reach,” Bartko explained. “It’s about engaging with your audience, sharing your expertise and building relationships that can lead to opportunities.”

Sarah Smith, the founder and CEO of S² Social Studio, emphasized that showing up authentically and consistently is key to getting the most return from social media efforts. “I always tell my clients that they are truly the differentiator in their business,” Smith said. “Their target audience wants to work with them because of who they are and the soul connection that they have.”

Savvy businesswomen also recognize that social media can serve multiple purposes at once, from marketing and branding to customer support. Here are some of the most common ways women entrepreneurs use social platforms to grow their businesses:

• Branding: Social media allows you to establish a visual identity through content like short-form videos, carousels and posts. It’s also an excellent resource for personal branding. By posting consistently and sharing everything from product photos to user-generated content (UGC), female entrepreneurs can build trust and customer loyalty through social networking sites, often without the need for costly marketing initiatives.
• Connection and engagement: Use social media to connect with your ideal customers. You can engage your audience on social media directly, ask for customer feedback and build relationships over time.
• Customer service: Social platforms make it easier to respond quickly to customer questions, concerns and complaints. Excellent customer service provided via social media can even turn a negative experience into a positive one.
• Advertising: Many social media platforms offer affordable advertising options that can help businesses expand their reach without a large budget.
• Research and data collection: Social platforms can provide valuable insight into customer behavior, preferences and competitor activity.
• Trend tracking: Tracking trends on social media helps you understand what consumers are responding to while staying current on broader digital marketing trends, including viral audio tracks, keywords and emerging content formats.
• Networking: Many women entrepreneurs use social media to find support, mentorship and community from other women in business.

Why you should create a social media marketing plan

Before posting content or choosing platforms, it helps to have a clear plan in place. A social media marketing plan gives your efforts structure and direction, which makes it easier to stay consistent and measure what’s working over time.

Nicole Antoinette Smith, associate professor of instruction at Ohio University and founder of eleV8T, said it’s critical to lay out a plan for your social media marketing before you start. She points to four key reasons why having a plan matters:

• You won’t have to make it up as you go. With a plan in place, you already know what to do first, next and last, which helps you move forward with confidence instead of guessing.
• You’re less likely to overreact to every change. As you market your business, new ideas and feedback will inevitably pop up. A plan gives you a clear sense of direction, so you don’t feel pressured to chase every new tactic or pivot too quickly.
• You’ll have something to fall back on when motivation dips. When results are slow, or things aren’t going as planned, your strategy serves as a reminder of your goals, benchmarks and long-term vision.
• You’ll know what success looks like. A strong marketing plan defines realistic, measurable outcomes, making it easier to evaluate performance and adjust as needed.

Women who see the most success with social media tend to use their platforms consistently and assign each one a clear role within their broader digital marketing strategy. Documenting your content pillars and engagement goals can help you track results more effectively and make thoughtful changes over time.

Social media marketing tools to consider

Women who use social media marketing to grow their businesses know that consistency matters. Whether you manage multiple social media accounts or focus on one platform where your audience is most active, staying organized and intentional makes all the difference.

Bartko finds her LinkedIn business profile particularly useful. “It’s a powerful platform because it targets the trifecta of your audience — your consumer, buyer and media,” she explained. “It allows you to build meaningful relationships, position yourself as an expert and consistently increase visibility in a professional space.”

As social media responsibilities grow, many businesses turn to social media management tools to simplify posting, stay organized and keep up with engagement. These platforms can help you plan content calendars, publish posts across platforms at the same time and track analytics to see what’s performing best. The right tool depends on which platforms you use, how hands-on you want to be and what features matter most to your business. Today, many of these tools also incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) to help with tasks like caption writing and optimal scheduling.

Some of the most popular social media management tools include:

• Hootsuite
• Buffer
• Sprout Social
• MeetEdgar
• SocialPilot
• Vista Social
• Loomly
• Sendible
• SocialBee
• Later

While social media management tools typically come with a monthly cost, they’re often far more affordable than hiring a social media manager. Choosing the right platform comes down to evaluating features, pricing and how well a tool fits your workflow.

Smith also advises business owners not to overlook the value of built-in analytics tools on social media platforms, which can offer valuable insight into what’s actually driving results.

“Business owners often forget to read the data and only focus on the vanity metrics such as followers and likes,” Smith noted. “While those do have some importance, they do not paint the full picture of whether or not you are reaching your goals. Data points, such as reach and external link taps, for example, can help determine what content is resonating most with your audience and converting them into visiting your website, booking a call, etc. The power of data should never be underestimated.”

Building connections through social media

One of the most valuable aspects of social media is how easily it helps women entrepreneurs connect with one another. Beyond reaching customers, these platforms make it possible to build relationships with like-minded women, share experiences and learn from others navigating similar challenges.

Strong professional networks play an important role in long-term success. A supportive network can lead to practical advice, word-of-mouth referrals and new opportunities, especially in fields like leadership, marketing and advertising. If you’re looking to expand your network, the following organizations offer community, resources and connections for women in business:

• She Runs It: An organization that has supported women’s success and leadership for more than 100 years through networking events, workshops and mentoring.
• The Advertising Club: A nonprofit dedicated to connecting professionals across advertising, marketing and media.
• American Advertising Federation: A national organization focused on supporting advertising professionals at all stages of their careers.
• Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media: Founded by actress Geena Davis, this organization works to improve representation and inclusion in media.
• Entreprenista League: A membership-based community offering resources, tools and media opportunities for women founders.
• The School of Becoming: Founded by Tracy Litt, this organization helps women leaders and entrepreneurs grow through a structured curriculum, resource library and community.
• Powerhouse Women: A popular podcast and community focused on helping women entrepreneurs scale their businesses while supporting one another along the way.

Leveraging social media to grow your business and lead with confidence

Whether you’re launching a solopreneur venture or scaling a larger operation, it helps to think of yourself as a leader from day one. There are plenty of online tools available to support women in business, but growth starts with mindset. When you approach your work with confidence and intention, leadership follows naturally.

Social media can play a meaningful role in that growth. It gives you a way to promote your business, expand your network and build a personal brand that reflects who you are and what you offer. Used thoughtfully, social media can help you reach farther — and make a bigger impact — than you may have expected when you first started out.

Stepping into a leadership role doesn’t have to feel dramatic or intimidating. For many women, it’s simply about showing up consistently, sharing expertise and trusting the value they bring. As more women build businesses on their own terms, social media remains a powerful tool for visibility, connection and long-term growth.

Julie Thompson contributed to this article. Source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.