How Women-Owned Businesses Can Use Social Media Marketing

Women’s entrepreneurship and social media

Women who have historically been discouraged from working outside the home or building independent businesses are finding success with businesses that depend on online tools like social media. In Indonesia, for example, where almost half of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are owned and operated by women, popular social networks used include Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. According to a Women’s World Banking report, women-owned businesses are more likely to use social media to promote their brand and products than men-owned companies (94 percent vs. 86 percent). 

Women all over the world are realizing their true potential for several reasons. Social media allows female entrepreneurs to connect not only with other women who are building businesses but also with their ideal customers, who are often women as well. [Related article: 5 Feminine Traits That Make Leaders Great]

Because the internet has made entrepreneurship accessible for millions of women worldwide, we’re seeing a welcome surge in women-owned businesses globally. Unique pandemic circumstances encouraged women to start 49 percent of new companies in 2021, up from 28 percent in 2019, as reported by Gusto. While not all of these businesses will succeed over the long term, many women are creating sustainable enterprises that continue to grow.

Looking closer to home at the rates of women’s entrepreneurship in the United States, it’s clear that women are gradually stepping into their power as the culture shifts to be more inclusive. According to the 2024 Impact of Women-Owned Businesses report, women owned more than 14 million businesses, employed 12.2 million people and generated $2.7 trillion in revenue. That’s huge, especially considering that in 1972, only 402,000 U.S. businesses were owned by women. 

How women use social media to grow their businesses

Social media is a key tool for female entrepreneurs for many reasons. First of all, it’s affordable. Women can organically reach and identify their target audience on some social media platforms without paying for expensive ad campaigns.

Women are also using social media as a branding tool. By posting consistently and sharing everything from product photos to testimonials, female entrepreneurs know how to build trust and customer loyalty using social networking sites, often bypassing the need for expensive marketing campaigns. 

Amy Bartko, founder of Chatterbox PR & Marketing, encouraged 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. It’s about engaging with your audience, sharing your expertise and building relationships that can lead to opportunities.”

Brands like Flat Tummy Co, Thinx and Glossier have largely built their success with targeted marketing campaigns that feature real women and the struggles they face. “I always tell my clients that they are truly the differentiator in their business,” said Sarah Smith, owner of S² Social Studio. “Their target audience wants to work with them because of who they are and the soul connection that they have.” Both Bartko and Smith agreed that showing up authentically and consistently is key to optimizing return on investment with social media.

Savvy businesswomen know that social media can serve many purposes simultaneously — marketing, branding and even customer service. Here are ways you can use popular networking platforms to build your customer base and pilot your business to success:

• Connection and engagement: Use social media to connect with your ideal customers. You can engage with your audience directly, solicit their feedback and get to know them.
• Customer service: Social media allows you to respond quickly to customers’ complaints, questions and feedback. Excellent customer service over social media can sometimes even turn a bad situation into a good one.
• Advertising: Many social media platforms offer inexpensive advertising options that can be very effective.
• Branding: You can use social media to develop a voice and aesthetic for your brand through content like photos, videos and posts.
• Research and data collection: In today’s data-driven world, you can gain a competitive edge by using social media to gather customer data and research your competition.
• Trend tracking: In marketing, it’s important to keep up with digital trends. Hashtags, keywords and other trends are easy to monitor on social media.
• Networking: You can use social media to find support and mentoring from other women.

Why you should create a social media marketing plan

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 named four main reasons a plan is important:

1. You’ll avoid making up strategies as you go along: With a plan at the beginning, you already know what to do first, next and last.
2. You’ll resist the urge to react drastically to every little thing: Inevitably, while marketing your business, you will have new ideas, exciting input from business partners and colleagues or the desire to change or eliminate tactics that do not seem to be working. With a plan, you have a clear direction of what you wish to accomplish and how to get there, so you do not have to entertain every idea. Of course, you should remain open to strategies that make obvious sense, but this does not mean you should interrupt your plan to explore each new option immediately.
3. You’ll develop the foundational reason to keep going when you want to quit: Your plan is the dose of motivation you will need when times get tough and when it seems things are not working well. Refer to your plan often to remind yourself of your goals, strategies, measurements and anticipated results.
4. You’ll know your expected results: One of the most critical aspects of your business marketing plan is the results you wish to accomplish. Please make sure they are realistic and measurable.

Women who are most successful in using social media use their platforms of choice consistently and have a clear strategy for each platform’s role in their larger marketing strategy. Clearly outlining your actions and goals for social media marketing helps you measure your success and make necessary changes.

Social media marketing tools

Women who use social media marketing in their businesses know they must be consistent with posting and engagement. Whether their audience uses Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) or other platforms, most companies eventually need to invest in a social media management tool.

Bartko’s go-to social media tool is LinkedIn. “It’s a powerful platform because it targets the trifecta of your audience — your consumer, buyer and media,” she said. “It allows you to build meaningful relationships, position yourself as an expert and consistently increase visibility in a professional space.”

Scheduling and social media marketing management tools make it easier to track all of your business’s accounts. These platforms can help you maintain content calendars, post on multiple social media accounts simultaneously and monitor analytics for optimal performance. The right tool for your business depends on your platforms, expectations and specific needs.

These are some of the most popular social media management tools:

• Hootsuite
• Buffer
• Sprout Social
• MeetEdgar
• Viraltag
• SocialPilot

Although social media management tools often have a monthly cost, they’re much cheaper than hiring someone to post for you and monitor your accounts. If you want to use social media to grow your business, you will need to look at the features of different management tools and choose the one that best suits your company’s needs.

Smith says her favorite social media marketing tool might surprise you. “My favorite social media marketing tool is simply the analytics. Business owners often forget to read the data and only focus on the vanity metrics such as followers and likes,” she said. “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.”

Social media networking

Women flourish when they support one another. That’s one of the most powerful aspects of social media. These platforms allow female entrepreneurs to connect with female customers as well as like-minded women they can learn from.

Building strong networks is key to women’s professional success — a network can provide valuable advice, word-of-mouth advertising and new opportunities. If you’re looking to grow your network, particularly in women’s leadership and marketing/advertising, the following organizations might be good places to start:

• She Runs It: An organization that has been promoting women’s success and leadership for over 100 years, She Runs It offers networking events, workshops, mentoring and more.
• The Advertising Club: This nonprofit is dedicated to educating and connecting advertising, marketing and media professionals.
• American Advertising Federation: This organization is dedicated to the growth of advertising professionals at all levels.
• Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media: Founded by actress Geena Davis, this organization focuses on creating equal representation for women in media.
• Entreprenista League: A supportive community and business membership where women founders can access resources, tools and media opportunities.
• The School of Becoming: Founded by Tracy Litt, this organization guides women leaders and entrepreneurs through the evolution of their identity. It contains three main components: a core curriculum, a library of resources and a community of women who are focused on thriving.
• Powerhouse Women: A popular podcast and female entrepreneur community committed to scaling their businesses and lifting each other along the way. 

Leveraging social media to grow your business and become a leader

Even if you’re starting your business from scratch as a one-woman operation, it’s important to think of yourself as a leader from day one. There are many wonderful online tools for women who want to grow their businesses and build an empire, but you need to think like a leader before you can be one.

Social media is a great way to promote your business and grow your network. It can also help you build your personal brand and feel more confident in your professional accomplishments. If you leverage social media well, you could make a much bigger splash than you anticipated when you started your business.

Step into the role of leader. Own it. For too long, women have had to fight against a glass ceiling before achieving business success. That’s finally changing and it’s time to celebrate by growing the business of your dreams.

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