If you’re wondering if marketing without social media is even possible I can tell you without a doubt it is.
As an online business owner since 2002 I have run my business before social media even existed!
How to Grow Your Business Without Social Media
Many people in this reddit thread will tell you it’s just not possible in this day and age to do marketing without social media. Not true!
As a business owner who does just that and who has made over six figures many years I know it’s entirely possible. My method of marketing is email. I send one daily email and teach others how to do the same.
That’s not the only way to do marketing without social media, however. There are many that myself and my customers have successfully used to build thriving businesses. Here are some of the most popular ways to do business without social media:
- Advertising
- Affiliates, Influencers or Partners
- Social Media Manager
- Interviews & Events
- Search Engine Marketing
- Referral Marketing
- Networking & Industry Events
- Guest Blog Posts
- Speaking
- Email Marketing
Picture of me in Barbie’s office trying to decide if
I should be marketing without social media 😁.
Advertising
There are many different advertising opportunities out there. Facebook Ads, Google Ads and YouTube Ads are some of the most popular. You can also advertise on websites by connecting directly with the owner. Another ad type that can be very effective is within emails. You pay an agency or a business owner to place an ad inside an email campaign that they send to their email list.
Affiliates, Influencers or Partners
You can partner with business owners with skillsets you don’t. Of course Influencers are mainly marketing through social media and YouTube so you can let them do that for you. You focus on the product and create a partnership that’s a win-win for you and your partners.
Social Media Manager
Hiring a Social Media Manager is a bit of a cheat because you will be off social media personally but your business is still on it. This is a good way to go if you’re not morally opposed to social media and just don’t want to be doing it yourself.
Interviews, Podcasts & Events
If you can be interesting to others then getting interviewed is a great way to get your business out there. An interview is powerful because when people see you on video or even hear your voice then they feel more connected with you. This builds trust more quickly. If you’re not the kind of person who like that, though, there are plenty of other options for you!
Search Engine Marketing
I’ve recently become personally obsessed with search engine marketing. As far as choosing a method that doesn’t require your constant attention SEM is the opposite of social media. Social media requires so much of your time and attention while SEM allows you to do the work once, put it out there and benefit from it for a long, long time to come. Done right this can build your email list (for more marketing) or even make you immediate sales.
Referral Marketing
If you start out with just a trickle of customers you can turn that into a stream with referral marketing. Being really, really good to your customers is something that will get around. There are so few companies that actually treat their customers well so when you do – people will tell people. You can also encourage referrals with rewards or just by asking.
Networking & Industry Events
I’ve never attended a good industry event where I haven’t met at least one person who I’ve kept in contact with afterwards! This is a great way to build fast- relationships that can lead to cross-promotion, partnerships, affiliates and more. You go there knowing you have the same interests in growing complimentary business ventures. There’s often a way for that to be very mutually beneficial.
Guest Blog Posts
Some people who’ve got their marketing down and their communities build are willing to let you piggyback off their marketing. They do that because a guest blog post can be very valuable to them. If you first learn some basic SEO principals you’ll make yourself an even more attractive guest blogger. Guest blogging usually comes with the added bonus of getting a link back to your own website, helping your search engine marketing as well.
Speaking
Being a featured speaker at an in-person or online event can be a big boost to your credibility and draw attention. It’s an effective marketing method no doubt! You’ll also get links back to your website. You can use your speaking gig information on your website to showcase other’s trust in the value you can deliver.
Email Marketing
Regular email marketing is my favorite marketing method. You get in front of your potential customer in a very focused way, you can send direct links to offers and you can track easily to see how to improve your results. I’ve been sending one email a day for close to fifteen years and it has been my sole source of marketing. I’ve not needed anything else. It’s allowed me to raise a business while raising a family as I like to say!
If you’d like to learn more about how I have created lifestyle freedom as a busy mom who focuses on LIFE first then you might love my emails. I send daily emails where I share REAL things about running an online business, selling digital products and making money doing what you love. The emails are free and you can sign up here:
Frequently Asked Questions about Marketing Without Social Media
Q. Can you tell me how to market without social media?
A. My advice is to pick ONE thing at a time and get really good at it. Max out your results in this area and then move on. Pick the thing that feels the easiest for you and that you think you’d have the most fun with. Contrary to popular advice I think it’s so important you ENJOY the work you’re doing. You’ll do it better and be so much more creative when you do.
Q. What are the disadvantages of social media for business?
A. I think the biggest disadvantage of social media is that it’s like one big hamster wheel. You can’t get off! What if you want a break? What if you just want to switch to another method? People with huge followings on social media also feel huge pressure to post constantly, answer private messages and reply to comments. When you have a lot of followers this is a massive amount of work and becomes all-consuming. I personally prefer to choose marketing methods that are much more laid back and flexible.
Q. What is content marketing vs social media marketing?
A. Content marketing is a pretty broad term that refers to using content to attract new customers and grow your business. It generally refers to longer content such as articles or blog posts. Content marketing is a strategy where social media marketing is indicating the medium (social media). Social media marketing is of course posting content to social media. Social media marketing more often has the goal of engagement of an existing following where content marketing is more often meant use content to attract new people.
Q. Can I really run a business without social media?
Yes! Of course you can! Running a business and marketing without social media happened all the time before social media. Now some people will say that times have changed and you can’t do that anymore. Just not true. I personally know many successful small business owners running businesses without any significant social media presence.
Should You Do Marketing Without Social Media?
To sum this all up it really is up to you to decide if you as a person and as a business want to be on social media.
Can you overcome all the personal distractions and disadvantages to use social media effectively. Or, would it be better to focus on the other methods that can provide as much advantages without the downsides.
As a prolific email marketer of many years I’ll admit I do sometimes “play” in social media marketing myself but when it’s time to make money and get serious – I ALWAYS go back to email marketing. If you’d love to learn more you can read some of my other blog posts below, you could join my paid community here or you can join my email list here.
All the best as you decide if marketing without social media is right for you!
Angela
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