“Can you describe an innovative way you’ve used social media to grow your small business? What results did you see and what’s one tip you’d share with other entrepreneurs?”
Here is what 25 thought leaders had to say.
30-Second Transformation Videos Convert Viewers Into Clients
Short before-and-after videos of completed projects on Instagram Reels gained traction quickly. The visual impact of a space transformed in under 30 seconds attracted local followers and inquiries within days. Consistency mattered most—posting two to three times weekly kept engagement steady and converted viewers into paying clients.
Belle Florendo, Marketing coordinator, My Accurate Home and Commercial Services
Live Q&As Build Trust and Boost Sales
This is one of the most innovative techniques I used on social media to promote my small business, to host live Q&As on Instagram and Facebook. These events have enabled prospective customers to interact fully with us, inquire about our products, and receive an immediate response to their queries. The outcomes were impressive; during and after such events, we experienced a remarkable rise in engagement and a visible improvement in sales rates.
An important lesson to other entrepreneurs is that small-scale communication is essential. Establishing a real bond with your consumers will result in trust and loyalty, which may culminate in long-term customer relationships. Using social media to connect in real-time helps not only increase brand recognition but also build a community around your brand. Consistent communication with customers and the ability to listen to what customers need and deliver on it appropriately can help create a more intimate experience that more people can identify with and that consequently leads to growth.
Jeffrey Pitrak, Marketing Account Manager, Transient Specialists
Authentic Stories Outperform Polished Sales Pitches
When I think about social media and business growth, one experience stands out clearly. Back when Zapiy was still finding its footing, we didn’t have the luxury of big ad budgets. What we did have, though, was a story—and I realized pretty quickly that people on social media connect more with stories than with polished sales pitches.
Instead of pushing product features, I started sharing behind-the-scenes looks at our journey—what it felt like to sign our first client, the mistakes we made in those early months, even some of the doubts I wrestled with as a founder. I noticed something interesting: those posts outperformed every “campaign” we had tried up until then. Clients and prospects began reaching out, not because of a feature list, but because they felt a connection to the people behind the company.
One experiment that really worked was running live Q&A sessions on LinkedIn. They weren’t scripted. I’d hop on, answer questions about marketing challenges, or walk through real examples of how small businesses could use data smarter. The reach wasn’t massive at first, but the engagement was deep. A couple of those sessions directly led to client conversations, and one in particular resulted in a long-term partnership. That was the moment I realized authenticity and accessibility can sometimes outperform scale.
The measurable results weren’t just vanity metrics—they were tangible leads, higher trust, and a stronger inbound pipeline. It also shifted how people perceived us: not just as a service provider, but as a thought partner.
If I had to give one tip to other entrepreneurs, it would be this: don’t treat social media as a megaphone, treat it as a campfire. Share stories, invite conversation, and make it less about broadcasting and more about connecting. That’s where real growth happens—because people don’t just buy what you do, they buy into why you do it.
Price Comparison Threads Double Traffic in Weeks
When launching ShipTheDeal, I leaned on Twitter and LinkedIn threads that broke down real-world price comparisons in a casual, story-like way. That drew in an early user base that liked sharing our posts, and we doubled traffic in less than a month. My suggestion: don’t just post about your platform–post insights people want to copy, and they’ll naturally discover your product through conversation.
Cyrus Partow, CEO, ShipTheDeal
Transparency Builds Client Trust Beyond Advertising
Social media has been a critical factor in the development of my business especially in developing a connection between me and the potential clients. We focus on the sharing we can provide of the value added and insight into what we are doing so people can gain a window into the human side of our business. It is not the question of advertising the services but creating trust in the form of transparency and accessibility.
The impact has been on display, the increased participation, direct requests and a higher standing within the community. Social media has helped us to show our expertise in the fields as well as develop genuine, sustainable relationships with the clients.
The advice that I would give to other entrepreneurs is be consistent and remain the same on the internet. People enjoy authentic and relatable content and that is how you attract a following. Finally, social media is more than just a way of promoting your brand, it is an opportunity to form a true relationship with those individuals you are attempting to reach and to show them what your identity as a business is. Through building of those connections, longterm success is attained.
Doug Van Soest, CEO and Owner, SoCal Home Buyers
Blogger Partnerships Drive Qualified Design Consultations
I collaborated on a content series with other bloggers in the home design space. We created blog articles featuring our cabinets in their projects or designs. We captured their followers and provided us with a new source of potential buyers who were interested in home and/or design. The influencers provided their authentic testimonies and attributed our products in a manner that was authentic to their followers.
Not only did we receive more traffic to our website from these efforts, but we also had more inquiries and consultations attributed to these partnership pieces. The key to these partnerships is to build relationships with partners who are consistent with your brand values and audience. When they produce authentic pieces regarding your product, you have a much greater chance of engagement and, in turn, sales which is a win for everyone involved.
Josh Qian, COO and Co-Founder, LINQ Kitchen formerly BestOnlineCabinets
Weekly Audience Challenges Create Engaged Brand Community
The creative tactic that i have implemented on social media is an interactive content series that would involve our audience. I did not just post information, but i set challenges on a weekly basis that my followers could participate in small and fun activities that involved our niche, like sharing their tips or even experiences. I posted the most quality answers in our social media platforms each week, which further increased the population and the feeling of a community. It was also thrilling to witness that people are so fond of having their donations highlighted and it made a lot of noise without us having to produce the traditional adverts.
The results were spectacular, I have realized that i have a lot of response in interaction and exposure with more and more followers joining in every week. This also contributed to the rise in number of inquiries and a more interested audience all in all. The advice I would give to other entrepreneurs is to be sure you make it two way communication via the social media rather than a broadcasting medium. Give your audience engagement options and make them feel that they are part of your brand story. It is a great avenue of building loyalty and enhancing customer relationship.
Caleb Johnstone, SEO Director, Paperstack
Local Business Partnerships Expand Audience Reach
Running contests and giveaways is a good way to promote growth for your small business. Partnering with a local business is even more effective. We did a giveaway with a local wellness studio once wherein people can participate by following our Instagram, liking the post and tagging a friend. The winner received a pair of our shoes, as well as a complimentary consultation from the wellness studio.
This partnership allowed us to showcase our shoes to the right audience or people who were already health and wellness-focused. The outcome was a 10% growth of our Instagram followers in the giveaway week and many of those followers turned into customers shortly after.
An advice I suggest to other entrepreneurs is to partner with another local business. It expands your reach since their followers are introduced to your brand. The biggest thing to keep in mind is to align your brand with the partnership and to keep it simple and fun.
Matthew Tran, Engineer and Founder, Birchbury
Customer Video Testimonials Build Trust and Sales
We found that promoting customer testimonials on social media is a very effective way to grow our brand. Instead of using written reviews, we turned it into videos of real customers showing their experience where we focused on what they liked the most about the product.
In three months, our engagement on Facebook was up 15% and we saw an increase in inquiries from people who showed interest in our product. Real life stories from happy customers builds credibility and builds trust of potential customers so they feel confident that they can trust us even though they have not seen our products yet.
If I had to offer one piece of advice, that is to be authentic. And focus on the problems you can solve. People connect with genuine stories much more than they do with traditional ads. Showing how your product changed someone’s life has to be one of the best ways to market your brand.
Kyle Sobko, Chief Executive Officer, SonderCare
Instagram Polls Save Money Through Customer Feedback
I tried Instagram polls to make product selections in my eBook store. I had three cover designs and requested the followers to select the best cover design. In a period of two days, 180 individuals cast their votes and the best design got 55% of the votes. I then put in a small ad of $80 just to test the selected design and it achieved 28 purchases within the first week. When I placed the same ad using the second choice design, it converted only 19 sales, which clearly demonstrated a variation in the preference of the audience that could enable me to save unnecessary expenses on revision.
The result of that experiment was that interactive features could be used as cost-free research tools. Most business owners trust their intuition or get external surveys, but even minor polls provide clear data to help makes decisions with precision. When there are honest opinions of a few hundred people, the final product has greater chances of reaching the market.
Jin Grey, CEO and SEO Expert, Jin Grey
Customer Stories Boost Engagement by 11 Percent
We realized showcasing the real life experiences of our customers would resonate better with our target audience so we made it a point to post different customer story each week. We were able to feature customers showcasing how our product fit into their lifestyle and make golf training fun and achievable.
We shifted our social media strategy from hard selling to building trust and relationship. Our followers mentioned they wanted to try our products because they were able to relate to those people in our customer story videos. Within weeks of running engagement posts, we had an 11% increase in social media engagement. My number one tip is to depict your customers as the hero in your brand story.
Katie Breaker, Director of Sales & Marketing, Birdieball
Unfiltered Career Takeovers Increase Site Traffic 55%
The type of clients that we target on our social media is largely students researching various career positions, but upon looking at our social engagement tools in accordance with the same techniques as we have been using, we were receiving less and less interactions. So we experimented with something we have not yet tried. We began to share stories of “career swaps” by inviting trade professionals to host our Instagram for a day. Here, a welder, a medical assistant or even a barber would record about their day from morning to evening, how the work appears in real life, how much they are able to earn during a shift and what kind of training they have had.
The thing that made this different was that we did not edit their material heavily or filter it into a format that looks polished. What we have done instead is we posted their stories in real time, leaving in the noise of a workshop or the chatter of a salon. Students responded well with these stories since they were receiving a raw picture of the job from someone who had taken the same steps that they were considering. Our account received 1,500 new followers after the 3 initial takeovers, and site clicks acquired on Instagram increased by 55% within one week. This was not some casual browsing traffic either as we traced longer session durations and more program comparison searches during those weeks.
Doug Crawford, President & Founder, Best Trade Schools
Value-Add Property Tours Generate Serious Buyer Calls
I tried something different with TikTok by giving short walk-throughs of properties, but always adding quick tips on what upgrades could raise the value. One video where I showed a simple $2,000 kitchen refresh ended up getting thousands of views and a handful of serious buyer calls. If I had to share one tip–it’s to make content practical, not just flashy tours, because people remember advice they can use.
Mike Wall, Founder/CEO, We Buy Gulf Coast Houses
Short Video Clips Drove $4,000 in Course Sales
I teach people how to play jazz piano and we did went with the usual social media posts for years but they never carried the same weight as live teaching. So I tried cutting short clips from my long-form podcast episodes and pushed them out on TikTok and YouTube Shorts. The format was a 30 to 45-second segment in which I explained a lick or broke down a story about working with students. Those small cuts pulled in audiences who never would have committed to listening to a 40-minute episode.
The impact that this had on our business is huge if we look at the numbers. One 15-minute podcast clip that required 15 minutes to edit garnered more than 25,000 views on TikTok and directly translated to 120 new email sign-ups in three days. In comparison, a photo and caption on Facebook, which is static, would normally target 300 people and result in 2-3 signups. This reach difference was not only greater, but it also showed me that short-form video could increase engagement without incurring additional recording time. Three months after regularly uploading clips, I was able to trace over $4,000 in new course sales that were directly the result of TikTok and YouTube Shorts, and trended higher than any other platform we had experimented with.
Steve Nixon, Founder, Free Jazz Lessons
Micro-Influencers Deliver More Authentic Product Recommendations
We have had success with micro influencers to grow Desky. Rather than spend a large amount on a celebrity, we partnered with influencers who have smaller, but highly engaged audiences with followings that range around 5,000 to 50,000. These influencers have more engaged audience and their recommendations appear more genuine.
We worked with an influencer in the ergonomic & wellness space and his followers are mainly interested in home office setups and productivity tips. After he shared a product review and unboxing video of our desks, we saw a 14% increase in website traffic and sales over 4 months.
My advice to other entrepreneurs is to build relationships with influencers that have an audience which matches your brand. It is often cheaper and more effective than expensive celebrity endorsements.
John Beaver, Founder, Desky
Cause-Based Storytelling Boosts Referrals by Half
For Homesmith, I built a Facebook community highlighting our work with Habitat for Humanity, where we showed before-and-after transformations and impact stories. That genuine storytelling boosted referrals by more than half because people shared posts to support the cause, not just the business. My tip for entrepreneurs is to connect your brand to something meaningful–it makes people want to engage without feeling marketed to.
Barry L Smith, Founder and CEO, Homesmith
Live Stress Tips Drive New Patient Inquiries
I started hosting short Instagram Live sessions where I shared simple stress management tips, then reminded viewers they could book a session through the link in our bio. The personal interaction built trust, and before I knew it, those Lives became one of the strongest drivers of new patient inquiries–I’d suggest picking a consistent time so your audience starts to plan around it.
Lori Leonard, Owner, Mindset & Body Reset
30-Second Transformation Reels Double Engagement Fast
One of the most effective ways I’ve used social media was creating time-lapse Instagram Reels that showed entire property transformations from rundown houses to fully renovated homes. People loved seeing the ‘before and after’ in under 30 seconds, and engagement almost doubled within the first month. My advice to other entrepreneurs is to make your content simple but visual–people connect faster with dramatic changes than with long explanations.
Carl Fanaro, President, NOLA Buys Houses
Jargon-Free Procedure Guides Boost Consultation Bookings
I started breaking down cosmetic procedure costs and recovery timelines on Twitter through simple, honest threads that answered the types of questions patients usually Google. The posts became mini-resource guides that surgeons began sharing with their own patients, which directly boosted their consultation bookings. My advice is to take something confusing in your industry, strip the jargon, and make it digestible–you quickly gain authority that way.
Josiah Lipsmeyer, Founder, Plasthetix Plastic Surgery Marketing
Strategic Influencer Partnerships Deliver Authentic Results
One of the things that has worked to developed my small business with the help of social networks is partnership with influencers in my niche. The right influencers partnered with enabled me to have a wider reach, increased audience which turned into followers and customers. For my fellow entrepreneurs, my advice is spend time researching and choosing influencers that are a better fit for your brand. This ensures that the partnership seems real and provides actual outcomes.
Jonathan Carcone, Principal, 4 Brothers Buy Houses
Weekly Q&A Sessions Build Investment Community
We started hosting weekly Twitter Spaces where I’d answer live questions from retail investors, and before long, it felt more like a community than a broadcast. That simple step grew to 50K followers, and about 15% joined our newsletter–my tip would be to focus on consistency, because showing up weekly mattered more than flashy production.
Adam Garcia, Founder, The Stock Dork
Behind-the-Scenes Stories Transform Browsers Into Buyers
Using Instagram Stories to share behind-the-scenes content of our business operations has been a game-changer for our social media strategy. By showing our audience the process of packing orders and creating products, we’ve seen a significant increase in engagement and direct messages from interested customers. I would recommend other entrepreneurs incorporate interactive elements like polls and question boxes in their stories, as these tools have helped us transform casual browsers into loyal customers who feel connected to our brand.
Rengie Wisper, Marketing Manager, Palmako
Authentic Supply Chain Reels Secure $50,000 Contracts
We launched a weekly “Behind the Counter” series on Instagram, where short reels walked viewers through lesser-known details of how our medical supplies are sourced, tested, and prepared for distribution. Instead of polished ads, we focused on quick, authentic clips filmed in our warehouse and QA lab. The approach humanized the business, and within three months engagement rates tripled while follower growth climbed by 42 percent.
The most surprising result was that two hospital procurement managers reached out directly through Instagram messages, leading to supply contracts worth over $50,000. The lesson is that audiences often respond more strongly to transparency than to promotion. Showing process over polish not only builds trust but also creates opportunities that traditional marketing might miss.
Ydette Florendo, Marketing coordinator, A-S Medical Solutions
Personalized Video Outreach Triples Industry Response Rate
We once leaned heavily into LinkedIn Sales Navigator and sent short personalized videos to CFOs explaining their SEO blind spots, and that pulled a 15% response rate when the industry average was just a few percent. My advice is to put in the extra effort to make outreach feel like it was built just for that person–it pays off in both qualified leads and trust.
Joe Davies, CEO, FATJOE
Live Problem-Solving Streams Convert 12% to Users
I have used Twitter and LinkedIn code-along livestreams to build our entire early user base. I would go live and solve real-life coding challenges that were blocking my target audience in their day to day lives as opposed to sharing motivational messages.
The epiphany occurred when I began to stream my problem-solving live. I would choose the algorithm problem of the day, connect my screen and follow my thinking and code it. The audience had an opportunity to raise questions, propose improvements, and watch how a professional engineer solves complicated issues.
In less than six months, these sessions had produced more than 50,000 impressions per month and 12 percent of the viewers had been converted to platform users. More to the point, I learned much about the specific areas in which novices tend to stumble. Observing one go through a binary search task taught me more about user pain points than a survey.
My best advice is to quit selling your product and start to solve problems in the open. Nobody wants to see advertisement on social media. They pursue professionalism Once you show true value in a consistent manner, then the growth of the business becomes a byproduct. I did not spend a penny on paid advertising since the real problem solving provided organic word of mouth marketing which traditional advertising could never do.
Mircea Dima, CTO / Software Engineer, AlgoCademy
