There are loads of ways to drive traffic to your web site, both free and paid. In my article "The Magic SEO Combination" I show you a method for finding the juiciest keyword terms to use in your web site. This technique is great for getting the attention of both the search engines and your customers. Any successful online business needs traffic, and using social marketing is another great way to get the job done.

So how do you use social media to market your business? If you already have a Facebook page, Twitter profile or YouTube account, then you have a rich pool of targeted traffic. People only want to do business with those they know, like, and trust. With social marketing, you are miles ahead of the curve. I personally know someone who is earning more than $25,000 per month from her Facebook page. She's built her consulting business one client at a time using the most popular social network in the cheap instagram likes.

The trick is that there is a fine line between the "social" aspect and the "marketing" side of social marketing. If you lean too much on the social, you'll never make any sales. Lean too heavily on the marketing, and you'll turn off your friends and colleagues, even in a business-oriented network such as LinkedIn. Not everyone agrees on how much is too much, but I recommend that only one in 4 or 5 posts should be commercially oriented. And that's pushing the envelope. These should be sincere product recommendations from one friend to another - not blatant selling. People don't like to be sold to, but they do love to buy.

The best use of your social media clout to is to drive traffic from your social page to your web site as quickly as possible. You'll want to entice visitors onto your mailing list right away with a juicy free offer. Now you may be wondering, "Why is this so important?"

Let's take the example of my friend who's making $25,000 a month on Facebook. Not long ago, Facebook changed their regulations, and she nearly was forced out of business. She had to scramble like mad to keep her profile live online and comply with the new regulations. It was really touch and go, and she did wind up losing some customers because of it. Can you imagine what would have happened to her business if she hadn't collected those thousands of names and e-mail addresses for all of her social contacts? Unfortunately, I can imagine all too well. I have more than one colleague whose social marketing accounts were terminated quite abruptly for reasons beyond their control, including getting hacked by outsiders.

Whenever you're using social media marketing, you're placing your business in the hands of a third-party, who can close your virtual doors in the bat of an eyelash. Make sure you cover yourself! Using social marketing is a great way to add customers to your business. But do see to it that you remain in control of those contacts by moving prospects quickly onto your own business e-mail list.