Admit it… you log into Facebook to update your status or Tweet way more than you should. Before you know it, you’ve spent 30 minutes looking at your friends’ goofy pictures, and you feel like you’ve wasted a ton of time.

But if you’re spending that much time on the social media sites, it makes sense that your target audience is, too. That’s why making money with social media marketing makes so much sense!

So, how do you use the social media sites to make money, instead of just logging in for fun?

Follow these 4 tips:

1. Show off your company’s brand

If you’re the company that produces awesome videos, showcase them on a Twitter account or a Facebook fan page. Or, if you’re the company that publishes awesome blog posts, link to them on your Facebook and Twitter pages.

Whatever you do, show it off on the social media sites. Luckily, each one comes with ways to customize your page. On Twitter, you can create a custom background to match your company’s logo. On Facebook, you can get a custom URL if 25 people “like” your page.

2. Engage with new and old customers

If loyal customers know that you’ve joined Facebook or Twitter, they’ll follow you – and encourage their friends to follow you, too. Just like that, you can have an entire network of followers! You can also be proactive in finding new customers – by following people related to your niche. In many cases, if you follow them, they’ll follow you!

Once you’ve got some followers, interact with them in an interesting way. The social media sites allow you to be a whole lot more informal than you would be on your website or on the phone. The social media sites are fresh and fun, so you can be, too! And, remember, the more people like you, the more willing they’re going to be to do business with you.

3. Increase conversions with a social media shopping cart

Linking to your company’s products page may increase sales. However, putting your products directly on your Facebook page will lead to a whole lot more. That’s because buyers want things to be as easy as possible. If they can see, click on, and buy something through a shopping cart on your Facebook page, they’re going to be more likely to buy it, than if they have to click through to your website and navigate around.

4. Take advantage of targeted advertising

With Facebook’s pay-per-click ad system, you can get ads that are way more targeted than Google AdWords. If you’ve got the money to spend, it can be a much better buy! Or, pay to promote your hashtags on Twitter. Again, you’ll wind up with traffic that’s highly-targeted.