How should I be promoting a new small business?

People like to know that you are serious and focused about your work so your web presence and social media should be fairly specific to the work you are advertising. There's no reason you can't have more than one thing you do and no rule about how many profiles and emails you can have; so don't get rid of one...... Just add a new one.

I do not understand. Does your question mean you wish to promote a small business for pets or a small business for photography?

If pets, which is your area of expertise, the principles of business will always apply. If photography, you have admitted to limited experience and no technical skill yet. Stick with pets.

There are currently tens of thousands of wannabe photographers with stories like yours and with limited talent bringing the bar for professionals very low. An expensive camera is not a license, it is an opportunity.

A very famous photographer Cartier-Bresson said, " your first 10,000 photos are your worst". When you get close let me know and I will be happy to review your portfolio. But also remember, photography is a business. A course in photography does not provide access to that world.

Creat a new set of accounts you can link everything together after you start promoting - getting a new email/s will help you separate your marketing response to avoid confusion for yourself and your clients

Where is your portfolio? On your Facebook or on your website? If its the website (rather than Facebook) I'd recommend you spend your time on PPC (Google Adwords) because it will get your potential clients to the content/call to actions (your site/photos) quicker than social media - or in the converse, social media ads might be better because its easy to keep people on Facebook or LinkedIn etc. 

First off... I have on my business cards just because you own a digital camera it doesn’t make you a professional photographer it makes you the owner of a digital camera.   If you want to do it as a business then treat it like a business.   DON’T EVER go in being the cheapest in town thinking you will be getting all the business.   You might get some work but working your butt off and slowly going broke. If you want to be a pro, charge like a pro.  Beauty is in the eye of the pocketbook holder.   Don’t give away your digital files.   Sell them for a lot if you feel you must.   One of the best ways I built my business is selling Wall Portraits.  That way when someone sees your work in a home there might be a referral.  

With that said.  Find a niche (Pets) is a good one.  People love their pets.  Learn from anyone that already does pets.   Get to know lighting, composition, etc.  

weddings, families and Children are also good ways to make a good living. 

You have been given some good advice on social media.  Go to dog parks with your dog, have you photo cards with you.   

Good luck.  

Hi Heather! Have you ever thought about combining your two loves? The pet business and your photography? That might be an interesting way to transition into photography if that is what you are hoping to do in the future. In my opinion, you should always start fresh when beginning a new venture. I would definitely create a new social media presence unless you are combining your businesses.

...you do pets, yes?  Get 4 by 6 cards or 6 by 9 rack cards printed with your best shots (I use overnightprints.com) and plastic stands (Staples or Office Depot) and take them to places where people who care about their pets go to regularly:  Vets, groomers, PetSmarts, stables (if you do large animals) feed stores, etc. and ask if you can leave the cards on their front counters. Even if only ten percent allow you to do it, think of how many potential clients you would have.  

Heather, 

Creating a new account will allow you to focus on just photography instead of having to go through the hassle of changing the overall aspect of your old account. 

Once you have your new account up - follow a set of professional photographers that inspire you or have an Instagram filled with the type of photography you are keen to learn more about - this will help you grow as a photographer as well as give you an outlook on how you can change your feed and what you need to work more on. 

Networking is a key role in building your new account - ask questions, talk to other photographers and just be out there engaging with people that share the same interests as you - not only will this build trust around your personal brand but it will also help in luring in new followers and help increase your account's level of engagements. 

Hashtags - this is the last thing I wanna highlight - be sure to fully optimize all your post with relevant keywords to help boost your posts, likes, engagements, and followers. 

Hello Heather, which business are you looking to promote? The Pet business? And is that pet grooming or pet photography? A good rule with social media accounts is to create them and keep them with consistent content/media to the main subject mater of the business. So if you already have social media accounts where you publish content about your pet business that isn't related to photography, then create new accounts specifically for the photography business that you're starting and keep separate your pet business efforts. People tend to follow accounts of specific content because it satisfies an interest. 

Keep taking photos where ever you go and network