"Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", alongside "If I Were a Boy", was initially targeted to debut on radio stations on October 7, 2008, with aims at rhythmic formats for the former. However, the song premiered the following day on the mainstream urban radio station Power 105.1.

The song was performed on November 9, 2008 at the 2008 World Music Awards and at Saturday Night Live on November 15, 2008; that night, Beyonce was also featured in a parody of the "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" music video, where the two female backup dancers from the video were replaced by three men.

One of the three men was Justin Timberlake, who showed up unexpectedly at the dressing room in a leotard before filming. The other two were SNL castmembers Andy Samberg and Bobby Moynihan.

On November 16, 2008 Knowles performed the song during the final episode of Total Request Live. Beyonce performed the song on November 18, 2008 at BET's 106 & Park. She also performed "Single Ladies" during the 2008 AMA Awards on November 23, 2008.

On November 25, 2008, she performed the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. On November 26, 2008, she performed the song at Rockefeller Plaza on The Today Show. Beyoncé also performed the song on The Tyra Banks Show with two male dancers.