5 Ways to Find New Customers Online Without Breaking the Bank

Anna Fox

October 5, 2021

By now, you’re probably sick of reading that social media is a boon for businesses. This ‘chorus’ is served on pretty much every business marketing blog out there.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s a good chorus. Social media IS the best platform for promotion in history because of the sheer number of users and affordability.

But this sheer number can also overwhelm small business owners, many of whom find themselves at loss as to what to do to find and reach the right customers.

Good news. I’ve got you covered with this post. You will find five ideas that work well. They just require a small investment in time every day but will help you find new customers

1. Lay the Foundation

This one is a fundamental step. It won’t bring you clients right away but it is important to do that as early as you can:

Set up your own (portfolio) site.

As you are building your online presence, you want people (clients and employers) to easily find you.

Setting up a website is easy, and if you need to find a cool domain, check out Namify, a domain and business name generator that helps you pick a brandable name and even provides some help with brand identity:

Namify

Your website is where you want to curate and publicize your customer reviews, describe your expertise and experience as well as provide all the necessary information for your customers to get in touch with you.

Think about your site as an ultimate sales funnel: What would persuade your site visitors to contact you and ask about your services? Think about your wording, your CTAs, and your forms. Craft the way your copy talks to your target customers’ needs and questions. Use Text Optimizer to build your content around answering your customers’ questions:

Text Optimizer
[Here are excellent questions to answer if you are looking to coach beginner copywriters.]

It is also a good idea to give your readers various ways to get in touch, for example:

Allow them to email you right away
Invite them to book an appointment by setting up a client booking form
Create click-to-call buttons, etc.

2. Join Twitter Chats

Twitter chats offer a great opportunity to ‘meet and mingle’ with people who may eventually become clients.

The success of your participation depends on your willingness to follow the rules established by moderators. A good starting point is to use Google search (e.g “#hashtag rules”) to find them.

If your query yields no result, use Twitter search to find moderators and ask them about the rules directly. Many chats have dedicated Twitter accounts.

As always, participants do not like self-promotion, especially when it comes from a stranger. So, get familiar with the way things work during the first couple of chats. Focus on interactions. And only introduce your products or services at an appropriate time or if the context calls for it.

Here is how you can do it without ruffling feathers. During #foodchat, a monthly conversation that brings together consumers, nutrition professionals, and influencers of food choices, the moderator asks participants to share their favorite pork-inspired dish. As it turns out, your restaurant serves that kind of scrumptious food. Tell people about it. You can even include a picture.

While chatters may not ask you about your restaurant, your dish may arouse their curiosity and lead them to follow you or click the link in your bio. If your clients have nicknamed the dish, I would suggest you mention it.

Also, consider becoming a chat guest. It’s a great way to increase the visibility of your business. Avoid pouncing on the moderator(s) after the first chat, though. Wait for the second or third discussion. If you have been helpful and interactive, they are likely to say yes.

Recommended Resources:

Not too sure how to find Twitter chats? You can start with this list of marketing Twitter chats
For a complete introduction to Twitter chats and tools, here’s a good list of guidelines
If you are looking to host yours, here’s how to find guests

3. Use Twitter Search

Twitter Search uncovers relevant Twitter content around a specific keyword or hashtag. I find it very useful to find user questions.

A dedicated page is created every time you launch a search. On this page, you can filter results by main categories: Top, Latest, People, Photos, and Videos. The next step is to click the “More options” tab to bring up additional filtering options. You can even save your search.

Do you see the “Advanced search” tab? More filters are there too!

Here is how you can use them to your advantage. Let’s imagine that you are a wedding planner, photographer, or real estate agent located in Boston. On the Additional Search page, enter “recommend things Boston”, for example, then fill the fields of your choice to refine your results.

Check the square to the left of “Question” at the bottom of the page. Then, click “Search”.

Skim the “Live” section of results and see the questions that come up. Then, answer a few. Save the search and revisit it once or twice a week to continue offering useful suggestions.

For more customer-focused results, add your job title to your query. For example: “recommend wedding photographer Boston”. The sky’s the limit!

Note that people may not respond to your Tweets at first. Actually, it may take a while. But, don’t get discouraged. After all, many people do not check their accounts every day, and you never know who is watching.

4. Take Advantage of Quora

Unless you work in social media like me, chances are that you may not have heard of Quora.

Quora is a question-and-answer platform for every topic imaginable. Want to know how much a blue whale weighs? And what about the best fashion blogs on the web? Members of the site will have answers for you.

Quora also includes a blogging platform that can be used to curate posts and share your and other people’s answers. And, search engines like Google index questions.

So, how can a small business make the most of Quora? By giving the best possible answers to show off their expertise and make people curious about their work.

Don’t forget that every time you answer a question on Quora, your professional byline is attached to your answer. This is GOLD for being discovered by prospects and business owners:

Quora bip

Quora Profile Elements

You may also want to read: 9 Actionable Tips To Get A Million Views On Quora

Before you start answering questions, take care of your profile:

Upload a professional picture of yourself.
Write a concise and keyword-rich bio. No grandiloquent words, please.
Choose a tagline that describes exactly your expertise or experience. You only have 60 characters…
Include your website in your bio and link your social media profiles to your account.

You are now ready to take advantage of Quora. Next, locate the search box at the top of your page to find great questions.

For example, if you own a Bed and Breakfast near the Yosemite National Park, enter the location as the keyword. You will see something similar to this:

Quora

These questions are the perfect springboard for you. Click on a title and pay close attention to the answers. Many tips and pictures are included. However, people may have forgotten to mention something. It could be a spot that only locals or guides know or a great story one of your guests shared with you.

That kind of information does not just make you look like an insider. It also allows you to promote your establishment in a very subtle way.

Also, remember that you can vote and comment on other people’s answers. Interacting with members is also a great way to gain traction.

The huge amount of questions and answers may quickly overwhelm you. To avoid this experience, start with one question per day until you feel comfortable handling more.

Quora is a long-term investment. Patience and consistent participation will eventually pay off.

While expecting success from that fact alone is a mistake, the quality of your answers may end up attracting the attention of an influencer. So, keep that in mind when you offer tips…

5. Try Facebook Ads

It’s no secret that Facebook keeps tweaking its News Feed algorithm to lower the reach of Facebook Pages’ posts and force you to pay to play.

Many business owners now use Facebook Ads to increase their visibility. And this is a good thing. Why? Because Facebook keeps releasing more tools that help businesses meet their goals.

Facebook Ads are perfect for announcements, events, and special offers, or to boost your posts. And they don’t cost much. For $5 or $10, you can have a piece of content promoted to hundreds or thousands of people over the course of a few days.

Just weigh your options carefully, though: Facebook users are allergic to irrelevant ads. The more they see them in their feeds, the more easily they tend to hide or report them as spam. And when it happens, your page runs the risk of disappearing from news feeds altogether.

The key to success here is to leverage the right tools, filters, and options. For example, you can reach your audience by location, demographics, interests, buying habits, and more. With Custom Audiences, your ads can be tailored to only be visible to your current customers. And Lookalike Audiences will make sure that the new people you reach are similar to your current customers.

Facebook advertising deserves a (long) post in itself. So, before you jump on the bandwagon, take a look at Facebook for Business’s 101 guide on Facebook Ads and our guide on Facebook advertising.

Monitor Your Progress

Make sure you monitor your clicks and traffic to identify your best working methods and prioritize those. Finteza is an easy way to set up web analytics and monitor your conversion funnels.

Finteza conversion funnel

In Summary

Finding clients online is not easy. The web is getting extremely crowded with people looking to monetize their expertise. Yet, it is doable and I hope the above steps will make it possible for you

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