4 Ways to Land Your Next Client on Social Media – Without Paid Ads
Whether you’re a one-woman freelancer or managing a global agency; looking ahead for clients is essential for a successful business that maintains a healthy cashflow. Social media claims to be able to help you there with a little ad spend, and when used correctly it… might!
The truth is, jumping straight into paid advertising, without serious consideration and sufficient training, can end up being a costly investment that (despite what the programmers say) doesn’t necessarily guarantee return.
There are some ‘hidden costs’ beyond your ad spend to consider. Paid ads can be notoriously difficult to get right as algorithms change frequently, requirements about text-to-photo ratios or video-length size can be very technical, and feeds these days are saturated with adverts… it’s estimated we see between 6000-10000 a day!
So, if you don’t already have the knowledge of how to cut through the noise, segment and target your audience, or the time to learn, it’s not just the cost of the ad’s real estate itself, but the insight of a copywriter, graphics and video expert, social media strategist and others you need to factor into your costing too.
Time to hover your mouse away from that tempting boost button, and towards smarter (cheaper!) methods of scrolling to your next dream client.
Follow Smart not More
One of the easiest mistakes you can make with social media is thinking it’s all about follower count. While brands actually prefer micro-influencers with between 1000-5000 followers on Instagram, it’s more important to look at your engagement rate (how many people are interacting with your post by liking, commenting, saving and clicking).
And actually, if landing a client is your priority (and not passively gaining income from your account through partnership) simply following the work of those in your sector means you can be better informed when approaching them cold, or be one of the first to catch a call-out for collaborators.
Worst of all, paying for followers can get your account temporarily ‘shadowbanned’ or even permanently deleted! Even if you play within the rules, following random accounts just to up your stats means you could lose sight of the important posts your future client might be sharing.
Become a Facebook Groupie
You might have heard of Facebook’s rather limiting pay-to-play system for Pages, that means (roughly) only one in every 19 fans are likely to see a post you’ve put out without an ad spend.
Groups have become the dream workaround this, because members often have notifications switched on for them, and the more engaged a user is with a particular group, the more the algorithm will highlight new posts to them – for free! Clients may actually look for vendors through groups as well.
It plays into particularly female founder strengths too, such as empathy, community-building and altruism.
Many group admins also encourage ‘searching’ for topics so in a way, it’s a smart method to put out semi-evergreen posts that don’t get lost in endless news feeds, and isn’t limited to your existing audience.
Start with joining Facebook groups relevant to the niches of your business. Begin interacting by commenting, liking, signposting and signal boosting the posts of others where you can. Learn what the etiquette of each group is… and make sure to play by the rules so you don’t get turfed out!
Eventually, you could even set up your own group which prospective future clients will want to join! Whole businesses have grown out of women-orientated and run groups such as Girls Love Travel, which grew to over one million members in the space of four years!
Level Up your LinkedIn
It’s no secret that recruiters and hiring managers love LinkedIn, and there are even rumours that the developers are working on a service specifically for hiring freelancers.
Whether true or not, it’s a valuable resource nonetheless, and the perfect platform for shouting about your skillset and work experience, with a system specifically designed to make it easier for you to showcase your best side.
Connect with peers, organizations and seniors you encounter at conferences or webinar events. Aim for an “All-Star” account at the absolute minimum. Reach out to previous clients, employers and colleagues for Recommendations – you can even request (and give) them within the platform itself.
There are countless stories of high-paying clients literally falling into your LinkedIn inbox. Treat it like a digital CV and remember: commenting on other posts means your profile gets highlighted to those in the network of the original poster, something other platforms don’t yet offer, but that could backfire if you don’t engage wisely.
Live and learn….LIVE!
Okay, it’s a little confusing because the spellings are ambiguous, yet nothing exudes confidence and business acumen like a well-run Facebook and Instagram live (as in live stream). It’s a bare-all insight into your personality and brand, as well as showing off your ability to keep your cool when put on the spot.
They have become so successful they practically halted the rise of competitor apps like Snapchat and Periscope in their tracks.
In addition, using Instagram’s in-built ‘partnership’ option can mean reaching the audience of anyone co-hosting, so it’s a good time to reach out into your network to see whose followers might align to your target clients.
Final Say
Have you heard that age-old addendum? “Nothing in life is free, you always pay in the end.” Don’t let it put you off smoothing out your social accounts before paying for advertising. Using the tips above isn’t ‘free’ after all—it takes time, effort and some serious savvy, but it will save you money… a skill women in business have nailed!
Try not to jump the gun and panic pay for ads without exhausting your free resources first. It can actually damage your brand if done badly. Once you have the bases covered and you’re comfortable with the ground-rules, you’ll know when the time is right to pull the paid advert trigger, and when you do, your future client won’t know what hit ‘em!
Written for Empowering a Billion Women, March 18 2021
