4 Tips to help you find new customers online

These tips could help you find your customers in the busy online world.

So, you've figured out who your ideal customer is. Now it’s time to get your business in front of them online.

To do this, you need to find out where they like to ‘hang out’ – what social media they use, what websites they visit, etc. Knowing this could help you understand things like where’s best to advertise or share social posts. We have some top tips on how to find potential customers online.

Ask directly

This might sound obvious, but you could start by asking your customers where they spend their time online. SurveyMonkey and Google Forms let you customise surveys, which you can email out or share a link to on social media. Or, if you’re only asking one or two questions, you could ask followers directly using the ‘poll’ function that most social media channels have.

Some questions you could include:

• Which social media platforms do you use?

• Which websites do you spend most time on?

• How do you like to hear from brands online?

If you want to learn how to make a survey that’ll get you the answers you need, read more about how to survey your customers online.

Look to social media

It can be difficult pinpointing where potential customers are on social media – it is so busy! However, doing a Google Search for recent social media demographic statistics can give you a rough breakdown of which age groups use which channels most. For example, at the time of writing this, the largest group of people on Facebook were male users between 35 and 44, whereas on Instagram, it’s women between 16 and 24.

Most social media lets you target posts to specific groups of people within their paid advertising features. Facebook, for example, has a handy feature called ‘Ads Manager’ that helps you create ‘custom audiences’ and suggests relevant people to target.

Start using analytics

Google Analytics lets you track how people use your website, giving useful insights about their online behaviour. It can show you everything from how many people visit your site, to how long they spend on each page and really importantly, how they came across your website (whether that’s from social media, a marketing email, or a Google Search, for example). Google’s Analytics Academy offers free courses to help you understand this in more detail.

Most social media platforms offer insights on how your posts are performing (e.g. which ones are getting most likes, shares and comments) so you know what’s working and what’s not. This is a live insight into exactly what your followers are/aren’t reacting well to.

Think about when to reach customers, too

It’s not just about where, but also when you should talk to customers. Your social media or Google Analytics pages should tell you the times they’re most active and, therefore, more likely to see your posts. You should aim to do more posts around these times. If these are times when you tend to be busy and can’t post, you could think about using a social media scheduling tool like SocialPilot or Hootsuite, which let you set up posts ahead of time and posts them for you.

Taking to the internet to boost your business’ visibility is a great idea, if done right. Use these tips and tricks to make sure it’s with the most relevant people possible. Good luck!

You may have already spoken to one of our V-Hub Digital Advisers, but if not and you're looking for more support you can get in touch here. Our Knowledge Centre is also packed with information and tips to help you on your digital journey.