Why You Don’t Need Social Media to Get Customers
Can I bust a myth real quick? Did you know you don’t need social media to get customers?
Yeah. I'll let that sink in for a mo.
Ya good?
If you're pissed as hell because your Insta engagement has recently plummeted and you don't have a budget for FB ads (and damn that console isn't user friendly AT ALL so it'd still suck up tons of time anyway) and you're tired of every a-hole telling you "just be consistent!" and you're like, "thanks but I don't know what to post and p.s. I don't have hours every week for social media" then I hope my love note to you this Thursday provides some much needed relief.
Let me say this as loudly as I possibly can:
YOU DO NOT NEED SOCIAL MEDIA TO GET CUSTOMERS.
Now. Don't hear me wrong: you fo' sho' need to use social media in your business. In addition to your website, having a presence on a couple social media platforms is a helpful way to say, "hey! I'm here!" but you don't need social media to get customers. There's a difference.
Did you know I have over 5K followers on IG and have never gotten one.single.client. from there? And the thing is I'm not the only one...in fact, I recently talked to a friend in business who has over 30,000 followers and has also never gotten a customer from IG. Just sayin'.
Anyhow, I decided to investigate my hunch so I started asking my fellow biz peeps:
How did you get your very first customer?
How did you get your most recent customer?
You know what the answer was to both of those questions when I asked nearly 20 successful entrepreneurs?
word.of.mouth.
Now. Before you go saying, "but! but!! I got a client when my friend replied to a post in a FB group asking for a private doga (dog yoga) instructor! that's social media!" let me say, no not really. That's actually still a word of mouth referral that simply took place on a social platform (it's no different than if that same friend had been in line at a coffee shop overhearing a convo about needing a doga instructor and said, "oh hey! my friend is a doga instructor, here's her contact info")
So right about now you might be thinking: well, great. How do I get customers then? And my challenge to you is this:
Ask yourself: who do I know (doesn't have to be a close friend, literally anyone in your network) that could either: a) use my services/product? or b) connect me to someone who could use my services/product?
For example: maybe you're a doga instructor and you don't have any friends who have mentioned wanting doga. But! Your spouse works at one of those cool ass offices where every Friday they can wear jeans AND bring their dog to work. Reach out to that office manager and offer to lead a lunchtime doga class in-office. Maybe throw in a free private session to anyone who books a 1:1 package with you and bam! Clients in the door. And you didn't have to spend 5 hours of your week posting on social!
Tell me: who's ONE person you're going to reach out to by this weekend who could use your services and/or connect you to someone who can?