I’d like to explore a few ways business owners can successfully find more customers online by taking advantage of the web.

1. Facebook Groups

Let’s keep it pretty specific – Facebook Groups are perhaps one of the most effective marketing options small business owners have at their disposal. Not only are they free – they’re also extremely consumer friendly if approached the right way. Like anything online, there are those who abuse the system and spam their members until they lose them, but when used properly, Facebook Groups can be massive helpers when out to find more customers. By creating a handful of groups focused on a specific issue involved with your niche, you’re inviting interested customers to check it out and get involved. The key to creating a successful Facebook group is to keep it active and alive. Contribute to the wall, invite authorities personalities in your niche to get involved, throw a contest, and make use of every part of the group, including pictures, wall, events, news, and the message board. If used properly, a Facebook group can help create a keen customer base around your brand and send more customers to your site. The more you get involved, the more people you’ll have to email when ready to send out a mass update or newsletter – be careful here though, this is where a lot of good people stray to the dark side and spam their loyal customers.

2. Blog comments

Another super-effective way to find more customers is to target popular blogs your customers enjoy and become active in the comments sections of every post. Again, no spamming here folks – instead, act within the group as a reader enjoying the blog. Don’t promote your blog or product or site … it’s unbecoming and spammy. However, if you post a comment regarding someone’s post and find yourself talking about something you’ve written before, provide a link to the related post and let readers decide whether or not to visit it – never force it by using capitalization, exclamation, and other spamnoying tactics. The reason commenting on blogs work so well is because people tend to check out what the commenter is all about – you can do this by clicking their name in the comments section. In addition to attracting more customers to your blog, you’ll also be able to build your own profile as an authoritative person in the niche. To do this, post comments regularly. Tip – if you’re really interested in seeing a spike in traffic, aim to be the first to comment on a blog post … especially if the blog tends to attract a lot of links.

3. Can ya’ Digg it?

You’ve probably heard that a link from the front page of Digg, Stumble Upon, Reddit, or any other social networking site can send a huge amount of traffic your way, and chances are you’ve given up on the idea of landing that lotto-like position. However, you don’t need to land on the front page to increase your traffic or customer base at all. The beauty of social bookmarking sites is that you’re able to spread your content to the far reaches of the web and enable regular users to find your work, subscribe to your site, and maybe even become a paying customer someday. The key to social bookmarking is bookmarking your content in a few of the major sites as well as a few targeted sites within your niche.

4. Create a web of posts

Starting a blog can be an effective way to attract customers for your business, however, it should be noted that the process takes time depending on how many people you currently have in your network of contacts, email list, and social net. In other words, if you’re starting from scratch, it might take a while before you see a profitable amount of return from your efforts in the blogosphere. This is why so many business people are hesitant to start up a blog – it takes time and time is money. If you’re interested in starting a blog, consider your content like a web – each article or post is like a cross section where two strands of the web meet. The more articles you put out there, the more effective your web will be regarding finding new customers (readers interested in your product, brand, or service). The key to blogging is patience, regular posting, and attracting links from other bloggers and consumers. You might want to consider this option once you’ve effectively built a network of interested people using your Facebook Groups.

5. Competitions

If possible, consider throwing or sponsoring a competition of some sort. This will get your brand out there, increase the demand for your product or service, and provide better exposure for you and your company. In addition, this will usually create buzz online, which will attract more customers interested in what you have to offer. Whether you’re giving away a free product or service, sponsoring a site with your donation, or just standing behind a popular competition you believe in, your brand will reach more people and in turn attract more customers.

If these 5 tips interested you, check out these 25 Tips on How to Find Customers.

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