How to get First 100 Users from Social Media
The toughest part of launching a startup? Getting those first 100 users (or clients)—it’s a real uphill battle. But as a startup ourselves, time is our scarcest resource.
There's just so much to juggle—idea generation, validation, and then validating all over again. And even once customers start rolling in, there's the ongoing validation of our product, development efforts, and keeping our customers happy. It's a lot to manage.
Running a startup often feels like a perpetual race against the clock and budget constraints! With limited resources, we can't do it all. We have to constantly make savvy decisions about what needs our attention and what can wait.
However, as we've seen in our previous exploration in "Leveraging SEO for B2B SaaS Success: Insights from Top Companies,"(link) many successful startups have realized the power of consistent content creation to organically generate leads. And we've also delved into what lead generation strategies to deploy based on original content in "Strategies for Generating Leads Through Content for B2B SaaS Startups."(link)
One prominent method is leveraging Social Media, and here's how.
By strategically boosting your content or investing in paid advertising on platforms like LinkedIn, X(Twitter), and Facebook, you can achieve several key objectives:
Building Brand Awareness: Paid social allows you to target specific groups of people, helping you increase brand visibility and attract new audiences.
Generating Leads: Leveraging paid advertising enables you to generate demand for your products or services, ultimately driving leads and conversions.
Sharing New Content and Products: Social media platforms provide an excellent opportunity to share and promote new content, events, and product launches, engaging your audience and driving traffic to your offerings.
Here are some useful tactics to consider when promoting your content on social media, along with additional strategies that can extend beyond social media promotion.
3 Tips for Social Media Marketing Strategies For SaaS Businesses
In selecting the right social media channels for your brand and message, it's crucial to understand that not every platform will perfectly align with your objectives. Each platform offers its unique advantages, catering to different content types and target audiences. Whether you're in recruitment, tech, or product promotion, platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest serve distinct niches.
Evaluating which platforms best match your goals and content preferences, whether textual or visual, enables you to tailor your strategy to resonate with your brand's identity and audience preferences.
Once you've identified the platforms that best suit your brand, focus on them initially while remaining open to gradually expanding your presence. Managing multiple platforms can be daunting, so concentrating on a few allows for more efficient engagement and content management.
Additionally, consider leveraging advertising opportunities on platforms like Facebook and Twitter to broaden your brand's reach beyond your existing followership, promoting both your products and engaging content to further grow your audience.
1. Engage with Relevant
Interact with individuals who could potentially become your first users by engaging where they frequent. If you operate a B2B SaaS product, targeting tech enthusiasts might be the right approach.
Reddit serves as an ideal platform for connecting with this demographic, boasting a vast user base as the fourth most visited website globally. Within Reddit's diverse ecosystem of communities, known as subreddits, you can share your startup across various relevant channels such as /r/startups, /r/startup_ideas, /r/startup, or even /r/roastmystartup for constructive feedback. Additionally, participating in subreddits aligned with your startup's focus area or addressing pain points can yield valuable connections.
Engaging with influencers in your industry and contributing insightful comments to their content can also enhance your visibility and credibility. However, always consider your target audience; for B2B startups, prioritizing platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter for engagement with business customers is advisable.
2. Answer Questions on Forums and Groups
In the digital landscape of 2024, forums continue to hold relevance, offering a haven where your potential users may gather. Engaging in forums pertinent to your industry or topic presents a golden opportunity to connect with your audience. Whether it's troubleshooting their pain points or providing valuable insights, actively participating in discussions can amplify your brand's visibility and credibility. Platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook groups serve as additional arenas for fostering meaningful interactions.
Notably, Quora emerges as a powerhouse for engagement, boasting a vast audience eager for expert advice. Remarkable success stories, such as Jordan Peterson's book deal stemming from a Quora response, underscore the platform's potential. Embracing forums and Q&A platforms like Quora can be a strategic avenue for showcasing your expertise and forging valuable connections within your community.
3. Operate with Personal Accounts Over Business Accounts
In the realm of Reddit, such questions often crop up: should one operate social media under a personal account or create a new business account using the product app name?
This dilemma is not uncommon, and the choice between a personal page and a business page depends on various factors. Managing a personal page allows for a more authentic and personable interaction with the community, fostering genuine connections and trust. On the other hand, a business page can lend credibility and professionalism to your brand, especially if you're looking to establish a distinct identity for your product.
A response to the above post reads:
People want to interact with each other. Nobody wants to engage with a faceless 'brand.' That’s why a business account is not likely to get many followers.