How to find customers on social media, for any kind of business
Last updated: 26 October 2026
To find customers on social media, search for the moments when people say what they need, look at who engages with posts in your market, and start with a helpful reply or a light touch instead of a pitch.
It works for a plumber, an online store, a software company and a freelancer alike, because every one of them has customers who ask questions in public before they buy.
Start with who, then where
Write down who you want in one sentence, and where that person spends time. A local business looks at city groups and location tags. A software company looks at LinkedIn posts and the communities where tools get compared. A freelancer looks at where people announce they are hiring.
Five searches that surface buyers
Use each network's own search, and try the words your customers would use, not your industry's words.
- "Recommend" or "looking for" plus your category: "looking for a bookkeeper", "recommend a CRM".
- "Alternative to" plus a competitor, and "switched from", which finds people already unhappy with someone.
- Your category plus a place, for local work: "dentist near…", "wedding photographer in…".
- The problem, not the product: "tired of chasing invoices" finds people before they know what to search for.
- Your own brand and common misspellings, because customers sometimes talk about you without tagging you.
Look at who is engaging, not only who is posting
The people who comment on a good post in your market are often better leads than its author. They took an action, and their comment tells you their situation. Look at who comments on posts by competitors, partners and the accounts your customers follow.
Read the comment before you decide. A comment that asks a question or describes current work is a lead. A comment that says "great post" is a bystander.
What to say first
Lead with something useful, and mention what you do only if it is relevant. Three openings that work on most networks:
- A public reply that answers their question properly, with no link and no pitch.
- "Saw your comment about X. We help with exactly that. Happy to share what has worked, no strings." Then stop and wait.
- A follow or connection request first, so your name is familiar when you do write.
What to do for your type of business
- Local service business: city groups and location posts where people ask for a recommendation. Answer quickly and name your area.
- Online store: people asking "where can I buy…" under competitor and product posts, and recommendation threads in your category.
- B2B and software: LinkedIn commenters on category posts, and "alternative to" threads. Look at role and company fit before you reach out.
- Agency, freelancer or consultant: posts announcing a need or a hire, and people complaining about a current provider.
Keep it sustainable
Aim for a few good conversations a day, not hundreds of messages a week. Networks limit unusually fast or repetitive activity, and a small, steady pace protects your account and your reputation. Keep a note of who you contacted and what they said.
Where Avocado Leads fits
Avocado Leads does the collecting, ranking and pacing part of this work. You paste a post, a profile or a search, and it saves the people who commented, reacted, followed or match, then scores each person from 0 to 100 on buying language, how recently they were active, how well they fit your business and how reachable they are.
It then runs a paced follow or connect campaign from your own signed-in browser, with a message after where the platform allows one. It never asks for your social passwords, and it keeps to hourly, daily, weekly and monthly caps for each network. The limits that come with each platform are on the platforms page, and the safety page explains what it will not do.
See how Avocado Leads works, what works on each platform and how it keeps accounts safe.
Questions people ask
Can I find customers on social media for free?
Yes. Every network has a search, and most of the work above costs only your time. Tools mainly save the time spent collecting and sorting people.
Which network should I start with?
The one where your customers already ask questions. B2B buyers are usually on LinkedIn, local customers on Facebook and Instagram, and technical or hobby buyers often on Reddit.
How many people should I contact in a day?
A small number you can follow up on properly. Quality of fit and of the first message matters far more than volume, and each network has its own limits.