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3 ways to get customers

2026-01-13 · Short · Ali · recording, 1:36 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Business and entrepreneurship · mode: Answering questions

Answering a viewer who wants to start a business but is not active on social media, Ali says there are only three ways to get customers (paid ads, content, one-on-one outreach), that all three run through social media, and that social media is now simply part of a business owner's job.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Three ways to get customers, and why social media is part of a business owner's job

  • ★★ There are only three ways to get customers when you start a business, Ali says: paid ads, content on social media and one-on-one outreach. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ The first way to get customers is paying to run ads on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or YouTube, Ali says, but running ads needs money. — 00:00:00 · Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube
  • ★★ The second way is creating content on social media: if you target it at the people your business is built around, Ali says, the algorithms help them find you and, hopefully, buy. (hedged) — 00:00:00
  • ★★ The third way is outreach, messaging people one-on-one: emails or cold emails, WhatsApp messages asking your phone contacts whether they know anyone interested, or DMs on LinkedIn through LinkedIn Sales Navigator. — 00:00:29 · WhatsApp, LinkedIn
  • ★★ All three ways to get customers involve some form of social media, Ali says: ads run on it, content is made for it, and outreach mostly goes through it. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ Someone who wants to start a business but hates social media is leaving a lot of money on the table, Ali says, especially with an online business. — 00:00:58
  • ★ To start a business without doing social media, Ali suggests something like a local bakery with foot traffic. (hedged) — 00:00:58
  • ★★ Even local bakeries are getting active on social media because finding customers is difficult, Ali says: a brand for the bakery or its founder, with photos of the cakes, makes more people want to buy. — 00:00:58
  • ★★★ For anyone starting or running a business, Ali says, social media is just part of the job: the world has changed, and advertising is no longer TV and billboards. — 00:00:58

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: lead generation · social media

Also: cold email · Facebook · Instagram · LinkedIn · TikTok · WhatsApp · YouTube

Also centred on lead generation: I Asked 15 Experts For Life Advice. Here's What I Learned. · I Asked 5 Millionaires for Their Best Financial Advice · 5 Steps to Start Your First Business · The Only 2 Systems You Need To Start A Business

Also centred on social media: This Fixed My Sleep, Instantly

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