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Ask HN: How to use FB and Reddit to get your first customers?

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Ask HN: How to use FB and Reddit to get your first customers?

#1
Hey everyone, I have a challenge.

We just launched our MVP and I am trying to get our first 100 customers from FB groups and sub-reddits. While I can create engaging posts, my issue is I can't find a way to steer conversations towards our product.

How do you ask people to try your product on these platforms? Any examples of successful posts would be much appreciated.

Re: Ask HN: How to use FB and Reddit to get your first customers?

#2
>reddit

reddit is filled with censorship, there's no point in using it

>facebook

facebook isn't any better, its just user focused instead of community based.

I'd say you're better of not spamming any site though. If your [product] is good, people will come to it naturally.

Re: Ask HN: How to use FB and Reddit to get your first customers?

#4

>reddit reddit is filled with censorship, there's no point in using it >facebook facebook isn't any better, its just user focused instead of community based. I'd say you're better of not spamming any site though. If your [product] is good, people will come to it naturally.

I get your point, but having people come naturally is challenging since the company is new. They need to find out about it. Paid ads are a NO as we want to do a few iterations of the product (and validate it) before we throw money at it.

Re: Ask HN: How to use FB and Reddit to get your first customers?

#6
> How do you ask people to try your product on these platforms?

Buy ads, especially when you’re starting from nothing. Both sites you mentioned have self-service ad platforms with no minimums.

If it works, the cost is tiny ($3-$12 per 1,000 impressions) - especially since you’re able to target the campaigns. If it doesn’t work, organic content probably wouldn’t have either, and would have taken way more calendar time and wallclock time to test.

After you find something that works, then look into ways to decrease the cost.

Re: Ask HN: How to use FB and Reddit to get your first customers?

#7

> How do you ask people to try your product on these platforms? Buy ads, especially when you’re starting from nothing. Both sites you mentioned have self-service ad platforms with no minimums. If it works, the cost is tiny ($3-$12 per 1,000 impressions) - especially since you’re able to target the campaigns. If it doesn’t work, organic content probably wouldn’t have either, and would have taken way more calendar time…

I guess we are so stuck on the NO paid acquisition idea that I haven't really though how cheap it would be to test. Based on what we've tried so far, this might actually be a faster way to test. Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: How to use FB and Reddit to get your first customers?

#9
post #8

Can you provide some details about the target market? B2B or B2C?

It's B2B2C - a modern payment platform for landlords and tenants.

The product can be used to: - create installment plans for missed rent - make security deposit payments over time - pay rent on a flexible schedule

Re: Ask HN: How to use FB and Reddit to get your first customers?

#10
post #9
post #8

Can you provide some details about the target market? B2B or B2C?

It's B2B2C - a modern payment platform for landlords and tenants. The product can be used to: - create installment plans for missed rent - make security deposit payments over time - pay rent on a flexible schedule

Gotcha. Most subreddits are averse to self-promotion, so you run the risk of a negative response from redditors. I can't speak to Facebook groups since I don't use them much.

It might be difficult to target ads to landlords on these platforms. I am not sure what targeting attributes might be available.

Maybe you could cold email/call property management companies and you might find specific people to email on LinkedIn. They manage larger number of properties and so this might be a bigger pain for them? Cold emailing and selling also makes it possible to get continuous and early feedback from engaged customers. It might not scale, but that's fine [1]

[1] http://paulgraham.com/ds.html

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