7 Ways You Can Get Freelancing Leads on Facebook for Free
Being a freelancer is liberating.
No more bosses talking down to you.
No snarky co-workers.
And if you work remotely, then no more dreadful commutes.
But at least when you worked for your old company, you didn’t have to worry about keeping business rolling.
That was someone else’s job.
Now it’s yours.
If you’re looking for some new ways to get some more freelancing leads at no cost, then turn to Facebook.
Today, you’ll read about 7 tactics for generating freelancing leads on Facebook without spending a penny.
With this resource, you’ll see the following benefits:
- Learn how to make money without spending money — and stash some cash for other business opportunities.
- See why Facebook should never be underestimated when looking for new clients.
- Understand how you can repurpose your existing content to generate new freelancing leads.
Today will be your big “ah-ha” moment. The light bulb will go off over your head.
And then, you can take that newfound energy and use it to close some deals with new clients.
First, some background on Facebook.
Why You Should Care About Facebook as a Freelancer
According to Statista, Facebook has nearly 3 billion monthly, active users.
Pretty ridiculous right?
That’s almost half the world.
As no surprise, Facebook is the most popular social network by a pretty wide margin.
For instance, YouTube comes in second place and has roughly 600 million less users than Facebook.
And if you feel like you might be limited in terms of freelancing potential due to your locale, don’t fret. Facebook is incredibly popular pretty much everywhere.
If you take a look at the chart below which summarizes the geographical breakdown of Facebook users, you’ll see that every continent except Australia is represented in the top 12 countries.
And if you’re wondering why Europe isn’t well represented on the chart, the continent still has 423 million monthly, active users.
For Africa too, the continent looks underrepresented. Truthfully, it is.
But as more and more people are starting to get connected to the internet, Facebook usage will increase as well.
According to Facebook, 95 million people south of the Sahara are using Facebook.
So now that leaves Australia.
Luckily for those of you who are down under, there’s still a little over 11 million of your fellow citizens logging into Facebook each month.
Interestingly, 2 in 3 mums in Australia are using it on a daily basis.
Clearly, there’s a little bit of something for your freelancing business on Facebook no matter where you live and what language you speak.
After all, marketing services are needed for every online business.
Demand for Freelance Marketing Services
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the typical work arrangements shifted for many companies.
As employees and businesses alike found remote work more convenient, many are going to remain that way, or at least offer a hybrid model.
And according to Gallup, 76% of remote workers say their employers plan to allow for at least partial remote work permanently.
With remote work becoming more popular, so too does the use of freelancers like yourself.
In Upwork’s Future Workforce Report 2021, they found that over 50% of employers are more likely to hire freelancers as a result of remote work.
With so many people looking to hire freelancers for their marketing, it only makes sense to use Facebook as another source of lead generation.
And I’m sure you’re already using paid advertising on Facebook to promote your brand.
If you’re not, then you’re missing out.
According to WebFX, the average conversion rate for Facebook ads is 9% to 11%.
More particularly, it’s 10.63% for B2B commerce.
But today, you’ll learn how to get some leads without spending any money.
Yes, I mean it … you won’t need to pay for any of these tactics. All you need is your time and willpower.
With that. I think it’s a good time to kick this off …
How To Get Freelancing Leads on Facebook Without Spending Money #1: Join Groups
By joining a micro-community like a Facebook Group, you find yourself sitting on a gold mine.
You see, if you’re in a group that your target audience is highly engaged with, then you have the chance to make yourself known.
And the way you do that is by establishing yourself as an industry thought leader. Sharing interesting facts, blog posts, replying to comments, and showing a little brand personality go a long way.
For example, if you’re trying to get some coaching leads for your freelancing business, you might join a health and wellness group, which is a $1.5 trillion industry, according to McKinsey.
So, you’d click on “Groups” on the left side panel and type in “health and wellness groups.”
From there, you’d see a drop-down list of popular groups matching the search criteria.
But go easy here with promoting your brand. At this stage, you’re simply getting your foot in the door with your audience.
With that, you’d be simply posting interesting topics, commenting on posts, and being a helpful community member.
And the future will be looking bright.
Over time, your user base will grow.
Eventually, when you have a big enough following, you can create your own Facebook Group where you can share some of your lead generation pages such as white papers, free consultations, webinars, or any other kind of opt-in tactics you use.
According to a blog post on Make a Living Writing’s website, freelance writer Annie Kontor got her first very first freelancing client through Groups.
All she did was comment on Motivation Mondays that she planned to edit her e-book.
From there, another user asked her if she ghostwrites.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
How To Get Freelancing Leads on Facebook Without Spending Money #2: Share Your Blog
If you don’t already have a blog, then you need to get on that. In fact, you could start by reading Matt’s article on 17 types of blog posts.
But for you freelancers that are already rocking a blog, then use it to your advantage.
Not only should you share new posts, but you should also consider sharing some of your older articles that have performed well.
According to LinkedIn, 77% of internet users read blogs.
So there’s a good chance some of your future clients are in that mix.
How To Get Freelancing Leads on Facebook Without Spending Money #3: Utilize Imagery
You know what’s better than generating 50 leads from your freelancing Facebook page?
115 leads.
I know, sounds like a random number but follow me here.
You see, BuzzSumo analyzed over 100 million Facebook posts and found that posts with pictures receive 2.3 times more engagement than posts without a picture.
If you neglect using imagery with your Facebook strategy, then you risk missing out on a whole lot more social shares.
And the translation of that is: Users that otherwise would end up being your clients won’t even know about you.
How To Get Freelancing Leads on Facebook Without Spending Money #4: Share Video
In a survey from Lemonlight, 99% of respondents said they enjoy video content from brands online.
And TechCrunch reports that Facebook users consume over 100 million hours of video content every day.
Now those two facts are pretty telling.
But they’re not exactly an anomaly.
Other social media platforms benefit from video content as well.
So do websites.
See, video content is just a lot more engaging.
People don’t feel like reading your posts all the time.
By posting video content, users (who could be your potential clients) will recall your brand more readily.
Some research, such as that cited by Forbes, suggests that people retain 95% of a video’s message compared to just 10% of text.
How To Get Freelancing Leads on Facebook Without Spending Money #5: Ask Questions
Questions are great.
They get people thinking, which stimulates some lively conversation. And if your question relates to your target audience’s business concerns, then even better.
For questions to work, you can’t ask any old question. Rather, it has to be interesting enough that users will want to get involved.
For example, if you’re looking to acquire some agency clients, then maybe you ask questions like:
- Should marketers use more video?
- Which marketing platform do you use the most? (Then provide options to choose from.)
- When do you think is the best time to send your newsletter?
So you get the idea.
According to BuzzSumo, questions are the second best Facebook post format.
How To Get Freelancing Leads on Facebook Without Spending Money #6: Post Case Studies and Testimonials
According to a white paper from Demand Gen, 96% of B2B buyers think case studies are at least somewhat important.
So if you want to start gaining some more freelancing leads on Facebook, sharing some social proof is a good start.
Today, the majority of people expect you to have a good reputation.
Posting client case studies (with links, of course) as well as testimonials will get your target audience to more readily trust your ability to bring them tangible results.
For testimonials, user-generated content (UGC) is your friend.
If a client of yours posts something nice about you, then use it to your advantage by sharing it on your own feed.
As reported by Offerpop, 85% of consumers find UGC more influential than branded content.
By the way, your client feedback doesn’t necessarily have to be UGC found on Facebook.
Even if it was something like an email testimonial, all you have to do is put it in quotation marks alongside an image and post it on Facebook.
How To Get Freelancing Leads on Facebook Without Spending Money #7: Promote a Webinar
As reported by Hootsuite, 48% of B2B decision makers, aka your target audience, use Facebook to conduct research.
And one great way to turn those users into leads is by sharing a link to your webinars.
With a webinar, you can show a face to your brand.
Moreover, you provide value to your audience and have the chance to establish yourself as an outstanding freelancer.
Pus, you just get more eyes on you.
According to Zippia, an astonishing 73% of B2B webinar attendees will become qualified leads.
If you decide to to host webinars, here are some suggestions:
- Turn it into an on-demand webinar for people to watch later
- Share a client success story
- Hold a Q&A
- Schedule it mid-week
- Include an attractive banner image and catchy headline with your promotional post
- Make your topic as specific as possible
- Ensure it lasts between 30 and 60 minutes
Conclusion
The struggle to acquire new freelancing clients is a drag.
And it can make you even start doubting yourself.
When your funds are low, how can you market yourself?
But there’s always ways to prevail.
And this article on 7 free tactics to get more freelancing clients on Facebook is your jump starter.
Without spending a penny, you can still gain the interest of other businesses that could use your services.
A lot of these tactics rely on your existing content marketing.
For example, an old blog post could be shared.
Or you could post a client testimonial.
Then there’s more personable tactics like joining a Facebook group to engage with users.
Regardless of the tactics you choose to use, remember to mix them up. Avoid relying too much on just a few tactics.
Because people like variety, and they’ll pick up on your repetitiveness.
And if you happen to be on the opposite spectrum and you’re having trouble juggling too many clients at once, then reach out to one of our account strategists here at AutoGrow to have all your questions answered about how our digital marketing platform can benefit your freelancing business.
Freelancers are one of the more common clients that we help, so you know you’ll be in good hands. Plus, it doesn’t matter what your marketing specialties are. We have a full team of designers, developers, copywriters, strategists, SEO managers, and more that are ready to get you on track with your projects.
And you always get 100% of the credit from your clients.
Which free tactic will you start using first to generate more freelancing leads over on Facebook?
Let me know in the comments below.
Keep AutoGrowin’, stay focused.
Mark
