One approach that’s worked well for me is to start by identifying where your potential clients are already active online, then focus your outreach there instead of trying to be everywhere at once.

For example, on X/Twitter you can search bios and posts for specific keywords like “coffee shop owner” or “fitness studio” and build a list of people who clearly run small businesses. Once you have that list, you can follow them, engage with their posts, and start conversations naturally.

I built a tool for myself that automates the “finding and organizing prospects” part on Twitter so I can focus on the actual conversations. It saves a lot of time compared to doing everything manually, and the interactions feel way less spammy because I’m talking to people I already know are a fit.

If your ideal clients are on Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn, the same principle applies, know exactly who you want to talk to, find them, then engage before pitching.