How to acquire new customers
Acquisition, or the process of gaining customers' awareness and interest (The A and I in AIDAR), is the very start of the marketing funnel. Learn more about acquisition, why it is so important, and how to find new customers in the digital world.
Plus, follow along in your Digital marketing certificate workbook as we proceed through this course, adding notes and ideas for your own strategy in Part 4: Top of Funnel.
Organic vs. paid: What’s the difference and when to invest?
Throughout this course, we’ll run through core marketing strategies that fall into either of the following categories: organic acquisition or paid acquisition. A healthy and scalable digital marketing strategy employs both. These acquisition types should complement each other, working together to fill your funnel.
Before we proceed, let’s differentiate organic and paid, and explain the pros and cons to each. Click into the gallery tabs below to learn more.
Organic
What is it:
Organic acquisition efforts are free of charge and rely heavily on content improvements, natural social media engagement from you and your audience, word of mouth referrals, and links across the internet.
Examples:
- Search engine optimization efforts (SEO)
- Community building on social media accounts
Pros:
- It’s free!
- Feels authentic and true to your brand.
- Increases awareness and allows customers to “follow” your brand and become part of a larger community.
Cons:
- Takes more time and effort to reach new audiences.
- Has limited targeting of content to specific viewers.
Paid
What is it:
Paid acquisition costs money to implement. The amount you budget towards these strategies dictates how and when your content appears to audiences. Often, paid acquisition platforms use a pay-per-click (PPC) model, which charges your brand each time someone clicks an advertisement.
Examples:
- Social media ads (e.g., Meta Ads)
- Search engine ads (e.g., Google Ads)
Pros:
- Unlocks immediate brand visibility and results.
- Allows you to target your content to specific audiences.
- Allows you to personalize your content based on targeting.
Cons:
- It’s expensive.
- It’s not as community-forward and can sometimes come off as unauthentic.