How to find people asking to buy on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram
Overten Scout teamNovember 7, 20262 min read
Most advice about selling on social media tells you to post more. That helps, but it is slow. Meanwhile, people are writing “anyone selling a clean MacBook Air?” under a video right now, and whoever answers first with a price has a real chance of the sale.
These are the places to look, and how to reply without annoying anyone.
Search the words buyers use
People rarely write like a listing. Search the phrases they actually use, in their language and spelling:
- who sells
- anyone selling
- where can I get
- looking for
- need a
- how much is
Add your product and your town: “who sells office chairs Nairobi”.
Check comments, not just posts
On TikTok and Instagram, buying questions hide in comments on other people’s videos. Look at popular videos in your category and read what people ask. On Facebook, local buy and sell groups are the best place to search.
Move fast on short-lived products
Timing depends on what you sell. Someone asking for a phone or a laptop often buys within days, while a car or a house takes weeks. Reply to phone and laptop requests quickly, and do not assume an older car request has gone cold.
Reply like a person
Answer the question they asked, give a price if you can, and say where you are. Do not paste the same advert under every post. Most networks limit repeated messages, and your account is the one at risk. If someone does not reply, leave it.
Save yourself the scrolling
Doing this by hand for an hour a day works, and it is a good way to learn how your customers talk. When you would rather spend that hour selling, Overten Scout searches public posts on seven networks, scores each person from 0 to 100, and sends them to your WhatsApp. You still write or send every reply yourself.