Gove me your best marketing techniques that have worked for you

So, a bit of context. I have tried, to no avail, to maintain consistent business with my photography. Facebook and Instagram ads have never worked for me personally; they have thus far been a waste of money (I know it works for some people, so I may just be doing it wrong). And I also have noticed when you post on Facebook groups looking for business you get no response, and yet, when someone else posts looking for a photographer, everyone comes out of the woodwork and jumps on it claiming to be a photographer.

So, my question is, what have you done to get consistent clients that have worked for you?