By : Jaime Mintun
Social media is an excellent way to market yourself as a freelancer. It can also be, in my opinion, entirely overrated and often misused. Every day I see professionals tweeting and updating Facebook with spammy posts and self-important chatter that makes my skin crawl. I also see inspiring social champions who inform, empower and serve their audience.
Here’s a quick rundown of mistakes you want to avoid at all costs when using social media channels for finding work (whether in your marketing/branding or in your personal life), along with a few pointers to kick start your social marketing strategy.
Mistakes to Avoid
1. Don’t RT (re-tweet) or copy and paste testimonials or compliments you receive. I see this
less often now, but some people think that lightly veiling these with “Oh how nice! Thank
you so-and-so for your kind words. RT: [COMPLIMENT]” is a good idea. I know it sounds
like it could work, but such tweets don’t sit well and can lead to complaints and an ‘unfollow.’
2. Don’t blast your Facebook friends list with a fire hose. Be selective about the events and fan
pages you invite your Facebook friends to join. Most people nowadays will un-friend anyone
who sends too many invites and messages to people they don’t know that well.
3. Try not to quote yourself unless it’s a seriously epic quote. Technically quotes are phrases in
books, speeches or letters that someone else thought was important enough to mention.
They are not “quoted” by their author. Yet I often see budding authors and thought leaders
quoting themselves online, complete with attribution. This often comes off trite and has the
opposite effect they were shooting for.
4. Unless you’re a social marketing ninja, don’t blindly implement social outreach software,
tactics or systems that automate friend requests, posts or other rapid-growth techniques.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t use these at all… just make sure you know what you’re doing
and you always tie any tactic you want to employ with your strategy. Because what we do
not want to see happen is that you dive into a rapid growth strategy that feels spammy to
your audience, or that pings them too often with your messages and marketing. This will
destroy your reputation.
5. Don’t assume anyone cares. Ouch this one hurts… but with all good marketing you always
have to ask yourself, “What’s in it for them?” Make sure everything you post in your social
outreach has benefit for your target prospect. That doesn’t mean you can’t post about your
personal life… that’s actually one of the best ways to gain traction with potential clients
because they get a feel for who you are and find points of common interest and resonance.
However if an update or blog post doesn’t reinforce your personality, brand, or in some way
empowers, equips or informs your target prospect… consider letting that one go unsaid.
6. Blasting clients or others online. This is a massive one. I know a lot of freelancers who blast
clients who don’t pay them, or colleagues who cross the line. The most juvenile form of this is
blasting the competition but I doubt our venerable readers here would stoop to that. If you
do… DON’T! Blasting anyone, for any reason, never looks good. Be the bigger person here and just find another outlet for your frustration. Anything you post online, whether it’s a
tweet, an update, or something you quickly delete… it all gets cached and it’s there forever.
Anyone with a mind to find it will.
7. Try not to talk without first listening. Follow the people your target prospect is following.
Pay attention to the thought leaders in your industry and engage in the conversation. Most
importantly, listen to your prospects. What do they talk about and what fills their thoughts
most of the day? Social media gives us access to a level of data mining we could only dream
about before. You can get inside your audience’s head! Use it! What kinds of things do they
re-tweet and “Like” or “Share?” What gets them to take action? This is priceless information
for the discerning freelancer.
What To Do Instead
* Weigh in on current events and industry conversations. Freelancers who build 100% referral-based businesses often get there by positioning themselves as thought leaders. To do this, subscribe to Google Alerts for the phrases tied to your industry or services. Also search Technorati for top blogs in your industry to keep tabs on what other authorities in the market are discussing. Get involved, mention useful blog posts in your updates and on your blog, and hop into the conversation with your own opinion.
* Mention statistics and link to resources. Be the go-to guy or gal for bite-sized morsels your prospect can use to maintain a leading edge. For example if you’re a graphics designer, get into the habit of tweeting (and Facebook updating) links to free icon sets or templates your audience would enjoy. Mention statistics for how specific graphics tweaks improve site conversions and achieve other results your prospects want.
* Think of your social marketing like you think of ad headlines. With such limited space what you say matters and you have to pique interest quickly and with few words. Most importantly, your chief goal is to inspire action or to build rapport. So create curiosity. Research how to write great headlines and incorporate that into your social marketing. And as always – don’t blatantly pitch yourself.
* Focus on serving your audience. I find that when I align all my marketing activities with my mission to serve and I maintain integrity with my audience’s highest good I rarely steer wrong. Aim to be of benefit, to enhance and enliven your audience and they will love you for it. Get revved up about what you’re doing and the things you talk about online and others will get revved up about it too. You’ve got to be so in love with yourself and what you’re doing that others can’t help but do the same.
So go get ‘em tiger… You’re a social rockstar just waiting to smash that first guitar onstage!
Job Vacancy , Job Indonesia , Indonesia Job
Social media is an excellent way to market yourself as a freelancer. It can also be, in my opinion, entirely overrated and often misused. Every day I see professionals tweeting and updating Facebook with spammy posts and self-important chatter that makes my skin crawl. I also see inspiring social champions who inform, empower and serve their audience.
Here’s a quick rundown of mistakes you want to avoid at all costs when using social media channels for finding work (whether in your marketing/branding or in your personal life), along with a few pointers to kick start your social marketing strategy.
Mistakes to Avoid
1. Don’t RT (re-tweet) or copy and paste testimonials or compliments you receive. I see this
less often now, but some people think that lightly veiling these with “Oh how nice! Thank
you so-and-so for your kind words. RT: [COMPLIMENT]” is a good idea. I know it sounds
like it could work, but such tweets don’t sit well and can lead to complaints and an ‘unfollow.’
2. Don’t blast your Facebook friends list with a fire hose. Be selective about the events and fan
pages you invite your Facebook friends to join. Most people nowadays will un-friend anyone
who sends too many invites and messages to people they don’t know that well.
3. Try not to quote yourself unless it’s a seriously epic quote. Technically quotes are phrases in
books, speeches or letters that someone else thought was important enough to mention.
They are not “quoted” by their author. Yet I often see budding authors and thought leaders
quoting themselves online, complete with attribution. This often comes off trite and has the
opposite effect they were shooting for.
4. Unless you’re a social marketing ninja, don’t blindly implement social outreach software,
tactics or systems that automate friend requests, posts or other rapid-growth techniques.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t use these at all… just make sure you know what you’re doing
and you always tie any tactic you want to employ with your strategy. Because what we do
not want to see happen is that you dive into a rapid growth strategy that feels spammy to
your audience, or that pings them too often with your messages and marketing. This will
destroy your reputation.
5. Don’t assume anyone cares. Ouch this one hurts… but with all good marketing you always
have to ask yourself, “What’s in it for them?” Make sure everything you post in your social
outreach has benefit for your target prospect. That doesn’t mean you can’t post about your
personal life… that’s actually one of the best ways to gain traction with potential clients
because they get a feel for who you are and find points of common interest and resonance.
However if an update or blog post doesn’t reinforce your personality, brand, or in some way
empowers, equips or informs your target prospect… consider letting that one go unsaid.
6. Blasting clients or others online. This is a massive one. I know a lot of freelancers who blast
clients who don’t pay them, or colleagues who cross the line. The most juvenile form of this is
blasting the competition but I doubt our venerable readers here would stoop to that. If you
do… DON’T! Blasting anyone, for any reason, never looks good. Be the bigger person here and just find another outlet for your frustration. Anything you post online, whether it’s a
tweet, an update, or something you quickly delete… it all gets cached and it’s there forever.
Anyone with a mind to find it will.
7. Try not to talk without first listening. Follow the people your target prospect is following.
Pay attention to the thought leaders in your industry and engage in the conversation. Most
importantly, listen to your prospects. What do they talk about and what fills their thoughts
most of the day? Social media gives us access to a level of data mining we could only dream
about before. You can get inside your audience’s head! Use it! What kinds of things do they
re-tweet and “Like” or “Share?” What gets them to take action? This is priceless information
for the discerning freelancer.
What To Do Instead
* Weigh in on current events and industry conversations. Freelancers who build 100% referral-based businesses often get there by positioning themselves as thought leaders. To do this, subscribe to Google Alerts for the phrases tied to your industry or services. Also search Technorati for top blogs in your industry to keep tabs on what other authorities in the market are discussing. Get involved, mention useful blog posts in your updates and on your blog, and hop into the conversation with your own opinion.
* Mention statistics and link to resources. Be the go-to guy or gal for bite-sized morsels your prospect can use to maintain a leading edge. For example if you’re a graphics designer, get into the habit of tweeting (and Facebook updating) links to free icon sets or templates your audience would enjoy. Mention statistics for how specific graphics tweaks improve site conversions and achieve other results your prospects want.
* Think of your social marketing like you think of ad headlines. With such limited space what you say matters and you have to pique interest quickly and with few words. Most importantly, your chief goal is to inspire action or to build rapport. So create curiosity. Research how to write great headlines and incorporate that into your social marketing. And as always – don’t blatantly pitch yourself.
* Focus on serving your audience. I find that when I align all my marketing activities with my mission to serve and I maintain integrity with my audience’s highest good I rarely steer wrong. Aim to be of benefit, to enhance and enliven your audience and they will love you for it. Get revved up about what you’re doing and the things you talk about online and others will get revved up about it too. You’ve got to be so in love with yourself and what you’re doing that others can’t help but do the same.
So go get ‘em tiger… You’re a social rockstar just waiting to smash that first guitar onstage!
Job Vacancy , Job Indonesia , Indonesia Job
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