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More than five million companies advertise their products and services on Facebook. Several other millions have business pages on the major social networks. Organizations use social media to engage their audience, hire talent, and raise brand awareness.
As a freelancer, you can leverage these trends to find and secure work.
Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networks give you access to potential clients in every niche you could think of. The key is to reach out to the right people at the right time.
Let's take a look at how you can develop a powerful social media marketing strategy.
First things first, focus on building a strong online presence. Decide which social platforms you want to use and then set up compelling business pages to describe your services. Be clear about who you are, what you do, and what gives you a competitive advantage.
Each social media platform has its own designed usage. Leverage the strengths of each platform to get the most out of your social media presence.
Instagram is all about visual content. This makes it ideal for photographers, graphic designers, and other creative professionals. As a freelancer, you can use this platform to showcase your creativity.
Share your best work and engage in conversations with your followers.
If, say, you're a web designer, you can post website screenshots and screen recordings. The whole point is to show potential clients what to expect.
Ideally, set up an Instagram business profile. This way, you'll not only look professional but also have access to advanced analytics. Write a compelling bio and include a link to your website or LinkedIn page.
Craft an engaging job title and About section, list your services, and describe your professional experience. Include a link to your website or online portfolio to showcase your work.
Keep your job title simple and relevant. While it's important to be creative, make sure that your potential clients can understand what you have to offer.
Terms like "brand evangelist" or "social media ninja" are meaningless and confusing. The same goes for job titles like "brand warrior," "chief thought provoker," or "digital overlord."
These terms create confusion and make it difficult for prospective clients to find your business online.
Creative agencies, for instance, will search for specific terms — such as "digital advertising specialist" — on Facebook or LinkedIn. A job title like "advertising ninja" won't show up in search results.
LinkedIn is one of the most powerful tools in your marketing arsenal. Premium users can send InMail messages to companies from around the world, including those that they're not connected to.
Look for potential clients and scan through their profiles to find some common ground.
Keep your message short and concise. Think of LinkedIn InMail as a messaging app, not an email service. Introduce yourself, mention your services, and end your message with a question to keep the conversation going.
Let your potential clients know that you're familiar with their products or services.
Express your enthusiasm toward what they have to offer. At the same time, try to show your value and how you could contribute to the company.
Facebook groups can be an excellent resource for finding work. You just need to know what to look for. Join Facebook groups related to your industry or niche.
For example, if you're a freelance writer, you could join Binders Full of Writing Jobs or Calls for Submissions. The Freelance Content Marketing Writer is a good choice, too.
Introduce yourself to the community and engage in conversations. Don't just list your services or throw a link to your website. What matters most is to build genuine connections.
Add shortcuts to your favorite groups so you can access them more easily and stay up-to-date with the latest posts. Leave comments, share useful tips, and exchange ideas with other members.
These small things can help you stand out from the crowd and raise interest in your business while also helping you learn from other freelancers.
Use a similar approach to market yourself and find new clients on Twitter. Get involved in Twitter chats and share meaningful content that sparks conversations.
Likewise, you may join LinkedIn groups to connect with potential clients.
Now that you have chosen the social media platform you prefer, keep these tips in mind across your online presence.
Social media has made the world smaller with the ability to cultivate connections from anywhere. Don’t be afraid to reach out to other creators to say hello, give a compliment, or ask a question.
If you choose to offer this person something tangible, be sure you ask if it's all right to send it to them beforehand. Otherwise, you will come off as shallow and potentially invasive. As our friends at Weekend Creative say, “DM’s are for friendship. Email is for business.”
If your relationships eventually blossom into freelance work, it's highly recommended to use a discovery form to help you keep track of all your clients' needs. As time goes on, you'll develop a better understanding of the type of information you should initially obtain and make the onboarding process easier for both parties.
For many freelancers, a brand is personal. Your life and experience directly impacts your work and your style. When it comes to your social media accounts, lines between you and your work can get blurred quickly.
Maintain a high level of professionalism whenever something you post can be seen by another party. This includes direct messages, tweets, posts within social media groups, etc.
Always assume that anything you say on social media will be seen by the public. Even a private conversation you have with another individual could still be relayed to other parties.
Never speak negatively of certain professionals, groups, etc. This will allow you to keep your professional reputation clean. Also, there is plenty of negativity in the world already. Take every chance you get to be kind.
One of the key pillars of proper branding as a freelancer is consistency. This means that your work should always be of a consistent quality, and you should always strive to portray the same image.
In terms of social media, this means that all of your social media platforms should have a certain level of cohesion. To get started, you can use the same logo, profile picture, header image, etc. to become as recognizable as possible.
The type of content that you post on each platform should be highly similar. It wouldn't make much sense to post highly professional work on Instagram but post lower-quality content (such as a mockup) on Facebook.
From here, you can ensure that people develop the right idea about you as a freelancer no what platform they first encounter you on.
Having your brand across multiple platforms will give you the greatest amount of exposure. But, you should choose one platform to serve as your primary focus.
This will depend highly upon what type of content you create. For example, a photographer would take advantage of Instagram since the entire feed on that social platform consists of images and videos.
If you tend to take on projects that require less creativity (such as freelance accounting), Twitter or Facebook would be a more viable option in the scenario.
It's worth exploring project management tools to help break down your required tasks when working for clients. This will help you streamline the process and stay as organized as possible until the project is completed.
So, it's imperative that you make use of it. When implemented correctly, a social media marketing strategy can be one of the most powerful assets you have when it comes to securing new clients.
Want to learn more about what we have to offer? Feel free to reach out to us today and see how we can help.
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