Most of us are on social media for one reason or another. If you’re representing yourself as a freelancer, it’s more than just a place to share your thoughts and hear other people’s. It’s possible to get more work and new clients if you use it well.
There are no hard and fast rules about running your social media accounts effectively, it’s partly about finding what’s right for you and what you can fit into your already packed week. Here are some simple, effective ways to attract new clients through social media.
Share your work
If a website you’ve built has just gone live, your design has been printed, or you’ve just won a major client - post it! There are two major benefits to keeping your social media profiles active with work and achievements. Your potential clients can look you up and see what you can do, and you never know who’ll find you through a retweet or random hashtag.
Be yourself (within reason!)
There are lots of schools of thought on social media marketing and how it should be done. If it’s your area of expertise, you’ll know what works for your own clients. If not, it’s a bit of a learning curve.
Some advocate posting multiple times a day, but as a solo operation you’re unlikely to have the time to put a full Twitter and Instagram calendar together. Post your achievements, be personable, and post what feels right. Your clients are with you rather than an agency or large consultancy, so you should demonstrate this with a personal approach that comes naturally.
Talk to your fellow freelancers
Whether it’s #copywritersunite or #photographers, there will be a community out there full of other freelancers like you. Instead of making competition tougher, it actually helps to pay attention to their conversations. They’ll share opportunities, courses, networking events, and newsletters with you, which can turn into new clients later.
Keyword research
Job offers are sometimes lurking around on Twitter. It’s finding them that’s the skilful part. Choose your keywords carefully and have a look at the most recent results. Some agencies and small businesses will bolster their search for a freelancer by using social media, whether their following is substantial or not. If you’re one of the first to pick it up and respond, it could be yours!
Go looking for the clients you want
Sometimes a proactive approach is the only approach that matters. There are lots of ways to approach a particular company or agency, and it’s difficult to know which will be the most effective without just giving it a try.
Facebook groups are a great place to find business owners and entrepreneurs with questions and requests, but be careful of over-promoting yourself or you might break some of the group rules.
Using social media to grow your freelance business can take a bit of time, but the most important lesson to learn is the classic one - quality not quantity! If your business is going well, you won’t have time to post really interesting things and make contact with new people every hour of every day.
Build on your presence organically and gradually though, and you could have new clients coming from social media quite regularly.
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in LND