In today’s freelancing life, Social Media Networks have become an important point of debate. Do freelancers really need Social Media to succeed in the market? Or is Social Media only another time sink for freelancers? In former times freelancers were focusing on non-digital sources like cold calls, query letters or face-to-face meetings to get in touch with prospective clients. These methods were approved over decades and still work today, but are they still enough? To be honest, we don’t think so…

Times have changed and Social Media networks like Instagram, Facebook, Google+, Twitter and Co. more and more influence our daily life: the way we search for information, the way we recruit employees, the way we present ourselves to the world. Social Media is handled as a new and powerful opportunity for entrepreneurs to market their businesses and to connect with prospective clients. Sounds like something a freelancer shouldn’t miss? However, most of them do…

Social Media? Not for me!

It is a very surprising fact that a lot of freelancers obviously do not value Social Media as a Marketing tool. At least this is the result of a recent study among freelancers which was conducted by the project board www.freelancermap.com. According to this study only 43.6 % of freelancers worldwide rely on these so-called “new-fashioned” Marketing channels in their daily job routine. In contrast 56.4 % of the interviewed freelancers claimed not to use Social Media at all for business purposes. 

5 reasons to use Social Media as a Freelancer

In the past years Social Media has increasingly changed the international freelancing markets. Social Media also impacts the way clients and recruiters seek for talents. It’s time to jump on the bandwagon! Here are the 5 most important reasons why freelancers should use Social Media for business purposes!

#1 Find work with Social Media!

In the past, one of the biggest problems of clients and recruiters has been the lack of access to an extensive candidate database. Nowadays Social Media Networks are overloaded with people from any part in the world, giving employers and clients a powerful database of talents and experts. It is not a coincidence that more and more companies engage so-called “Social Recruiters” which comb through Social Networks, not only to screen employees or applicants, but also to find new potential candidates. So the logical conclusion is that you as a potential candidate won’t be found if you don’t take part in Social Media. In this case ignoring Social Media means missing great work opportunities! 

On the other hand you as a freelancer also can use Social Media Networks actively to seek for new freelance jobs. Simply follow relevant debates, communities and groups or use #searches to identify demand for freelancers e.g. by searching for #freelancerjob or #remotejob. You will discover that Social Media Networks are full of great job opportunities for freelancers!

#2 Present yourself with Social Media!

The idea behind Social Media Networks is that anyone can join and upload a profile. In fact Social Networks are a complete cost free opportunity to create “another” compelling presence in the internet, helping freelancers to increase awareness for their services and to build an online image. 

And the more profiles a freelancer has online, the bigger is the targeted audience. Therefore it is essential for you as a modern freelancer to have a profile on the leading social platforms and to adapt these profiles accordingly with relevant data about skills and availability. When you are a freelancer, you are the business. Present your business to the clients!

#3 Connect with Social Media!

No freelancing business is successful without building relationships. A long-term cooperation with a client is based on trust, communication and mutual understanding. Social Media allows you to connect with people anywhere in the world, regardless of the time difference or local distance. And the best thing is that you don’t talk to any hotline or info@ mail-ID from which you hardly will receive a reply. You are directly talking to the people behind the business. But also other freelancers and industry experts are people worth to connect with on Social Media Networks. Take part in forum discussions to help or to get helped. 

#4 Stay up-to-date with Social Media!

It is almost impossible these days to know about all industry trends and news, but Social Media makes it a little bit easier. As a freelancer you should regard Social Media as your personal instant news portal, which informs you immediately and 24/7 about topics that matches your field of interest. Simply follow some leading news sites on Facebook, join relevant communities on Google+ or follow industry leaders on Twitter to find all industry news right away on your time line. 

#5 Find ideas on Social Media!

Social Media is crowded and loud, that’s a fact! People create new posts, discussions or upload photos every second 24 hours a day. Whereas some users are annoyed and overextended by the information flood, others consider social signals as a benefit. If you are following the right people or debates you will experience a cost free and bottomless source of ideas and creativity. If you lack ideas for a new article on your blog - check Social Media! If you run out of ideas for a website design - get inspired by other peoples work in your network! You only need to learn how to distinguish between helpful and useless posts!

Conclusion

Finding work as a freelancer sometimes is difficult. Staying up to date with the latest trends can be as well. Not to mention the continuous networking with clients. Social Media is a silver bullet that can help you in all situations of your freelancing life, so don’t steal yourself a promising opportunity! To be successful as a freelancer these days you need to be on social media. No discussion! Social Media has a world of opportunities to offer. Connect with clients, present your skill set, inform yourself about the latest industry news or build a helpful network of other experts around you – Social Media is an effective and cost free tool that can help you to grow your freelancing business. 

About the author 

Doreen Schollmeier is the Head of International Marketing at freelancermap.com, the cost free freelancing job board for IT-Experts. Within her daily work she helps IT-freelancers to connect with clients worldwide. Thereby self-marketing and openness for new marketing tools are the Alpha and Omega for a freelancer! 

Read the complete study here.