Networking with Social Media
When it comes to new trends and technologies, I consider myself a bit of a laggard. In fact, in some cases I can be downright cynical about the latest and greatest fad. Social media is a perfect example. When Facebook and Twitter got really popular, it seemed as if everyone lived for this stuff. No longer did you need to chat on the phone or have a meaningful face-to-face conversation over lunch. You had Twitter! You had Facebook! Why do anything else? Why even leave the house?
Well, in late 2008, I could no longer ignore the Twitter and Facebook freight trains. So I joined both sites. And frankly, I’ve been blown away by the possibilities of these social media tools—especially for freelance professionals looking for new clients. Through Twitter alone, I’ve been able to connect with high-profile individuals I would never have reached had I tried to contact them via phone or e-mail. I’ve had interesting private and public exchanges with best-selling authors. And I’ve been contacted by several potential clients and joint venture partners—all while I sat at my desk wearing pajamas!
Success Story
Build a Very Focused Prospect List
A few years ago, freelance marketing professionals Noelle Abarelli and Carey Kauffman (www.SoleadoMarketing.com) started taking a much more focused approach to prospecting. Rather than promoting their services to everyone who was targetable, they decided to manually compile a list of 100 high-probability prospects.
Because of their technology marketing backgrounds, Noelle and Carey began their search by focusing on only U.S. technology companies. Next, they pared their list to include only small and midsize companies located in their region. Finally, they strategically analyzed each of those companies, looking for businesses that sold technologies Noelle and Carey had experience marketing, seemed exciting, or showed big promise. When they had their finalists, they reached out to their industry contacts to see if anyone had relationships in these companies. “If we found someone who knew a key marketing contact in one of these companies, we would try to get a personal introduction, which would help us bypass a lot of barriers,” explains Noelle. “Other times we would just get insights into the culture or marketing philosophies of some of these companies, which was great, too. That kind of insider information would often help us decide if a company should even be on our list.”
Noelle and Carey’s success with this approach has been phenomenal. It has not only focused their efforts but has also cut their marketing expenses and allowed them to spend less time screening prospects. Most importantly, it has enabled them to maintain a steady flow of work.
What Exactly Is Social Media?
Social media is nothing more than content created by its own audience and the publishing technology used to share that content. But more importantly, social media marketing is an engagement with online communities to generate exposure, opportunity, and sales, according to Michael A. Stelzner, founder of WhitePaperSource and author of Social Media Marketing Industry Report. Says Stelzner: “The real shocker is that experienced folks are investing more than 20 hours each week in social media.”
For most freelancers and solo professionals, social media marketing is a fresh, new phenomenon. And contrary to popular belief, this type of marketing is not just for twentysomethings. In fact, Stelzner’s report revealed that 72 percent of the 880 surveyed professionals (most of whom were small-business owners and solo professionals) had been using social media for only a few months and their median age was 40 to 49.
That’s all fascinating stuff. But as a freelancer, is it worth adding social media to your prospecting mix? The answer is a resounding “Yes!” Thousands of freelancers are already harnessing the power of social media to generate leads, opportunities, and clients. The time has come to join the party!
Popular Social Media Sites for Freelancers
What are some of the most popular types of social media (and some specific sites) wealthy freelancers are using to generate leads?
Online discussion forums. Online forums enable you to showcase your expertise by contributing ideas and responses to forum members’ questions. They may not be as sexy as some of the newer forms of social media, but there are tens of thousands of popular forums out there, and based on the traffic most of them generate, I don’t see them going away anytime soon.
Blogs. The key to prospecting successfully with blogs is to focus on blogs rich with authors and commenters who could be potential prospects for you. Once you find these blogs, make it a point to contribute your comments, opinions, and insights weekly. It won’t be long before you get noticed.
LinkedIn (LinkedIn.com) is a business-oriented social networking site used mainly for professional networking. As of May 2009, it had more than 40 million registered users spanning 170 industries. When used strategically, LinkedIn can become a powerful networking and business development tool.
Twitter (Twitter.com) is a social networking and “microblogging” service that enables you to send instant short messages (up to 140 characters in length) to people who want to receive them. Your tweets (what these short messages are called on Twitter) can be about anything, including what you’re working on, what you’re thinking, what you’re reading, and what you’ve just accomplished. They can also be a way to point your followers to interesting information, get immediate feedback on an idea, or even poll your followers on a specific topic you’re trying to learn more about.
Facebook (Facebook.com) is a hugely popular social media site used mainly to connect and stay in touch with friends and colleagues. Although much less formal than LinkedIn, Facebook can still be a powerful online networking tool and a great way to generate leads for your freelance business.
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