Open Thread: What is Your Favorite Social Media Platform?
Posted December 13, 2009 in Open Thread 28 Comments »
There are several popular social media platforms that most freelancers use on a regular basis: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…
There are also dozens of lesser-known social media platforms. Many of them are specific to a particular need or industry. Some may be just getting started.
In this open thread we want to ask a simple question: What is Your Favorite Social Media Platform?
Think about where you spend most of your time when you do your online networking. Also, think about which website has helped you the most. Is it one of the well-known sites, or is it a smaller venue? Sharing your preferences will help other freelancers who are just getting started with networking. You might even make some additional valuable connections.
- Which social network is your favorite?
- Why is it your favorite, what do you like/dislike about it?
- Have you brought in new clients from any social networks?
- Do you have any tips for other freelancers?
Share your answers in the comments. If you like, you can also share a link to your preferred profile so that other freelancers can connect with you.
About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 19 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts
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28 Comments
Staci J. Shelton
December 13th, 2009 at 2:35 pmI love Twitter. Long reach and ability to build a following. I like some of the functionality of Facebook, but they have far too many restrictions and issues with Privacy, that they cannot seem to get right. For me, Twitter has allowed me to build relationships, promote products, services to a broader audience more efficiently and effectively. If you can link to it, you can share it, period.
Great question!
Carla
December 13th, 2009 at 2:55 pmSo far for me, its Twitter. Its easy, doesn’t take up a lot of my time and I can generate a lot of targeted followers unlike Facebook where most of my friends are my friends in real life (I don’t need to market to them).
Frank
December 13th, 2009 at 3:27 pmMy favorite social network is Twitter. The main reason because it’s simple. Although, the tools build around it are what make this the top social networking tool to date. For example, search.twitter.com is great for searching keywords in your niche and interacting with those people. Those people can become potential customers or recognize you as an expert in your field due to the constant useful information you provide them. I have definitely brought in more individuals interested in what I do using Twitter. Using search.twitter.com is essential for businesses and Twitter in itself is great for meeting new people and building meaningful relationships. If companies aren’t following this process now, they are missing out. In regards to tips for freelancers…be yourself, add something valuable to the conversation, don’t just share information, but interact with people. These are all key when trying to build your presence on social networks and become an expert in your field. Plus, you will meet some great people along the way.
Camille
December 13th, 2009 at 3:50 pmFunny, I blogged about this very topic today on my website.
Facebook is lovely for some things, but it just seems counterproductive and noisy for certain functionality. I cringed at first when the blog post was broadcast to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, but I feel validated when I see the comments prior to my own. It means that I am not alone in my thinking.
Twitter has less clutter and lends itself easier to marketing.
Luke Jones
December 13th, 2009 at 4:12 pmI’m going to jump on the bandwagon and say Twitter! It’s interesting, there are fantastic users and it’s accessible by everyone!
Rebecca Quinn
December 13th, 2009 at 4:23 pmThanks for asking, Laura!
I also prefer twitter for many of the same reasons as the previous posters. It’s limitless – I can do research, monitor topics, meet tons of new people, get exposed to new ideas and it has all the latest news. It’s like swimming in the ocean compared to facebook (which I also love btw) being more like a local lake.
I’ve made many new friends and we now connect at events IRL (in real life) as well. It’s kind of a bonus to get prospective client inquiries and new business!
You hear people complain that social networking takes too much time. And it can, if you let it! With twitter you can jump in when you have a minute here and there. Plus you can tweet from your phone.
Highly recommend all freelancers give it a chance. Search for those in your field and make friends. Look for your ideal clients – listen and learn their needs. Don’t think of it as marketing. Provide value and share. Mostly just be yourself and join the conversation. And have fun!
@RebeccaQuinn – http://twitter.com/RebeccaQuinn
Michael Wilson
December 13th, 2009 at 6:10 pmIt’s certainly Twitter for me.
I love how it gives me a chance to make connections with like minded individuals I would otherwise never get the chance to. Since I started using it last year it really has taken over my networking life.
Belinda
December 13th, 2009 at 6:11 pmFor finding work and building contacts, it’s gotta be Twitter. But I have to say that I spend an equal amount of time on Facebook because thats where my real life contacts are – and sometimes that generates work too :-)
Aaron Lindberg
December 13th, 2009 at 6:45 pmTwitter is great for pushing links, updates and photos through to readers.
Facebook is just OK. I get sick of all the game invites that people send me, I really dont care about your farm and what you have won while playing the game.
My vote would go to twitter – @aaronlindberg
Joe
December 13th, 2009 at 8:48 pmMy favorite social network would have to be facebook. I really enjoy twitter but I find myself spending hours on facebook. Now if the question was simply What is you favorite social network for freelancing…I would have to go with twitter since it is a great network to learn and…..network!
I have brought in a few clients via twitter and continue communications through twitter and facebook. An easy way to find clients from twitter is by setting up a search column on TweetDeck with your expertise. For example, I work a lot with wordpress so I have a column search set up with the phrases “Help Wordpress”. It works wonders!
Michele | aka Raw Juice Girl
December 13th, 2009 at 10:26 pmIt depends, really. My favorite social media site for business is Twitter, I think. I can reach a large group of people and share information or get feedback, etc. A close second (or maybe even a tie) is StumbleUpon. A LOT of my blog traffic comes from these two.
For a more personal, fun, conversational feel, I prefer Plurk. It’s microblogging but it’s different than Twitter in that each plurk (similar to a tweet) has a drop-down comment section that keeps the conversation in one place – even if it ends up being a few hundred responses.
MyGeekZine
December 14th, 2009 at 2:30 amDefinitely Twitter.It is my favorite social netwok.We are using Firefox Echofon to promote news,works and informations to our friends
Ankit
December 14th, 2009 at 3:58 amTwitter, Twitter, Twitter !
In My View twitter is best social media Platform. It’s simple and in trend.
Heather Villa
December 14th, 2009 at 6:28 amI’m going to have to say Twitter as well. It has been the most successful in bring in new clients. However, I’m a big believer in using all the major media sources out there.
Deb Ng
December 14th, 2009 at 8:47 amI love Twitter for so many reasons. Mostly because it’s sort of a virtual water cooler, but also because it’s a terrific relationship building tool. I met clients, potential clients, new friends and collaborators.
It’s also brought traffic and awareness to my blog. Installing the Tweetmeme button has given me a huge boost in followers.
Feel free to follow me @debng
Michelle Hillaert
December 14th, 2009 at 9:37 amI would definitly say that Twitter is great for pushing info, but I’d have to say that Facebook is my favorite, because it’s about the relationships… it has that personal touch.
Melek
December 14th, 2009 at 10:13 am* Which social network is your favorite?
for personal use – Facebook (i also have a biz account, but tend to use FB more personally) for business use – Twitter. I learn tons just by following people and reading the articles they post
* Why is it your favorite, what do you like/dislike about it?
Twitter gets me really inspired bc I read a lot of articles/information I may never have found on my own. Facebooks gets me thinking and trying to figure things out in using new applications and FBML to make elements of the page look good.
I don’t like that with Twitter you can’t do much to make it ‘your own’ except for a background. I wish I could add more links to my profile. With Facebook, there seems to be a lot of redundancy and things that don’t quite make sense….
* Have you brought in new clients from any social networks?
Yes, I have gained a few new clients directly from Twitter. I haven’t measured how much i get from FB, LinkedIn and Yelp, but i have a lot of reviews listed, so I’m hoping that has helped some.
* Do you have any tips for other freelancers?
Get your name out there as much as you can however you can. Just remember that once it’s posted, it’s on the internet forever….so be careful what you say.
Jane
December 14th, 2009 at 1:57 pmI’ll say twitter as well. It’s simple and it’s fast. But facebook got more personal touch. Well, I update both of them.
Kristi Hines
December 14th, 2009 at 4:14 pmI would have to say that Twitter is the network I like the most. I use it, and highly recommend that my clients use it as well because, once it is setup, it takes much less time to maintain as opposed to Facebook. It is also much easier to find contacts that are interested in what you are saying on Twitter than it is on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other popular networks.
Himel Nag Rana
December 14th, 2009 at 11:37 pm>> Which social network is your favorite?
–> Facebook
>> Why is it your favorite, what do you like/dislike about it?
–> This provides me large options to connect with FNF and I can set privacy at different levels. What I like most about it that it shows me friends suggestion and what I dislike is too much things are stuffed.
>> Have you brought in new clients from any social networks?
–> Not yet but I have found some new opportunity there.
>> Do you have any tips for other freelancers?
–> Use your head while using social networks, that will be definitely fruitful.
Matt Keegan
December 15th, 2009 at 10:20 amHands down, Twitter is my favorite. It is easy to use, I interact with lots of people throughout the day, and I’m now finding that some of my leads are my fellow Twitter users. I still use StumbleUpon and Facebook, but I’m basically invisible elsewhere.
Wladia Viviani
December 25th, 2009 at 10:07 amSeems that Twitter is leading here.. it’s my favorite social media as well. It’s almost as good as RSS reader for finding interesting articles and fine for enlarging my network. I’ve got to know some interesting people over there.
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March 6th, 2010 at 6:56 amI like the social media both facebook also the twitter.we can gain lots of the best relationshiops also the valuable link and networks through the media….as the process of the marketing the valuable and important source are these.keep sharing.
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