Are You Missing the Job Opportunities on Social Media?
Posted October 28, 2009 in Marketing, Social Media 22 Comments »
If you’re not active on social media, then you could be missing out on the job opportunities that can be found there.
Today’s freelancers aren’t just telemarketers or multi-level marketers. Web 2.0 and social media have created many new freelancing job opportunities. Some of the jobs people enjoy doing from the comfort of their home include: blogging, writing, creating graphic art, designing web sites, and consulting.
Although many of you already understand the concept of freelance work and know how to get clients through social media, some of you may be missing out on the opportunity to use social media to build your freelance business.
Social Media and Opportunity
Right now social media is a bank full of opportunities. Most of you probably already know about Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other online networking platforms, but you may not have used these sites to their full potential.
One thing that social media requires is active participation. Social media is definitely time consuming and might require quite a bit out of you, but the end result is worth the time and effort you put in.
What would you prefer? Running around the block looking for a job or browsing the web, mingling with others, and scoring the next big gig? Exactly!
How to Use Social Media to Find Jobs
Let’s look at some ways that you can capitalize on social media and land a job from a potential client:
- Twitter — Although limited by 140 characters, Twitter is a hot spot right now. How often would you get noticed by a Fortune 500 company or a top blogger if you were to send a personal email to them? Not often. Well, Twitter can connect you to these people and create an online relationship that might help your freelancing get to the next level of success.
Example:
Mr. A is an entrepreneur who runs a network of blogs. He is always looking for bloggers or web designers for his next venture. With Twitter you have the opportunity to communicate directly with this influential web celebrity. You might not be able to catch his attention at first, but with continued effort and value you certainly will. Now comes the next step. When Mr. A looks for a blogger or writer you will certainly be his choice (if you are good at what you do) because everyone likes to work with people that they already know rather than go head hunt somewhere else.
Although Twitter has seen a huge growth, it doesn’t mean that you should neglect other social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and others. Your continued participation on these platforms ensures that you are seen and heard in the online world.
Your Social Media Connections
Social media is all about making positive connections. Social Media is all about “networking.” The stronger and wider your network, the more opportunities there will be for you out there. Whether you are a plumber in Texas or a graphic artist in Michigan, social media can and will land you with opportunities.
Every move you make must be carefully thought out. For example, Facebook is a place for friends to connect and network. The key there is to become a valued member of the community.
Social Media (Twitter, Facebook,etc.) puts you in the picture with two way communication and strong personal relationships. Eventually you may move to more personal platforms of communication with your contacts such as instant messaging (GTalk, Skype). Opportunity comes to you through these connections and referrals.
The Importance of Having a Portfolio
Now that we have explained the basics of social media (somewhat), let’s explore what you should have in place to maximize your freelancing opportunities.
An online portfolio is an important element to have in place if you are using social media to find prospects. Make it easy for your potential clients to see what you do and what you have done. If you are going to work online there are two kinds of portfolios:
- Work — Make sure that you have an online portfolio that summarizes everything that you have done. If you have a blog create a portfolio section that highlights your achievements. If you are a graphics designer or a web designer, don’t just create blog posts and keep on writing. Instead, do design work and display it on your portfolio, even if that design work wasn’t for a client. Make sure to have a portfolio that gives a clear picture of what you do and can do.
- Social Media — Make sure you have a social media portfolio that shows all the platforms you belong to. If you have a blog, list your social media involvement. Better yet, grab the RSS feed and give potential clients an opportunity to see how you use the space. Some people are more comfortable getting to know you first and then offering a job after looking at your portfolio. Give those people the opportunity to connect with you. Create a social media profile that shows that you are a valuable member of the community.
Share Your Thoughts
As you can see, pretty much anything you do can be tied with social media to bring you more work. The social web is huge. Many freelancers ignore it thinking that time spent on social media is counter-productive, but nothing can be farther from the truth.
Social media is the newest way to search for jobs, the newest way to hunt down the next big gig, and the newest way to capitalize and maximize on all the opportunities out there.
If you are not already using social media, give it a try. Freelancing and social media go hand in hand. You can’t afford to ignore either one.
Share your experiences with social media in the comments.
About the author: Ritu is a freelance writer who has been involved in social media for several years. At the moment he is working on a variety of projects, but is always open to new ideas. Contact him at email(at)ritubpant(dot)com or follow @ritubpant on twitter.
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22 Comments
Amber Weinberg
October 28th, 2009 at 10:11 amI’m actually getting ready to write a huge blog posts on some little known ways to use social media to gain some work. There are so many untapped places on Twitter to find work :)
Miroslav Nikolov
October 28th, 2009 at 10:45 amYou need some confidence to communicate with people on social networks. That’s it, there is nothing more or complicated :)
David Zemens
October 28th, 2009 at 12:05 pmJust yesterday I received a contact thru my Twitter account to meet with a client about website design. It’s the first such contact for me, but I am fairly new to the Twitter scene and expect it will not be the last.
Social media contacts are clearly lining up to be a critical component in marketing and in client contact.
Coop
October 28th, 2009 at 1:51 pmFinding the confidence to communicate with followers and friends is a hugely important step. One I personally have yet to achieve. I suppose you can treat them as conversations like any other, you get involved and react to the feedback, learning as you go?
@Amber – looking forward to your post.
Elliott (Set Yourself Freelance)
October 28th, 2009 at 1:52 pmAnother great way to use social media to get new clients is by developing relationships with other freelancers…
Other freelancers-especially ones who are busier than you-can be a great potential source of business. For example, when they need to make a referral for a project that they can’t take on at a particular time….
And, you can return the favor one day by sending them your excess work.
I’ve found social media a great way to develop relationships with other freelancers as well as with business owners…
Ritu
October 28th, 2009 at 3:36 pm@Amber : Exactly! Looking forward to your post :)
@Miroslav : Confidence and etiquette will help one go a long way in social media space.
@David : Seems like Twitter is already proving to be a valuable tool for you. I am glad it’s working out
@Coop : Thanks for the comment. The key thing in social media and online relationship is to make relationships meaningful just as in the real world. If you communicate and turn these platforms into a 2 way communication channel rather than one to many model followed by TV, radio and other traditional channels, you are bound to succeed :)
@Elliott : Very well said.
Chris
October 28th, 2009 at 10:43 pmI’m starting to ramp up my efforts on twitter in order to make more contacts. I had the idea today that running little “contests” for visitors to my site where they enter by retweeting so I’m experimenting with that now.
I decided to give away a free article on whatever subject that I’ll publish at an article to the winner who I select. They get a well-written article, some back links, and direct traffic and I get their goodwill and a little exposure and maybe a longtime follower. It’s interesting to see how it unfolds. Twitter’s fun.
Hire Service Professionals
October 29th, 2009 at 6:47 amI love using social media services and it is the best way to introduce my items to the market.
Thank you for sharing this one.
tbmedia
October 29th, 2009 at 9:08 amI’m so confused! FreelanceFolder is telling me that I need to spend more time on social networking sites, whereas, at the same time, freelance switch is telling me that i’m spending too much time on social networking sites…
http://freelanceswitch.com/the-business-of-freelancing/social-networking-is-it-making-you-money/
help, i’m imploding with indecision! Maybe i’ll go on twitter for a bit to calm down :)
Laura Spencer
October 29th, 2009 at 9:48 amLOL, tbmedia!
I saw that post too!
I have just this to say – trust us, trust us. . .
Actually, there are productive and non-productive ways to use social media. Ritu highlights a very productive way to use social media as a tool in this post.
However, social media can be a two-edged sword. If it’s used carelessly, the a freelancer won’t get the value from it.
Ritu
October 29th, 2009 at 1:22 pm@tbmedia : If social media time isn’t managed properly, it can sure be a productivity killer. The key to use social media for what it is (building relationships) is by managing time properly using different tools such as Tweetdeck or hootsuite to manage different accounts, etc.
Stephen Webb
October 30th, 2009 at 5:16 amThere’s so much talk about social networking today that it can be easy to just pass it off as a phase, something the is just hyped up and has no real value. With twitter and facebook being known more for personal use rather than making business connections, you can understand this thinking. But it’s clear that if handled in the correct way these platforms can be extremely useful for turning networking into actually making money.
It seems today that being a part of a social network is as important as listing yourself in the real world. For any designer today it is essential that they have an online presence in the form of a modern websites, and have active, regularly updated accounts on at least the main social networking sites.
I will be looking into how to use social networking further; this is an excellent article on how to make those advantages, thanks for the well-written tutorial! Maybe a future article could concentrate on using Google to find jobs, as this platform becomes ever more important.
Vivien
November 1st, 2009 at 8:38 amRitu,
Thank you for sharing on Social Media. I heard a lot about Social Media, especially on Facebook. Relationship building and exposure which lead to sales conversion for some cases. I’m not active on Facebook, wish to participate later as everyone is talking about facebook marketing.
I have participated in twitter and someone purchase a camera and other products from my online store.
paul
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:02 amso has anyone got any success stories to share?
Robert Phillips
November 6th, 2009 at 2:51 pmHey Ritu you are absolutely right! I completely agree with about getting job opportunities by being active on the social media. I find a freelancer to create some web 2.0 properties for me through social media website. The guy whom I hired didn’t leave any stone unturned to impress me. I feel job seeker must be confident enough to get job opportunities through social media.
samser
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:48 amhmmm… seems interesting. I have been freelancing for last more than 3 years. never used these social networking sites.
yes, “so has anyone got any success stories to share?” :)
saleem awan
February 7th, 2010 at 9:17 amI have huge friendship list in some very popular social networking sites but i never used that links for my freelance work. I feel that I was missing that huge opportunity. From now on I will try to use that stream for my business. There is one catch in that If i will try to do some business in these sites they might get me and suspend my account for promoting business on their sites. what you say about this fear?
Online Outsourcing
March 6th, 2010 at 7:02 amValuable process always better to manage the circle…social media also an important field to gain the network…attention for the best selection of media and the conversation is the highest choice to mingle with that community.
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