The Importance of Social Media and Freelancing
Successful folks master it and double down on this underrated tool
Social media gets a bad rap.
There, I said it. Social media isn't the evil many folks say and believe it to be. Especially the "older" folks like Gen-X'ers.
The truth is that social media can be one of the most powerful tools in a freelancer's arsenal.
For instance...
Did you know over seventy percent of consumers are willing to make a purchase or work with your business due to personal social media interactions? Furthermore, roughly eighty percent of marketing experts today report social media data essential to making decisions and running their company.
In other words, without social media, they wouldn't have the success they are seeing today.
So let's dig into a few reasons why social media is vital to you as a freelancer.
To communicate with your target audience
In this century, you will not be successful if you don't use your customers' platforms.
Social media is one of the most popular things to do on the internet.
If you want to find your target audience or ideal client and communicate with them effectively, you must use their platforms. I like to call it communication currency
Go to them, don't expect them to come to you.
However, you can't just use any social media platform you want. First, you need to be sure the one you choose is where your target audience is. For example, suppose your business targets those between sixteen to thirty-four years old. In that case, TikTok is likely a great social media platform to reach them.
Remember, the key is to understand your potential clients' communication currency and meet them where they are.
To keep up with industry trends
Let's face it, any business, freelancer, entrepreneur, solopreneur, etc... are on social media.
If they aren't, then you gotta question their sanity and their ability to effectively market and create awareness.
People use social media to share anything they care about or are interested in, making it an excellent tool for discovering trending topics within your industry or market. This means paying attention to your customers' content, what content they engage with, and what they say, such as the hashtags they use.
Did you catch that little snippet I mentioned?
Pay attention to your potential client's social media and where/what they're also saying.
To increase brand awareness
Keep it silly simple, my friend.
People can't find your online or offline business if they don't know you exist.
Feel me?
Having a website is one way to do this but relies on other marketing strategies like search engine optimization (SEO) to get your target audience to find you. Social media can quickly boost your brand awareness by exposing what you do and how you provide value in more than one place.
And one other uber-important piece of the social media equation is this.
Using it organically almost always means it's free!
To keep track of the competition
Ain't gonna lie here...social media allows freelancers to keep tabs and eyes on what the other guys are doing.
Social media makes it easier to keep track of your competition. Keeping track of your competition is not to be used to copy. Instead, it is used to understand your target audience better and improve your own products, communication, and marketing strategies to make a more significant impact. Use it as a tool to learn and grow.
And don't forget the obvious flip-side. Meaning the other guys can also watch what you're doing too.
The final word
Freelancers would be wise to take advantage of social media.
It can help you communicate with your target audience, keep up with industry trends, increase brand awareness, and track the competition. Additionally, social media is a great way to do all of this organically and for free!
F-R-E-E...one of the sweetest 4-letter words around.
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About the Creator
Rick Martinez
* Professional Ghostwriter
* USA Today Bestselling Author
* Helping First-Time Authors Craft Non-Fiction Masterpieces
* Helping folks (just like you) realize their dream of writing their book
California born, Texas raised.
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