Being a freelancer, why should I be active on social media?

Use of Social Media for promotion and positioning in any form of business is no more an option but a necessity. In this high paced world of super connected people with everyone wanting everything in just a click, you can never undermine the power of branding though social media. You may be the best creative designer or a great innovative product developer, but if you don’t share your work and actively engage in relevant conversations in social platforms, directionally you may falter in your positioning strategy. With the objective to successfully run your venture however big or small it may be, social media networks can help serve you the perfect soapbox to showcase your expertise and build your brand in the right direction.

The question now is: what are the things to be kept in mind while using social media for promoting and position your brand? Here are five effective ways to promote your business using social media which you may have overlooked earlier.

 Introduction

What have you written about yourself and your business in your social media profiles? Do you review it frequently? Is it consistent across all the platforms?

These are the first three questions to begin with. If not, revise and re-work a short introduction that you can use across your social media channels. Create better titles that help your posts to be more promotable in social media. You can add brochures, Slide Share and PowerPoint presentations as well as videos to your profile under the summary section to provide interesting content that anyone viewing your profile can download or share easily. Remember, when your potential clients and referrers stumble upon these channels, they will know exactly what you’re offering and how you can help or support them in their path of growth.

Content

It’s all about meaningful content that turn new followers to lead clients and referrers. Get involved by answering people’s questions and sharing your services when people ask for support or help. Try connecting with like-minded people in your industry. Create content that benefit your followers. Leverage the visual when promoting your content. Create separate images for each of the main points in your content. Get more visibility by tweeting pictures and videos related to you and your business to your followers.

Channel

Though there are many channels to socially promote your brand, however you must focus on one to two channels in the beginning. If you find that your clients or customers are scattered across a variety of networks, focus your efforts where they’re most active.

Keep posting content on a regular basis to maintain an active presence in those selected channels. Take your followers along gracefully in your creative journey. And it will not be late when you will realize how you start generating comments on your content that finally may lead to better work opportunities.

Conversations

In this new era, most people enjoy sharing their opinions.  Put up questions in the social media relevant to your businesses which are interesting to your connections and followers. The questions should engage people and inspire them to refer business while giving the business owner great insight. Use conversational technique to extend your engagement efforts by presenting a valuable offer that are based on your customers’ interests and needs. You can post a short video of yourself offering tips for your customers like demonstrating how to use a product that you sell.

Timing

Many entrepreneurs overlook this simple concept of sharing at the right time. For yielding maximum engagement, the content you are posting need to reach as many people as possible. So you have to go where the crowd is! A time when they are online and active! Remember, different social media platforms may not have the same peak times. Concentrate on the timing when you have the highest chance to engage with your audience.

Socially savvy entrepreneurs know that the super connected world of today is all about engaging the right audiences with the right tool through the right channel. Use the power of great platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube and many more to position your brand. From broadcasting your unadulterated expertise on Twitter to showcasing your creative brilliance on Instagram, leverage the power of social media to successfully build your brand in carving a new success story.