We all know that freelancers are a small business unto themselves. Between keeping up with invoices, networking and making new industry contacts, scheduling and filing drafts on time, and managing endless rounds of edits, there are myriad factors that need to be delicately balanced to create lasting success.
In a business that consistently tells us that we need to put ourselves out there to make connections, promote and share our work, and engage with our audience, it can be difficult for freelancers to gauge how best to approach social media. And with a new app dropping seemingly every week, it can be intimidating, overwhelming, or flat-out exhausting to even think about, especially if your relationship with social media isn’t fully fleshed out yet or you don’t quite know how to use it to your benefit. There is no one-size-fits-all template for this question.
However, one thing that we do know: we are very much still in the age of apps. Apps like Facebook, X (aka Twitter), and Instagram were founded in 2004, 2006, and 2010, respectively, and have solidified themselves as the OGs of the social media landscape. Then you’ve got the newer kids on the block, like TikTok, Spill, and Meta’s latest offering, Threads. Each app offers a unique entry point into the world of social media, capturing different demographics and user groups while emphasizing different mediums. Some focus on text-based posts, while others encourage multi-photo sets or short, quippy videos. Whatever your age, mood, or medium preference, social media is definitely here to stay for at least the near future. The key is to figure out how to wield it in a way that suits your needs and goals.
Find Your (Online) Voice
Honing your voice in writing is critical in developing your skills and portfolio. Readers should be able to read your work and clearly hear you in each piece regardless of topic. This is what keeps audiences—and clients—coming back. You can apply that same refinement to your online presence as well. When determining which social media apps you’d like to start utilizing for your business, you need to ask yourself what you’re going to be using them for. Do you see yourself using it as purely a promotional tool to share your completed work? Do you want to offer viewers a unique behind-the-scenes vantage point to the world of freelancing? Perhaps you may want to offer tutorials or instructional material. Or maybe you just want to connect with other freelancers and industry professionals and expand your network.
The answer to these questions is what will determine which app(s) you should focus on and how to shape your visibility on those platforms. Remember, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel here! Use what you already know and are skilled in and leverage that. If you’re more tech-savvy, an app like TikTok, streamlined for easy-to-edit and quick information distillation, could be the right choice if you want to offer tips and share lessons learned. If you’re sharing your work via aesthetic posts with beautiful imagery, Instagram may be the best fit for you. And if you’re an emerging freelancer, LinkedIn, the networking giant of social media, is probably the best place for you to start. Each app has different capabilities, purposes, and user experiences, so finding your voice is a critical first step.
Stay Away From The Comparison Game
One of the biggest challenges when building your online presence as a freelancer is resisting the urge to compare yourself to your peers. We’ve all heard the old adage: ‘comparison is the thief of joy,’ and its staying power speaks to its inherent truth. As humans, it’s our natural inclination to look to our friends, colleagues, and competitors for inspiration. Sometimes, that can result in feeling like we aren’t able to meet the bar set by our predecessors. It’s easy to get caught up in playing the numbers game: comparing follower counts, likes, and obsessing over metrics.
You might feel like you’re in a losing battle with the invisible-but-almighty algorithm and need to spend an inordinate amount of time creating superfluous content to boost your numbers, but that doesn’t actually further your brand. It’s imperative to remember that impact is a far more valuable insight than how many followers you have or how many likes a post gets. Are people engaging with your work or sharing it with their friends? Are they messaging you to congratulate you on your latest piece or how it resonated with them? These are the immeasurable benefits of social media and where your focus should remain. And remember: true overnight successes are quite rare; longevity takes time. Viral moments and personalities often fade as quickly as they appear. Your goal is to create a genuine, lasting impact that translates into a lucrative career.
It’s A Tool, Not A Crutch
No matter how you use social media in your freelancing business, creating a healthy relationship with it will ultimately determine what you get out of it. The freelancing game is one that demands time, effort, and intentionality in both your work and process, and that also applies to the tools you use to support yourself. Social media is just that—a tool! It isn’t a one-way ticket to massive success or a magic key to unlock the next phase of your career. It is merely one component in your expansive freelancing toolbox. Relying solely on online engagement isn’t sustainable or practical. Real-world interaction is still unbeatable, even in our increasingly digital world. Additionally, focusing on creating content at the cost of spending time to develop and refine your craft or staying on top of crucial admin tasks could result in costly consequences for you. But with a clear voice and strategic and purposeful planning, social media can be an incredible asset in your journey, opening up you and your business to exceptional opportunities you couldn’t have imagined.
Happy posting!