Professional Use of Social Media

By Claire Jarrett

Whether it is generic networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Orkut etc. or professional networking sites like LinkedIn, there is distinct advantage of becoming a member on these sites. Simply by registering yourself and specifying a few details, one can join a networking site and start using the available services.

A few sites (especially the professional networking sites) require one to complete a minimal profile so as to identify yourself and be easily found by similar social groups. By joining social media sites, one can be in touch with friends, colleagues and clients in no time. It becomes easier to know the preferences, tastes and schedule of an individual, company or group of people by adding the respective party into one’s network.

In the case of professional networks like LinkedIn, one can join various groups pertaining to the colleagues of a company, an industry, product line, position levels or even the classmates from graduate college. It is easy to track activities in the groups, know the latest developments in technology and the industry, become aware of ongoing and upcoming events and even get to know the job opportunities that are posted by members.

Social media is an easy way to talk to a selected circle of people, to search through friends, to join groups with similar likes and dislikes and to make new friends. Companies can directly talk to their end customers, convey information on new launches and certain events, and advise what changes are in the pipeline by just posting the info on the network. They can also better understand the needs of their key clients and this can help them design better products and increase profitability.

On a professional site like LinkedIn, professionals can list their experiences, skills, qualifications and other such details. There is also an option to post or receive recommendations to those within the network that helps to get a professional advantage and provide ready references to prospective employers.

On the negative side, social media sites are prone to fake profiles, fake identities and potentially compromised privacy. Though there are privacy options provided by almost all the sites what to share or what not to share, one must be careful with sensitive information and to ensure that a professional image is portrayed that is in line with the company brand.  A company should ensure their employees post professionally on social networking sites if it is to be viewed by potential customers.

Author Information

Claire Jarrett runs Marketing By Web, who offer PPC Management and is also an associate for PML Media, a Social Media Management company

Is Your Work To Marketing Ratio 2-1?

My freelance life began in November 2002 when I was laid off from my technical writing job of nearly eleven years. I can’t say that I didn’t see it coming – I was working in business aviation in the New York City area and our business was still reeling from the attacks of 9/11/2001. While the rest of the nation was doing fairly well, the New York metropolitan area was still struggling. Thirty of us were given our walking papers over a week long period.

Starting My Own Business

Immediately, I decided to start my own business, although my wife wasn’t particularly thrilled with that idea. I had a fair severance which included medical coverage for six months, something we needed as we had a pair of toddlers in the house. I quickly had papers drawn up to start my own business and within a few weeks time had my Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS and my state’s business license. Admittedly, I didn’t have many clues on how to proceed.

After a number of fits and starts where I eventually transitioned from building and maintaining websites to chiefly freelance writing, I began to find my groove. A lot of “life” happened during the ensuing months as my wife and I both lost our mothers, who were our remaining parents. Life was a blur throughout 2003 and well into 2004 before we decided to move and get a fresh start in North Carolina. So we sold our New Jersey home, purchased one in the Tarheel state and headed out nearly two years after starting my business.

A Time To Refocus

It was soon after when we arrived in North Carolina that I realized I needed to refocus my work. I eventually sold off or closed down several websites and began soliciting work from new customers. Oh, if I had only known back then that there was a huge community of online freelancer support, I might have been able to shorten my learning curve. But it was to be nearly another year before I managed to hook up with others thanks to having started my own blog.

Without going into all of the details covering my transition, I will instead share with you my current approach toward work which involves two components mainly – writing and marketing. Working together hand in hand, when both components are going well then I’m doing fine, but if my marketing isn’t up to snuff, then my writing may be lacking.

Am I saying that if I’m spending all of my time writing that marketing doesn’t matter? No. Eventually, jobs do come to an end and if I’m not continually marketing, then I could eventually find myself in big trouble, scrambling to take anything in order to make ends meet – been there, done that!

Two Thirds Writing, One Third Marketing

I’ve played around for months, even years on trying to find the right balance of freelance writing and marketing and have determined that if I spend two-thirds of my time writing and one-third of the time marketing, then I have achieved a good balance. This means that I need to spend the alloted time writing for others (so that I can get paid) and the rest of the time networking and soliciting new business (so that my work doesn’t dry up).

I average about fifty hours a week of work which means about 34 hours I’m writing and 16 hours are marketing. But the writing side isn’t just putting pen to pad (or making keystrokes to create words) as that also involves research (e.g., web research, interviews, phone calls, etc.) and, if the project is very detailed, writing an outline although most of the time that information is sitting in my head.

Marketing isn’t paying for web ads only, something I rarely do these days, but it does involve reading and responding to emails, phone meetings, the occasional snail mail letter or query, email messaging, social media usage, promoting articles, the occasional press release, etc. Marketing also means tweaking my blogs and websites and updating older information, deleting files, updating WordPress and more. Yes, I suppose I could include a third component, maintenance, and perhaps a fourth component, accounting, into the working equation. Both are comparably small and come out of my time here and there.

A Little Bit Here And There

For me, marketing isn’t always a set time of the day and it may not be every day either. If work is slow, which thank God it hasn’t been, then I’ll pour more of my time and energy into marketing. If I’m very busy, I still find the time to do some marketing no matter what. Most of my deadlines are knowable well in advance which means that I can plan ahead of time to work everything into my schedule without busting my writing-marketing ratio.

Of course, my 2-1 ratio isn’t set in stone as things do change when you work as a freelancer. I know of people whose ratio is 1-1 which means that half the time they write and the other half they market themselves. For professionals who are long established and have a steady stream of customers, their marketing ratio may be closer to 10-1, but I would venture to guess that most of these people are closer to 3-1 as they enjoy the contact they have through social media and other sources.

How about you? Do you have a set time to write as well as to market yourself? I would love to hear how you balance everything that you do as a freelance writer.

See Also — How Far In Advance Do You Plan Your Work?