I’m really digging Twitter now. To me, it’s become a great place to exchange ideas, advice, questions and answers.
I’m enjoying being able to disseminate advice and information to freelancers in real time, it’s also helping me stay sane while Steve, Ed and I wait patiently for the The Wealthy Freelancer book to come out in March.
I’m just bursting with anticipation for you to read that book! So lately I’ve been tweeting bits and pieces of advice right from the pages of the book, and the other odd gem from the “cutting room floor”.
Some of these tips get retweeted too, which is always nice…
And it’s very nice to hear from freelancers on Twitter who like what we’re doing here at TheWealthyFreelancer.com…
And sometimes I just have a little fun…
Other Reasons Why I Like Twitter
Thanks to Twitter, we found an amazing Virtual Assistant who will become a key part of all we do here at TheWealthyFreelancer. com. (Hi Crystal!)
I haven’t used Twitter for lead generation myself, however, I did initiate a Twitter-only conversation with the editor of a high profile publication, and that conversation ended in me being asked to write an article for them.
I’ve also been answering questions that come my way via Twitter too, and I’ve seen Ed and Steve doing the same.
So for us, Twitter has become a way to reach out with more and more of the rapidly exploding freelance community, sharing our message that YES, you can be a wealthy freelancer and not a struggling one. And that is very cool.
Which is better? Twitter? Facebook? LinkedIn?
The Wealthy Freelancer has a facebook fan page but, I gotta admit, it’s totally bare bones at the moment. Something we’re going to look at more in 2010 but, at the moment, Twitter is the shiny new toy that’s getting most of our attention here.
Despite the tongue-in-cheek title of this blog post, I’m not actually advising you to forsake Facebook. In fact, last week our friends over at SocialMediaExaminer.com reported on a MarketingProfs study that found Facebook is better than Twitter for marketers.
What about you? What’s your favorite social media site? Is it making a noticeable impact on your business? Are you getting more leads, more sales? Or are you enjoying them for some other reason? Share you thoughts with us below.
Pete Savage is, obviously, on Twitter. You can follow him there at http://twitter.com/petesavage
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It’s been great seeing you guys on Twitter lately.
I prefer Twitter purely for the social interaction. I can get quick feedback, read or share a few tips, and let loose with a snarky joke or observation every once in a while.
Through twitter, I’ve made a few cool connections, been able to stay at the front of some clients minds to get repeat work, and I even got invited to give my first speaking gig.
LinkedIn has been a bust for me… although I haven’t tried that hard.
I was in college when facebook came out (and you had to be in college to join) so I use it mostly as a way to keep up with my old college friends.
To use facebook and LinkedIn and twitter effectively all at once would take too much time… I just don’t see how I’d get any actual work done. My opinion is, if you’re using social media for business you should pick one and stick to it. It’s the 80/20 rule. You’ll get the most out of it if you focus your efforts.
You know, I keep trying to like Twitter, but it’s just too much ADD for me. Facebook is more fun than I thought it would be, and I enjoy participating in the various professional group discussions on LinkedIn.
Hi Pete, (Crystal here!) obviously I am a fan of Twitter, and am pretty pleased with the connections with my client base that it has facilitated.
I primarily use Twitter for keeping up on what’s happening in the online world – what people are most interested in and talking about. I find Twitter is my best method to find interesting links and articles, because my network is sharing them.
Like Henry, I haven’t invested the time into other mediums at this point, though I have worked with clients that are very successful using both Facebook and LinkedIn. Something to consider about Facebook (from their statistics page: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics): there are more than 350 million active users, half of which log in every single day, and spend, on average, 55 minutes per day on Facebook.
Given how many people spend so much time, I can see why Facebook ads and pages/groups do work!
LinkedIn is absolutely a great resource and social medium. Often, when doing online research, LinkedIn comes up as a way to find out more about an individual or business, so make sure your profile, at least, is filled in.
My opinion is that social media (in any form) requires a time investment and a dedication to interacting beyond simply self-promoting to be successful. in the end, I think you need to choose the medium that suits your communication style best.
Cheers!
The average daily time a Facebook user spent on the site used to be 7 minutes. Then my wife joined and it’s now up to 55 minutes.
What impresses me most about social media (and Twitter in particular) is the conversations and connections it has opened up for so many. The ability to connect with someone who would normally be unreachable is incredible. And the ability to have good, punchy and honest conversations with your clients, prospects and potential prospects is amazing.
My high school, college and other personal friends have taken over my Facebook account. So I’ve decided not to use FB for business. However, I’m exploring ways to have more business conversations there.
I like LinkedIn for its research capabilities, which have helped me uncover contact names and potential prospects. I like the idea of Twitter, but just haven’t put the time in. And Facebook I’ve reserved for family and friends. What’s interesting about FB, though, is that I am reconnecting with old friends from high school 30 years ago. One of them is a part time freelancer, and when I had too much on my plate and was stuck with a project that was the wrong fit for me, I was able to outsource it to him.
I’m on Twitter and LinkedIn – no presence on Facebook.
It occurred to me yesterday that if I view social media as a form of networking/community, LinkedIn is like networking at a conference or other professional event among peers: if I do it right, there is a high likelihood that I’ll benefit either in terms of learning or connections that are relevant to my business. Facebook is like networking at a house party: there is a chance that I may make a meaningful business connection, but it’s less targeted and people may not be in the mind space to talk shop.
Twitter is what you make it: if you follow people and engage in conversations based on your business objectives and interests, again, you’ll benefit from access to incredibly useful info and people. Not so much if you follow/tweet willy-nilly.
That’s how I see it and the approach is serving me well. Of course, I could be wrong about Facebook since I’m not on there, but I feel it’s best to focus my time in any case!
Marlene – I LOVE that analogy! Like you, I’m not very active on Facebook at the moment. And because of that, I think I may be wrong about the possibilities. But because most of my connections there are personal, it DOES feel like a big house party right now! I’d like to change that.
Hi,
I recently closed and (hopefully) deleted my FB account. I found it was starting to add ‘excessive noise’ mostly from people whose lives I wasn’t that interested in – always the way! My actual, real friends stay in touch via email and (shock, horror) good ol’ phone calls. Remember them?! I had opened a Twitter account a while ago and couldn’t see the point of it – it just seemed like a lot of people updating the world every five minutes on the minutiae of their lives and I quickly got bored.
However I think Twitter has matured and settled down and now I am moving back to it and, like many here, I’m finding it very useful for contacts, info, updates and exchange of ideas to help me along and hopefully, in turn, I’ll help others along.
LinkedIn has always been there in the background but to be honest, I get a bit swamped with recruiters, although the groups I subscribe to have ultimately led me here so it has it’s uses
Cheers!