The degree of activity in social media depends on an individual freelancers personal requirements. Freelancers who have a steady stream of work, for the present and forseeable future, may not see social media as a priority. However, those freelancers who are struggling for work, will, or at least should, see social media as an opportunity to engage with potential clients and source work.

The findings of a ’10-month in the making’ social media report by analysts Gartner, will be of interest for the latter…

The research focused on 200 successful social media operations from bigger companies than the humble freelancer, but it does make some good points which are well worth noting. The main crux is pretty obvious: it’s not simply having a Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn account that matters; it’s about what you do with it. It’s about managing social relations effectively for your needs. However, the report is dressed up in highfalutin language, so we’ll pick out the important bits to save you a headache.

“Gain collective intelligence”?

Collective intelligence, in this context, is the way in which individual comments/contributions/general feedback are brought together for analysis.

In the interests of the jobbing freelancer this is about understanding your client market. For a freelance writer, perhaps this will be monitoring Twitter feeds of potential clients/relevant industry professionals and improving your knowledge of those who matter to your business.

“Unearth emergent structures”?

This requires success in social media to the extent that you are able to see new emerging patterns within the relevant field which you were previously unaware of. This is one step on from gaining “collective intelligence” and requires developing an innate instinct and awareness of not just what’s happening but what is going to happen. Social media can facilitate your ability to be at the cutting edge.

“Create interest cultivation”?

To be a success in the social media sphere requires the bringing together of people around a subject of common interest. This requires intelligent postings, musings, microblogging and interactions generally. It really requires the identification of your target market, and keen sense of what they want to know and read. It’s about collecting people around a common interest.

“Build relationship leverage”?

Essentially, this is the ability to manage different interested parties via social media and derive value from them. For freelancers, it’s less likely that you’ll have disparate people to appeal to, therefore remaining relevant and getting results (which in the case of a freelancer will be achieving wider awareness of your expertise) is a relatively simple process. Make sure you know who your target audience is, and how to get value from them.

In summary, tangible success in social media requires a plan, not a blind leap of faith onto what is essentially a fast moving, detritus-strewn bandwagon.

The whole in-depth report can be accessed on the Gartner website (but there is a fee).

Photo by Amy – CC