Social Networking: Is It Making You Money?
I used to have an accountant who was fond of asking the following question: Is it making you money?
That question had a way of stopping me in my tracks. It forced me to think about what I was doing with my time. And what I needed to be doing.
I’m reminded of Helga the Accountant’s question whenever I read or hear the latest buzz about social networking. I can’t help thinking that all the time spent on Facebooking, Twittering, Linking In, etc., might be better spent on other things that might actually lead to sales.
There is much in social networking that reminds me of some stores I’ve been to. You know, the ones where the sales people are so busy talking to each other that they forget to acknowledge the shoppers. Which causes the shoppers to leave without buying anything.
You can well imagine the effects that shopper walkouts can have on the store’s sales revenue. And the job security of the sales people.
Now, I’ve been writing business turnaround articles for Freelance Switch since last year. One of the things that I realized early in the turnaround process is that I had to stop chit-chatting with my peers in the networking crowd. This chit-chat certainly was enjoyable, and I hated to give it up. But, alas, it wasn’t doing my business any good.
Reason: My peers were not – nor were they every going to be – my clients. And, since many of them were in the same business I was, they weren’t about to send any referrals my way.
Instead, I had to start chatting up the sales leads, and seeing who qualified as prospects for further cultivation. Most of the leads turned me down, either by not responding to my calls or e-mails, or by saying the dreaded “n-o” word. Matter of fact, most of the leads still turn me down. But I’m still here. (It’s true – that which does not kill you does make you stronger.)
My freelancing business is well on the way to recovery, but I can’t say that it’s there yet. Which means that I need to keep making those cold and warm calls and e-mails. It also means that I can’t get distracted by seemingly interesting, but not very productive, things like social networking.
This is not to say that social networking can’t make other people money. It may be bringing you a torrent of new clients and additional work from existing clients. More power to you if it’s working.
But if you feel like you’re spending a lot of time on the social networking circuit, but your sales are still stuck in the same doldrums that they were six months ago, then it’s time to try something new.
Let’s go back to that store example for a minute. If you’re a graphic designer specializing in, say, design for bicycle shops, then it’s time to break away from your computer and go out and meet some shop owners. You might be invited to leave as soon as you’ve walked through the shop’s front door, but that’s a chance you’ll have to take. You might also find yourself with a website redesign gig or two.
Or, if you have a hankering to do grant-writing for non-profit organizations, get on the phone and call some of them. You might not get any further than the Great Wall of Voice Mail, and that’s a common occurrence. But you might also get through to someone who’s really struggling with the largest grant application her organization’s ever done, and there you are to save the day.
Whatever you do, remember Helga the Accountant’s question: Is it making you money? If it is, keep going. If not, try something else.
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You make an interesting point that we often forget – most of our networking is done with peers and colleagues, which does little good for the bottom line. I view my social networking activity as a part of the sharpening I need rather than as a promotion of my services, so I’m keeping it because it is a huge benefit to me, but I see what you’re saying, and it’s good advice and food for thought.
I’ve never had a single lead from any social networking site. I’ve stopped putting time and energy into them completely and it’s made no difference at all. Then again, it depends what kind of market you’re after and if it fits into your marketing strategy.
It does depend on your business and market. I’ve had a few clients originate through Twitter. Working in web design, I find Twitter is a valuable tool.
I’d add that by using Twitter (and other social networks) daily, I’m able to offer social media consultation services to my clients.
Ditto. Never had a client originate from social marketing. Tried Twitter and got one click out of more than a hundred “followers” in a couple of months time. Despite all the hype and wonderful claims, I fail to see any use in Twitter for getting clients.
An excellent post. I sometime think social networking, particularly Twitter has “an emperors new clothes” feel to it. Everyone is going on and on about how great it is but is it really worth the effort? If you are using it as a business tool is it increasing your bottom line?
I carried out a seven month experiment on my use of twitter ..read the full story “Can Twitter help my business” http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/2009/10/can-twitter-help-my-business.html
Very interesting points.
I think social media has been a blessing in learning new information for developing my skills, but as you said it doesn’t really pull in anything to the wallet.
Most of the followers and the people you follow on Twitter and other social networks are fellow colleagues or people in your same field, so it’s like surrounding yourself in a wave of competition.
Your clients are hanging out with fellow designers, they’re hanging out with other business people.
Correction:
*Your clients aren’t hanging out with designers, they’re hanging out with fellow business people.
I DO think Twitter is worthwhile as a business tool for freelancers.
1) You may not produce direct sales leads through Twitter, but you stay involved in your industry chatter more if you do. This in turn adds to your expertise and keeps you up on today’s trends… which helps your business.
2) In terms of generating direct sales leads through Twitter – I recommend keeping one personal account, just for chatting with peers and a second account to represent your business / branding. Use your business account to engage potential clients. Tweetie is the perfect app for multiple accounts.
Not sure about Facebook… but Twitter is a definite part of my daily routine, for good reason.
I think you bring up a valid point – there is a natural tendency to hang out with peers on social media.
However, I’m not sure that those connections are entirely worthless.
I have had projects referred to me from other writers who were too busy to handle them at the time.
I met another one of my current clients solely through a social media contact. At the time we met I never realized that she could become a client. We became online friends and now I work for her. Sure, it took three years, but the contact did pay off.
Finally, I landed a major gig that I’ve worked on for the past year and a half through my participation in a forum.
Does social media pay off? I’d have to say that ultimately it does.
“Does social media pay off? I’d have to say that ultimately it does.”
I think this is the key statement in your comment Laura. It takes a real time commitment to make anything work — if you put in the time and energy, you can get something out of it. The question is — what is the opportunity cost of the time and energy put into social media. Could you spend your time more wisely?
Ultimately — I think as is stated above — it comes down to your market.
Yeah, I feel the same way sometimes. Sometimes you just wonder if all of this time you’re wasting trying to get yourself out there is even helping your business. With twitter, most times it seems like your tweets get drowned out in a sea of information overload. You really have to be clever with your posts, and article/link titles, that’s for sure.
It is good to take a step back and see where energy is being rewarded.
I’m a bit of a believer that you never know where the next lead could come from. I simply don’t put all my eggs in one basket.
“Hanging out” with your peers on social networks doesn’t make you money the same way reading industry books, blogs, and journals don’t make you money. To me it’s about learning, teaching, and staying current in your field.
You can’t blow all your time doing that, but in moderation it will make you better at what you do.
I’ve too also made great connections on social networking sites – it isn’t my main source of income, but it keeps my name up there and when fellow developers need to offload work, they remember me.
It also establishes you as an authority or leader in your business. If a client googles your name (they will) and sees how active you are, relevant comments on blogs and tweets, don’t you think they’ll think you must know what you’re talking about?
It can be a great time waster if you don’t manage your time properly, however it’s a great tool that can and does lead to more clients; gives your site more visibility; connects you to fellow freelancers and keeps you up-to-date in things happening in your field.
I’m an admitted online forum addict and I have used stuff like this for professional networking well before Twitter or LinkedIn became household words.
“Social networking” on computers has actually been around for over 20 years. But in the 1980s the main outlets were “bulletin board systems” or BBSs; then Compuserve and a few other players like GEnie and AOL became sort of like national BBSs. That was the first wave. The second wave was the internet, Usenet newsgroups, and traditional message boards. We’re in the third wave or something like that.
So this stuff is nothing new, it’s been around for a couple of decades. The two new elements are scale and “diffusion.” Compuserve had a few hundred thousand users when PCs weren’t even ubiquitous while the major social networking sites today have millions. But, almost *every* serious PC user who was a professional in the 1980s used Compuserve. So Compuserve was a hotbed of influential people in its heyday and a subscription could put you into contact with some movers and shakers. Today, anyone, influential or not, can create a LinkedIn profile.
So I would say the following:
- Social networking can lead to some business in the form of leads. But you have to be a heavy user and monitor your “subscriptions” very closely. That implies lots of time online.
- Generally, you have to be known by others online in order to reap the rewards. This, again, requires lots of time and “devotion.”
- Close social association with lots of online peers at roughly the same level of business skills can actually drag you *down*. There’s a lot of groupthink that occurs online, and the flip side of “supportive” is to talk you out of a new initiative that you should attempt. Sometimes in order to excel you need to break free of old peer groups.
- Data point: I do not know *anyone* who is highly successful either as an entrepreneur or as a traditional business owner who is accessible via social networking. The high earners and the movers and shakers don’t waste time online. So, you’re not going to come into contact with the people who can truly inspire you.
I’ve gotta say that unless your writing, “Tweeting” and publicity skills are the stuff of legends, then social networking is, at best, a vaguely entertaining and time intensive leisure pastime that deludes lots of people into thinking that they’re doing something constructive with their time.
Like this post. (whoops!)
A lot of the marketing and brand building we do as part of our daily tasks — we all do that, right?
— is difficult to evaluate on a purely financial basis. Of course, we all want to know what the ROI is on anything we do to best direct our efforts. If you are using Social Networking to build your brand, create community around it, and offer real value to your followers/fans than there is definitely some value to your own business although hard to quantify.
I think why a lot of business owners shy away from using Social Networking as part of their marketing efforts is the emphasis on the word “social” as in idle chatter or “water cooler talk.” Of course, it can be an immense time waster if you are only sharing stories about what you did the past weekend, or some cool youTube video you have to see, etc. However, if you have something important to say and communicate with others you respect, admire, or maybe even despise, you will probably learn something and get something valuable out of it.
Since our networks tend to be people that are “like us,” it may be limiting to only stay in those circles. With many freelancers, our network could/should be practically anyone that we would like to offer our services to. By joining other communities, commenting on blog posts that interest you
, and tweeting about topics that would have value to your followers, you will be building that trust and as Amber said earlier, positioning yourself as a leader or expert in your field. The benefits may not be immediately felt, but as with most marketing efforts, takes time and is an incremental process.
Having said that, it’s all about balance too. Now, let me get back to updating my facebook profile…
…..”then social networking is, at best, a vaguely entertaining and time intensive leisure pastime that deludes lots of people into thinking that they’re doing something constructive with their time.”
Oh thank goodness I am not alone in this sentiment!
For the record – Twitter makes me crazy!! It’s like a bad rash that everyone insists is good for you – not to mention it creates a whole lotta unnecessary angst.
My recent personal fav is the article/blog post I read where the author was quoting a woman who said “Why would I want to buy from a company who’s CEO is not on Twitter”. Needless to say I went bonkers on this and replied with the fact that I should think that CEO’s have better things to do with their time like not pissing away peoples’ 401ks!!!!!
My other favorite is the News asking you to follow them on Twitter. People follow the news fundamentally and Twitter just makes it redundant. Much like Shrimp Scampi – which btw means Shrimp Shrimp (Scampi is Shrimp in Italian)….. so in essence you are asking me to follow follow the News!!??
This bird rather spread their wings and fly rather than waste time tweeting!!
Much social networking culture and Twitter reminds me of high school.
Be one of the cool kids. Get everyone to follow you or link to you.
You’re followed on Twitter because the cool people follow you.
Geez.
Well, I have a slightly different pov.
I’ve never actually gathered any clients through Twitter… though, I do admit that I haven’t really pushed hard for it.
However, I have used twitter on a regular basis for customer service and for existing clients.
A proper balancing is required on the time spent on social networking for personal and business. If you spend a lot of time on the former, you will surely gonna lose some good business. Saying that, not all social networking can lead to business. It depends on what your business is and what is the most used social networking platform among your clients and how active they are in the respective platforms. It is pointless to spend time on platforms where you can rarely find customers.
Why does everything have to focus on making money?
Beacuse… in freelancing making money is a bit vital ?
Becouse being in a business and being a freelancer involves making money to sustain yourself.
Hi
Very good thoughts. It’s like the old adage of if you keep doing the same thing you will keep getting the same thing.
Juliet
Money is important but it’s not the only plus of social networking. And if you’re only networking with people in your industry, step out into the world and hit up others. Look to people that can use your services, not just those that do what you do. And connect, don’t just “add friends.”
If you do, you won’t have to be in recovery–you’ll build your business strong. But certainly don’t rely on social networking for business!
Thank you, Thank you for this article and thus the follow up comments. I have been engaging in social media for a while now. While it’s great to keep a connected to the pulse of your industry and exchange war-stories about clients, I haven’t really gotten any increase in paying customers from them.
It’s good to hear that others are having the same experience. With all the hype everywhere about how much money everyone is making with social media, I thought I was just getting left out in the cold and missing the boat. Maybe its just the ones selling you how to make money in social media!
I will continue to stay involved with my peers and friends, but am going to focus more on product creation and actual sales.
No matter how hard you try or what sheep herd you decide to join, Social Media will most likely not contribute to your bottom line in any meaningful way. That’s why they call it “Social Media” not “Cash Media”. More appropriately, the whole medium has been mis-named. (is that a word?) It should be called “Interactive Media”, not a lot of social to most of it.
If you want to make money with it, you should probably start “tweeting” (stupid name, I’m sorry) free crap from your account. Free design analysis, Free this, Free that…The sheep that respond you would at least have a sporting chance at becoming a client. That would be a lot better than telling everybody on Facebook and Twitter that your puppy is sick and you must take it to the vet.
Social Marketing done the right way does increase traffic and promote your business. I have seen significant increase in traffic in the sites that we do consistent marketing for. “Consistent’ is the key word there. There is also a right and wrong way to ‘do’ social marketing, or social marketing that is intended to draw business.
Social media has been an excellent too that has enabled me to develop my “author’s platform.” Blogging and now tweeting has expanded my reach, expanded my contacts and opened many doors. It has been particularly useful to me because I made the transition from article writer to book author over the past year and establishing the online author’s platform has been invaluable in helping me make this transition more easily — and more effectively.
Brilliant article! Definitely a wake up call… I must confess I do get carried retweeting blog posts that I consider useful and brilliant (like this one)
Think you’re right, I can’t spend 50% of my time doing this, no matter how much I enjoy it. But on the other hand, social media and content sharing can be handy for marketing yourself, as long you don’t waste your time as Steve Sherron puts it: talking about your puppy.
My guess is, you should find a healthy balance between offline marketing efforts and proper use of social media, and by this I mean being smart about what you tweet or post and who you’re talking to.
What do you reckon?
The question should be “Is it making you happy?” not “Is it making you money”.
(Happiness will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no happiness)
I think what this article is saying is this: Be smart about Social Networking.
Go where your clients are. i.e. if they’re on Facebook, be on Facebook. Don’t just “keep up with the Joneses” – find new, innovative ways to utilize these social tools. Don’t just have a MySpace page for your business just to have one. I used MySpace to find models, Facebook to invite people to events, Twitter to tell someone your plane is delayed.
You will never see a dollar = time ROI from Social Media. It’s ridiculous to expect one. Just as it’s ridiculous to expect every person who sees your billboard to buy your product. It’s different in that you can engage your clientele like a billboard never could. Lots of creatives use it in many ways (proofs, feedback, events, tips, etc.) Oh, and it’s FREE.
I don’t think everyone who has commented gets it. The article is about Social Networking and making money. If it worked, all of these commenters who have actually made money with it, would have been offering proof. Laura above met someone through Social Media and 3 years later they became a client. That is not making money through Social Media.
If you are relying on making money using the internet as your marketing media, stop twittering (dumb) and focus on organic traffic from the search engines.
If I’m looking for a graphic artist freelancer to create .gif animated files in photoshop for me, I’m not going to Twitter of Facebook. You better get yourself placed where me and others like me are looking. We pay cash.
I totally agree with Steve. Face to face networking and google search engines will bring you money, the only money people are making from twitter and facebook are the owners of those companies.
Good read.. really enjoyed !
But I must say, joining the Social Networks, specially Twitter has really made me money!
Excellent post and, confusingly, I find myself agreeing with comments on either side of the argument. Of course you have to be aware of spending too much of your day / night in the land of online social networking. But my own, probably simplistic view, is that no-one really knows the value of that investment in time. For example, I would never have seen this blog entry – or the associated ads – without a link from Twitter.
I can understand how social networking can be a big time suck for some, but for me it’s essential. The various social networks drive traffic to my blog, meaning more revenue. Moreover, I’ve landed more than one client after building up relationships on Twitter.
I have gotten many clients through Facebook. I just post that I am working on a commercial or website every once in a while. That put the bug in all of my friends and associates that I create websites and do video production. I am now the first person that comes to mind when someone needs a site.
I have also received clients through youtube that really liked my work.
All in all, I would say blindly getting work through social networking is tough, but staying in touch with everyone you know is about the best thing I can do.
Really enjoyed reading this article too.
I have never used any social media site so far in my 3 years freelancing career.
well, then its better to join networking sites and try luck
Wow, the title of this post really got me. Its absolutely true. Social Networking can earn you tons of money. One doesnt have to be an internet savvy to qualify. Although learning the basics should help. Many people have been earning easy money from social networking sites like Facebook, for example. Build a massive list of targeted buyers and you can be making easy cash in no time. I should know. Im earning from it. Great post!