There was a time when the prevailing advice was that every freelance writer and designer needs to be on Twitter. Is that still true today?
It can sometimes feel – particularly to early adopters – like Twitter is on the decline. In fact, that’s just not the case. The platform still has around 350 million total users, sending out 500 million tweets a day.
Still, to those who’ve been on Twitter for a while, it can sometimes feel like a blender at the back of the cupboard. Let me explain…
What if I want a smoothie?
Even if we haven’t used that blender for ten years, we’re hesitant to throw it out. Why? Because…well, we might want a smoothie.
A while ago I had a conversation with a friend about designers and copywriters on Twitter. He summed up his thoughts like this:
I’m considering quitting Twitter but I don’t want to jeopardise future prospects.
Then part of me thinks “well, people were successful on the web before Twitter.”
But I started wondering whether they’re still successful, or has the digital world changed?
Are you some sort of nomad if you’re not on Twitter?
His question is still a valid one to any freelancer or creative considering their Twitter presence (or lack of one) in 2020.
As a freelancer on Twitter I have secured work, had fun and made some friends along the way. Doing as little as monitoring hashtags like #copywriting and #jobs is a useful way to find some opportunities, particularly when you’re first starting out.
Oh, and the #copywritersunite hashtag is a great virtual watercooler for (freelance or otherwise) copywriters on Twitter to check out.
However, it’s easy to conflate the potential value of being a designer or copywriter on Twitter with what you actually get out of it. Or, even worse, sticking with an ineffective account because of the sunk cost fallacy.
Consistency is key for freelancers on Twitter
There’s no doubt that Twitter enables you to find jobs, and potentially get recommendations, more easily than trawling job boards. However, that offers no guarantee that you’ll actually be able to land it.
After all, having a kickass portfolio will always trump a recommendation from someone on Twitter. Right?
If you’re a freelancer, the waters are a little muddier than that; there’s certainly a degree of ‘effortless exposure’ (to quote my friend) that comes from being on Twitter.
But, when so many people follow (and are followed by) thousands of people it’s rare that you’ll ever be more a nameless person on Twitter to the vast majority of them.
Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done.
Unless you’re consistently tweeting (or making smoothies, to return to that simile from earlier) about a particular topic, making a name for yourself in that space, you may not make much of an impact.
Case in point: my chaotic mix of tweets on marketing/copywriting, nostalgia for my teenage music taste, and takes on American sports…
It’s easy for Twitter to become a passive channel
The thing you’ve got to consider when thinking about whether freelancers need Twitter is that, ultimately, no-one will notice if you’re there or not.
That’s not because your personality isn’t sparkling and witty (seriously, you’re great!), but because the average Twitter user follows hundreds of people.
Then, on the other side of the coin, almost 400 million of Twitter’s 1.3 billion accounts have no followers at all.
Social media for freelancers is only useful if you’re using it to kindle, or perhaps rekindle, relationships with people who you find interesting or (a bit mercenary, but still) ‘useful’ to your ambitions. Otherwise, you’re just shouting loudly into the void.
For example, I recently witnessed a girl asking her followers what she should do with an injured bat in her garden. But she didn’t use a single hashtag or @ anyone in her tweet.
It’s highly unlikely that any of her followers is a chiropterologist (who needs a word of the day calendar, eh?), so she’d have been much better off tweeting the RSPCA or adding a few bat tags…which, btw, I guess you’d find plenty of in Bruce Wayne’s closet.
When’s the last time you had a smoothie?
Apparently, it’s possible to send up to 2,400 tweets per day on Twitter. I wouldn’t recommend that you attempt that many though, not least because of the chapped fingers and thumbs.
It is, however, worth thinking about how often you tweet. Was it earlier today? Earlier this week? Last month? Or, if you don’t have an account yet, do you really feel like you have the time to devote to it?
Calculating the return on investment of Twitter for freelancers is tough, because it can change so much depending on how much time you spend on the platform and how actively you use it.
But if you’re not making smoothies, perhaps it’s worth thinking about getting rid of that blender (last time I’ll use that simile, I promise) from the back of your cupboard.
There are plenty of other ways, rather than spending time on Twitter, for freelancers to benefit their business.
One last thought: this article may be targeted to those thinking about how to use Twitter for their freelance business, but its ideas go beyond it.
Much of the content above is just as applicable to brands using TikTok, businesses establishing a Facebook presence, and whatever the next big social media movement might be.