Why I Use Twitter

When it comes to sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and the like, I have long been a reluctant participant. Most of my friends were hooked on social networking sites in college. I, on the other hand, refused to even sign up for a Facebook account until almost a year out of college, when they held me at gunpoint and made me sign up. (OK, I lied about the gun part, but they sure did hound me a lot.)

I was slow to hop onto the LinkedIn bandwagon too. And Twitter? A lot of my friends were tweeting away and I still didn't even really understand what the heck it was.


Recently, however, I've changed my tune about social media—particularly Twitter. Why? Because I'm figuring out how to use it and, in the process, am discovering that it's a great way to promote myself and my freelance work.

If you use Twitter right, it really can boost your freelance business. Here's how:

Snag sources. If you're writing an article and want to find someone who's passionate or knowledgeable about a given topic, Twitter is a great place to look for sources. Search for common words or phrases related to the subject matter you're writing about (the more specific, the better), and after you weed through some junk, you just may find a gem of a source.

Discover story ideas. By following newsmakers, media types, and just plain interesting folks, you can learn a lot about what's going on in the world. What topics do people keep coming back to? Anything particularly random that folks seem to be responding to? Not every tweet is newsworthy, but a lot of messages people post on Twitter contain nuggets that, with the right moves, can be shaped into stellar story ideas.

Connect with other freelancers. Freelancing can be a lonely life, and it helps to have a network of others in the same boat. Some of my favorite people on Twitter are writers or freelance creative types just like me. Following along with their trials, tribulations, and random rants on Twitter is interesting, inspiring, and comforting, because I realize I'm not alone.

Make contact with potential clients. If publications or companies you want to write or work for have Twitter accounts, are you following them? Keeping up with what interests them gives you an in, and you may even hear about opportunities to work with them through their Twitter accounts. Case in point: I just landed a gig blogging for one of my favorite publications, Natural Home magazine, because they sent out a call for bloggers on Twitter and I responded. Really. It's that easy.

Promote what you do. When I land a freelance writing gig or finish a project, I'm excited. I want to share that excitement, so I often tweet about what I'm doing or have done. It's a great way to share with friends and family who follow me, and it shows other folks that I'm busy, that I'm productive, that I'm the sort of person they want to work with. (At least, I hope!)

Land work without even trying. If you're an interesting creature (and I'm sure you are), just being your most creative, professional, engaging self through those 140 characters on Twitter may lead to work opportunities. If potential clients search for your name, see a link to your Twitter account, and like what they see on your Twitter page, they may call you up. Seriously.

Of course, the aforementioned scenario can also have the exact opposite effect if you're not careful. Twitter has its drawbacks—two of the most commonly mentioned are the fact it can be a real time-suck (or a great procrastination tool, depending on how you choose to look at things) and that people post really stupid stuff online. Insanely stupid.

Much has been written about how to use Twitter effectively, how not to look asinine. I say it comes down to commonsense. Don't post things you wouldn't want your grandmother to read. Don't post things that reflect poorly on you as a professional (even if it is your personal account). And whatever you do: Don't post things you shouldn't about someone you're working with or for or hope to work with or for in the future. That means "I hope I never work with someone like Client X again" is not going to fly. Nor is "Too hungover to work today. Going to sit on the couch and watch soaps instead."

You know what? If you're going to do that, fine. But odds are sometime in the future a potential client will search for your name online and find that random Tweet and it will reflect poorly on you. And I'm pretty sure that's just not worth it.

For this exact reason, some people believe business and personal tweets should be confined to separate accounts. I'm OK with mixing business with personal within reason, particularly if you're a generalist like me. I write about the things I'm passionate about, so if I'm doing something that I'm passionate about—gardening, cooking, doing yoga, what have you—I'll tweet about it occasionally, even if it doesn't directly relate to my work. If you look back at my messages on Twitter, you can get a pretty good idea of who I am and what I'm into. And that has helped me snag writing gigs, because then people know I really am into what I propose to write about. Or, if a potential client is looking for someone who's interested in a specific topic, like compost, they may come across my Tweets on the topic, see that I'm a writer, and there you have it. I'm in.

How else do you use Twitter? Or do you avoid it like the plague—and, if so, why? Do share!

Learn More
Embracing Social Media as a Job Search Tool (freelancewritinggigs)
Twitter Benefits for Freelance Writers (Quips and Tips for Successful Writers)
Putting Twitter to Work for Your Freelance Writing Business (Freelance Switch)
Twitter: The Freelance Writer's New Best Friend Parts One and Two (Thursday Bram)