5 Ways to Use Facebook Groups to Score your Next Blogging Job
Facebook is a great way to advertise your services and get people to notice you, but it often is not enough to land the blogging job of your dreams. Whether you are a freelancer looking for one steady client, or you want several clients, just having a Facebook page and hoping that people “like” it is not enough; you need to get into the places where your potential clients hang out, which is typically in various Facebook Groups. These are the places where the conversation is flowing and the work is getting passed around.
1. Join the Right Groups
The first step to making Facebook Groups work to your advantage is finding the right groups to join. It is not enough to join freelance writing groups where every member is vying for the same thing – the lucrative client; instead, you need to join the groups where the clients hang out. Start by picking an industry that you want to focus on and search for groups in those industries. You can easily accomplish this by performing a quick search in Facebook on the keywords that pertain to the industry. Once you find groups, judge them the best you can (most groups are closed, which means you cannot see the posts), but take a close look at their size to see if they are worth your time – groups with only a few members will not likely bring you the exposure you need.
2. Make Yourself Noticed
Once you join the right groups, you need to make them worth your time; it is not enough to join and hope that others notice you; talking is necessary. At first it might seem a little awkward, but remember that no one can see you, so pretend you are writing for a client and write a great introduction for yourself. This should not be the time to sell yourself, though – make sure that you are just providing proper information about yourself, your background, and why you joined the group. The time for selling yourself will come later, this is just the point where you want to be welcomed, kind of like when you started a new school and you anxiously waited for that first person to come and talk to you.
3. Become a Credible Source
Once introductions are over, it is time to lend credible information to the group. You want them to see you as a leader and the only way to do that is to provide posts that you wrote or links to other sources that start conversations. Show that you are an expert in the field without saying those words to anyone – remember actions speak louder than words. For example, if you find a great article in the Wall Street Journal that pertains to your industry, share a link to the article and say a few sentences about it. Make sure one of your sentences encourages others to comment and soon you will have a conversation flowing and you will look like an expert.
4. Sell Yourself Quietly
Even if the obvious reason that you joined a Facebook Group is to gain new clients, you do not want to be obnoxious about it; there is a certain unwritten code of conduct among freelancers that you do not just flat out say, “I’m looking for clients. Who needs a writer?” Instead, carefully craft your sales posts to make them look like you are trying to help everyone in the group. Ask thought provoking questions, such as “What type of writing do you typically post on your webpage?” or “How often do you post new blog posts on your company’s blog?” Then you can impart your expertise to the responses, letting these people know that you are an expert writer – this will likely lead to inquiries.
5. Private Message Members
If you think you could land a potential client or two via private message because you saw a particular post or comment that they put up that resonated with you – go ahead and private message them, but do not make a habit out of it. You do not want to look like a nuisance; instead you want to focus on the fact that you are the expert in the field, but you cannot use those words, you need to use actions to show your abilities to the Facebook Group.
Facebook Groups have proven to be the most successful way to gain new clientele, and are much more successful than individual Facebook pages. When you join your next group, right from the start make sure that you are pleasant, informative, and helpful, just like you would be in real life. You want potential clients to see a need for you, which is solely done through your actions online rather than a direct inquiry for any member’s business.
Cameron Mackey
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