Social Media?

[kre8tivemonkey]

Does it really do much good for a Designer to spend a lot of time doing "social media". I've noticed that most people are not business looking for anything we have to offer, so what doesn't it benefit me to have a page? If I was a retailer selling to the public, it would be a huge benefit for me, but does the average person really care what "Brand" or Web site I just did?

This appears to be more of a bragging right for us?

What do you think?

 

[Janja]

I kind of agree. I always think, who cares...

BUT...

If you want to do social media, do it in a way to not just "brag" about your newest designs, of course you are actually advertising that perticular business also, which I like to do for my customers. On my fb fanpage, I always try to include links to freebies, some funny cartoons, some valuable resources, cool photoshop manipulations etc.

It's about staying on people's minds, so that if they hear their friend is looking for a designer, they will remember that you do that kind of work and refer you.
(I was a jeweler before I became a web and graphic designer and I can't even tell you how many times my friends bought overpriced jewelry somewhere else, just because they forgot that I was a jeweler)...
So even, if you don't see an obvious reward for your social networking, I think its quite worth it.

 

[kre8tivemonkey]

Janja - I agree with you and I do have a facebook page, you bring up some great points about just keeping your name on the peoples minds in case they know someone that wants something.

Lailagwb - I know it's not a fad and if I was selling retail to people I would say you should be on it everyday, but I sell to businesses (as all designers do), and if you check your "friends" on facebook you will see that more then likely 1 out of 100 have their own business.

thanks, and if anyone knows any other "cool" topics to talk about as a designer on facebook, please let me know.

 

[grandestkind]

lailagwb is right. You've got to fish where the fishes are or else you lose. But you've got to evaluate which social media site works best for your company/website. For some Twitter offers the best source of traffic while for some, Facebook is their choice.

 

[Private-I]

i've never used facebook to shop. I'll add my friends, family and maybe my fav band and local pub, that's it. I don't think it's that good for marketing.

 

[ronaldroe]

You've got to fish where the fishes are or else you lose.

Marketing 101- fish where the fish are!

If you're fishing for whatever you can catch, you guys are right. If you would like to fish where the right fish are, you need to get off your computer and go meet real people who own real businesses. Social media is important, but spending ridiculous amounts of time tooling around on social media sites is a waste of time. Not one single client has come to me because they saw my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. They came to me because they either spoke to me before, spoke to someone who's commissioned me, or found me in a Google search and liked what they found. It's a quality vs. quantity kind of thing.

People looking to commission a service don't care how active your Facebook page or Twitter feed are. Colleagues, on the other hand, do. Social media is a great way to exchange ideas, thoughts and new techniques with one another.

 

[jhonatkins]

For social media facebook is not enough. There are so many social media site like linkedin, twitter, delicious, digg etc. Only social media is not enough for your business. Go for social media and search engine optimization work will make your business highlighted.

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Jhon Atkins
Website Design Company

 

[ancom]

I agree with ronaldroe - contact with real humans cannot be replaced by social media. Don't get lost in doing SEO, focus on quality work!

 

[reverseengineer]

I find that social media is a very good way of branding yourself. Remaining relevant in any fashion is imperative to business no matter what you offer.

 

[mastermind1212]

i never use social media for business.