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Posted by Greg in Freelance
I love helping people solve their problems. For the last 2.5 years, I helped a bunch of great (and wacky) people solve their problems at my day job, and really had a great time doing it, but now it’s time to help some other people with their problems.
I’m a programmer. I don’t like to use fancy titles like “solution developer” but that would probably be more accurate. I’d call myself a coder if that didn’t confuse people quite so much, but I don’t think that tells the full story, either. So why have I quit my very stable 8:30-4:30 government job with solid pay and benefits in the midst of the worst unemployment and some of the worst economic times in recent history? Because I see opportunities. All around, I see opportunities. Companies are still trying to make a profit, and where companies are trying to make a profit, opportunity exists. Many companies are reluctant or unable (due to hiring freezes) to hire new people right now, but they still have goals and dreams and desires that they cannot attain with the staff they currently do (or do not) have. That’s where an independent contractor (or freelance developer) comes into the picture. Companies are still having problems — some new problems and projects, some old problems that have lingered for years.
Their problems are my opportunities.
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Sitting in “How to destroy your business with social media” — it’s a discussion format. We’re talking about marketing and how to do it and how *not* to do it. Using the theoretical example of a florist on twitter — what are some good and bad practices?
The keys to success:
- building trust with your clients (or potential clients)
- creating conversations
The keys to failure:
- constantly bugging someone to come see how awesome you are
- constantly sending out specials — though this can go either way (see below)
- constantly trying to sell someone on something (but again, see below)
There are exceptions, of course – some companies will send out tweets once a day that list their daily lunch specials, like Mama Mia’s Pizzeria or give a lot of information like pictures of the goodies they’re baking over at Muddy’s Bake Shop as well as the occasional coupon. I follow both of those because I like the restaurants and want to see what’s new. Daily specials don’t hurt, either
The general consensus seems to be that it all comes down to community and trust. Trust is there until broken or abused. If you come off like a used car salesman, you’re probably not going to have a lot of followers for long.
With the knowledge that there’s a community and conversation going on, as a business, what do we try to do with that? Do we try to start it, control it, fit into it, etc? You can start conversation and join in conversation, but I think if you try to control it, people will see that and know that you’re not authentic.
As long as you’re knowing your audience and making it relevant to them without trying to “hard sell” to them, you’re on the right track.
Thanks to Thom Rigsby for leading a great discussion.
No, it’s not a place where we all go to learn how to drink — it’s a technology conference. Well, an un-conference, really.
You can find out more about it here http://barcampmemphis.com/
I’ll be presenting on Google Wave at 9:00 with Thom Rigsby — we’ll be talking about what it is and what we’ve been using it for. I’ll also be live blogging throughout the day from the event.