Instagram isn’t only an effective marketing medium for fashionistas, photographers, food fanatics and Etsy shop owners—it’s also for freelancers of all types. And with good reason—not only do upwards of 400 million people use Instagram on a monthly basis, but 75 million people make it a point to scroll through their feeds each and every day.
If you or someone you know has taken to the freelance lifestyle, then you’ve already become painfully aware of the following—freelancers are always on the lookout for more work. Freelancers are hustlers—the good kind, mind you—and as such, are making every opportunity a chance to improve their bank account balances.
With all of this in mind, what better way to feature your creative abilities than through a social platform that’s loaded with potential clients hoping to make contact with top-notch freelancing talent? Sure, there are better ways, but not many of them.
So, as an up-and-coming freelancer with a blossoming business, if you’re ready for a social network that generates 58 times more user engagement than Facebook and 120 times more than Twitter, set the liking and retweeting aside for something of much greater value for freelancers all over the world—Instagram.
What Freelancers Should Post
But what should freelancers post? It makes sense that fitness gurus and stay-at-home moms would have all the material in the world to work with, but most freelancers are limited to the confines of their home offices—nothing horribly sexy, right?
Wrong. Instagram users follow accounts that make them feel positive about themselves. Seriously, why else would there be thousands of inspirational quote posts floating around on the social channel? It’s because this type of content excites, uplifts and motivates. No, as a freelancer, your prime responsibility isn’t to motivate people, but what about you does?
The answer to this one is really pretty simple, to be honest—your lifestyle. Who wouldn’t want to be their own boss and work in their underwear on the living room couch? Though a normal, everyday occurrence for you, this idea of professional independence is extremely appealing to many. It allows for fun and light-hearted content, but it also does an incredible job of catching the attention of people who both hope to follow in your footsteps or hire you for your services.
Additionally, and this is an obvious one, feature your work, from time to time. Artists and hairstylists love Instagram because it gives them a chance to show what they can do in front of a genuinely interested audience.
From landing landing pages and logos to pen-and-paper sketches and typographic samples, in one way or another, just about any kind of work sample can be put on all full display for all to see. Couple each post with anywhere between 10 and 15 hashtags, and you’ll be well on your way to growing your Instagram audience, as well.
When Freelancers Should Post
You’re a freelancer. You work for yourself. Because of this, if you feel like hopping online to watch a few cat videos, you can. You’re only accountable to yourself and your ever-expanding base of customers. That said, many of the people you hope to work for don’t have this luxury. Unlike you, they’re working a nine-to-five gig and have someone constantly watching over their shoulder. It’s not that this is a bad thing. It’s just a reality for most of America’s workforce.
The big takeaway, here? You can’t be expecting high levels of Instagram engagement during the workday. The trick is to find your clients during their moments of downtime, when they readily have access to their smartphones. Though by no means a stringent timetable for freelance Instagram posting, below, you’ll have enough information to get you headed in the right direction:
- 7:30 am to 10:30 am – It doesn’t matter who you’re targeting, early in the morning, there’s an excellent chance that users are stuck in traffic. Naturally, the early-morning commute can be a great time to reach potential customers.
- 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm – You know the routine—you sit down to eat lunch and immediately pull out your phone to catch up on what’s taken place in the world while you’ve been working. Simply put, lunchtime is a great time for a bit of Instagram magic.
- 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm – With the workday having just ended, your target audience is kicking off their shoes and looking for a bit of rest and relaxation. Yup, you hit the nail squarely on the head—they’ll be hooked on their phones during this time. Make sure your freelancing prowess is the first thing they see.
At the end of the day, you can follow a schedule all you want, but what ultimately leads to post scheduling success is trial and error. Using the same creativity that pushed you into your freelancing business in the first place, you’ll quickly find what works and what doesn’t. From there, it’s up to you to stick with your posting strategy and make adjustments, when needed.
Your Hidden Instagram for Business Account
As a freelancer, you have an immediate advantage over many of your larger, brick-and-mortar competitors on Instagram—your account is, but isn’t linked to an official business. It’s a business in that you make either a part-time or full-time living from your working efforts, but it isn’t in that you solely represent yourself and can tie your account to name and a face. People are always skeptical of businesses; they aren’t skeptical of regular users.
Use this to your advantage, finding a happy medium between work-related posts and those that are built around your personal brand—who you are and what you like to do. In fact, according to Kickstagram, a San Diego-based Instagram marketing company, the more you’re willing to expose who you truly are—while keeping things appropriate and professional, of course—the greater the likelihood you’ll nab more than a handful of solid clients from your Instagram activity.
Conclusion
Be honest—growing up, when you first heard the term “freelance” being tossed around, you thought of a wannabe copywriter, graphic designer or web developer living in his or her parents basement, trying to make ends meet until a “real job” could be found.
Years later, in today’s very digital day and age, freelancing is bigger and better than it’s ever been before. Whatever you do, if you’ve become or are even thinking about becoming a freelancer, make certain to use one of the most effective and affordable tools at your disposal—Instagram.