6 Most Effective Social Media Platforms for Freelancers & Startups in 2024
The most effective social media platforms for your freelance business or startup depends on the type of business you run. And your vision for where you want to take your business.
It also depends on the types of products and/or services you offer and the target audience you’re trying to reach.
When you’re trying to build a personal brand, attract your ideal clients and create new business opportunities, meeting your target audience where they already are will make the process much easier.
To identify which social media platforms will be the most effective for you and your business, keep reading.
1. LinkedIn
With over 1 billion users across 200 countries, this B2B professional social platform is ideal for digital creatives and freelancers.
Today, freelancers and startup owners are leveraging the networking power of LinkedIn to create an abundance of fruitful business opportunities. With 97% of B2B marketers being active on LinkedIn, it’s no surprise the platform is proving to be a great source of leads for the self-employed.
By incorporating LinkedIn into your social media strategy, you can:
● Easily strike up conversations with potential clients
● Identify new target audiences
● Grow your personal brand by sharing thought leadership content
● Connect with the specific decision-makers within a target company
● Build relationships with fellow freelancers and startup owners – and get support and referrals from them
Many companies also use LinkedIn to advertise freelance jobs. And you can upgrade to access LinkedIn Learning and take courses for your professional development.
2. Instagram
While it wasn’t originally built as a business platform, many freelancers and startup owners have success with Instagram as one of their primary marketing channels. With 2.4 billion monthly active users (up 100 million users in the previous quarter alone), Instagram is a key place to be for many types of freelance and startup businesses.
If you’re a visual creative – like a photographer, videographer or graphic designer – your Instagram grid acts as a portfolio where you can easily showcase your work to potential clients. And for other types of freelancers – copywriters, editors, web developers, virtual assistants and beyond – Instagram is a great place to share your branded content and build a profile in your niche.
You can brand yourself with an Instagram business profile and utilise popular hashtags to help others find your content.
Also, you can use Instagram Stories to share:
● Polls to boost engagement and conduct quick research on your niche
● Video clips of you talking to camera about your offers – this helps build trust and familiarity with your audience
● Custom links as your call to action – allowing you to promote your latest offers and steer people to your new sales page, newsletter signup form, appointment calendar for sales calls, etc.
3. Facebook
Facebook is still the largest social networking site with more than 3 billion users and rising. 2.6 billion of them are active users spending an average of 33 minutes on the site daily.
You can use your Facebook business profile to share and/or schedule posts about your products and services, creative exclusive groups, run targeted ads (93% of social media marketers do this) and much more.
Groups are proving to be a great place to find clients on Facebook. There are also tons of great freelancing groups with communities sharing work opportunities, referrals and educational resources for those looking to grow their business.
There is a slow decline in Gen Z using Facebook. It’s predicted that by 2026, only 28% of U.S. Facebook users will be in the 18-34 age bracket compared with nearly 46% for TikTok and 42% for Instagram. But the platform still provides an abundance of opportunities for growing businesses.
4. X (Twitter)
Even though X (previously Twitter) had a rocky ride in 2023, it’s still a major hub for industry professionals and a great place to network. Like LinkedIn, X makes it easy to find key decision makers to pitch to.
For example, if you’re a freelance journalist looking for a particular magazine editor, you’ll most likely find them on X. Many professionals also post calls for pitches on X which makes it easier to find new opportunities. And with only 43% of marketers promoting their business on X, less marketing activity means less competition.
You can also use the Lists feature to segment the accounts you’re following and stay up to date with industry news, freelance jobs and opportunities as they become available.
5. Pinterest
If you sell physical products like art prints, handmade jewellery, stationery, aesthetic home decor or clothing and fashion products, Pinterest is a platform you can’t afford to ignore.
By creating Pins from photographs and/or graphics to showcase your products, you can create a real hype around your online store. 85% of weekly Pinterest users have made purchases from Pins and 83% of US Pinners used the platform to research purchasing decisions. This shows that Pinterest is a great place to find an international ready-to-buy audience.
To leverage Pinterest, you could invest in some product photography or take photographs yourself. And use a platform like Canva to create beautiful graphics to attract your ideal clients.
6. TikTok
With a potential ad reach of 1.218 billion users aged 18 and above on TikTok, the video platform isn’t going anywhere. Even though it was only released in 2016, TikTok became the 6th ranked social media app in 2021. It has also surpassed X (Twitter), Telegram, Reddit, Pinterest, and Snapchat in monthly active users.
Impressive stats aside, is TikTok beneficial for freelancers and startups? Well, 83% of brands planned to up their TikTok marketing spend in 2023 and 78% of TikTok users purchased a product after seeing it featured in TikTok creator content.
It’s clear that TikTok isn’t just a platform for funny dance videos anymore. Household name brands and freelancers alike are using the platform to either directly sell their products or raise awareness by talking to camera about their offerings.
As a more personable platform, offering up to 10-minute long videos, TikTok is a great place to post content if you want to share in depth and find your community.
Other social media channels you might like to explore include:
● Snapchat
● Telegram
● Discord
When you’re choosing the key social media platforms for your business in 2024, consider where your target audience spends the most time. Research industry stats and studies in your niche. And make sure you have a solid social strategy to help you achieve scalable and sustainable success.
