Article Tips to be noticed on social media as a freelance translator

Social media is an invaluable tool for freelance translators.

Building a strong presence on social media can lead to all kinds of professional opportunities and referrals coming your way.

If you commit to using it to boost your business, then eventually the majority of your work will start coming to you, rather than you having to go out and pitch for it.

And, of course, you can’t stand out on social media without creating a wonderful network of other freelancers, as well as potential clients, and that sense of community and mutual support can totally transform your freelance experience.

But we digress. This blog post isn’t about why you should be on social media and all the positive effects it can have on your business. In fact, if you’re reading this, you’re probably well aware of all that.

It’s about how you yourself can make your presence known on social media. It’s full of tips on how you can make it work for you, standing out in your own unique way.

Don’t worry, it’s not all about how to become the next big translation influencer.

Of course, if that’s what you want for your business and you’re willing to invest the necessary time and energy to make it happen, then more power to you! And these tips are a great place to start.

But they equally apply to anyone wanting to establish a modest, solid presence that will bring them and their business good things. Let’s get stuck in.

1. Pick your platform

Let’s start at the very beginning.

This is a piece of advice you’ll see shared a lot, and that’s because it’s a very solid one.

When you’re starting to consciously use social media to market your business, pick one channel and pour all your energy into it rather than spreading yourself too thin across multiple platforms.

Pick one that you enjoy and feel comfortable with, but most importantly make it a place where your potential clients hang out.

At the moment (and these things can and do change) if you’re going to pick just one social media platform as a freelance translator, then make it LinkedIn.

The LI translation and freelance communities are fantastic, and chances are your dream clients are on there too, even if they’re just lurking rather than actively posting.

2. Optimise your profile

No matter how great your posts are, if your profile doesn’t live up to them you might not fill your prospective clients with confidence. Make good use of all the spaces available to you on your profile.

On LI, for example, you’ll need:

• A photo that reflects your brand (it doesn’t have to be a super formal headshot if that doesn’t work for you)
• An eye catching banner with key information
• A headline that sums up your services and how you can help
• A summary that appeals to your prospective clients, letting them know what you can offer them and nudging them to take the next step
• And relevant information in all the other sections you care to make use of!

3. Interact with other people’s posts

To really stand out on social media you do, of course, have to post your own content. However, a lot of people underestimate the importance of interacting with other people’s.

Make a point of leaving a comment on, say, at least five posts every day, whether or not you’re posting yourself.

Social media karma is real, and if you’re regularly commenting on other people’s content then when you do post yourself, you’ll feel the benefits.

4. To make a big splash, post regularly

If you’re hoping to get a big, fast-growing following on your chosen platform, it’s a good idea to post daily (during the week, that is!). But only commit to that if it’s really feasible for you and not just another thing to beat yourself up about not doing properly. Because we’re sure you’ve already got enough of those!

Remember, posting daily will probably also mean keeping up with a lot of notifications and responding to lots of comments, all of which you need to do to keep the algorithms happy, so it’s a big undertaking.

A good option to consider if you want to boost your network might be posting daily for, say, a month (perhaps as part of a challenge, whether you set it yourself or join someone else’s), and then taking the frequency down a notch to something more sustainable.

Posting two to three times a week, perhaps on particular days, is less time-consuming and easier to maintain.

5. Be yourself

We’re all a bit sick of hearing the word “authentic”, but there’s no getting away from the fact that coming across authentically is a huge part of doing well on social media.

Don’t stand on ceremony or let your nerves change the way you naturally write or communicate. Try and relax and let your authentic tone of voice shine through, and that will make it easy for all your posts to sound consistent.

6. Be consistent with your branding

The importance of visuals varies from one platform to the next, but whichever you’re focusing on it’s important to make sure you’re always using the same colour scheme and fonts.

Ideally, you’ll get to a point where people will be able to recognise your posts from your branding without having to see your name associated with them.

7. Establish your content pillars

On a social media platform where you could post about anything, it’s important to be clear on what you post about, so you don’t confuse yourself or your followers.

A great way to go about this is defining three or four content “pillars” or broad topics which all your posts will revolve around. One of your pillars might be freelancing or translation tips, another might be audiovisual translation or legal translation, another might be one of your specialist subject areas…

This will be unique to each translator, and it should help you come up with content ideas, but it’s also a good way to filter them.

Whenever you have an idea for a post, ask yourself whether it relates to one of your content pillars. If it doesn’t, then it’s probably not relevant.

8. Share your wisdom

Be generous with all that knowledge of yours. Share tips and tricks, insights into your industry and your skills.

You might help someone else who does what you do, and that’s great. But you’ll also be showing prospective clients you know your stuff, and could put it into practice on their project.

And don’t assume that what’s obvious to you is obvious to your clients, as it probably isn’t! Explain what goes into your work as a translator and the misconceptions that people often have about what you do.

9. Experiment with different formats

You don’t have to break the mould if you don’t want to. Images still work well on Instagram and simple text posts still work well on LinkedIn.

But if you do want to try something a little different, go for it. You’ve got nothing to lose, and lots to gain!

10. Don’t post just for the sake of it

Even if you’ve committed to posting every day or every week, only hit publish if you’ve actually got something to say. Filler content is not your friend and people won’t respond well to it.

Before you share something, ask yourself if you’d be interested in what you have to say. Be honest with yourself, just don’t let your imposter syndrome answer this question for you, as it’ll almost definitely say no!

11. Create a bank of posts

You might find that preparing all your posts in advance is the best tactic for you.

But even if you prefer to post spontaneously, a bank of ready-to-go posts can be helpful for those days when you’re feeling uninspired or are busy with work.

12. Take social media breaks

This might not sound like a way to stand out on social media, but we think it can, indirectly, work wonders for your content.

Consistency is important, yes. But it’s 100% not the end of the world if you don’t post for a few weeks.

We’re not convinced that scheduling posts when you’re on holiday is a good idea as you aren’t around to respond to comments. The alternative would be checking in on your professional social media when you’re on holiday, and we really don’t think that’s healthy!

Instead, let people know you’re taking a break and do a social media detox (delete the apps to remove all temptation) and you’ll be so much more energised and excited to post and interact when you’re back. That’ll give the quality of your content a huge boost.

There’s so much more to running a translation business than just the actual translation part.

Keep track of how much time you’re spending on your social media marketing with the help of LSP.expert’s time tracker.

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