The Social Freelancer: Media, Music, TV & Film

I had a horrible dream last night.
Riding in the very back seat of a passenger van on a two lane blacktop highway at night, I looked up to see that I was the only one in the van. No driver, no other passengers and the van was starting to veer off of the road. I struggled to unstrap myself from the seat so that I could somehow climb over all the seats, get behind the wheel and save myself from certain disaster. I woke up sweating. When I told my wife about the dream she pointed out how symbolic it was for my life at this time. Strange, I couldn’t even see the symbolism until she pointed it out to me.
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Active writing for this blog and sharing content with the world has been an enriching experience for me, if not monetarily successful (there’s still hope!). The interactions with kind people from all walks of life online has given me a different perspective on the world at large. I have found that nothing beats Twitter for expanding your reach and introducing you to like-minded people from all over the globe.

Don’t get me wrong, I dig Facebook, and interact there a lot. It’s fun and it deepens the interactions you already have with people. But Twitter is a different animal, one where multiple messages, and linking to multiple posts many times a day is easy.
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Not convinced social media matters? Watch ANY news program on television, from CNN to Fox to MSNBC – EVERY SINGLE ONE now will bombard you with invitations to connect on Facebook AND Twitter. Trust me, I have worked in television for more than twenty years. If social media wasn’t having a positive impact on their relationship with viewers, thereby driving up the value of advertising, THEY WOULDN’T BE DOING IT.

Repetitive messaging works with ALL MEDIA, whether we like it or not...

It’s a busy week here and I have had several requests to see this post again so here we go, reminding you to:

KEEP THE SOCIAL IN SOCIAL MEDIA
Hope you find this helpful. I look forward to your comments and criticism, it’s all good. Won’t you post something in comments below? Many thanks, Trace

Freelance Media Professional Tracy Ready discusses the analogy of social media for freelancers as going to series of parties and outlines the relationship between social networks, a blog and small business websites.

“Have fun at the party but don’t be a jerk!”

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I confess. I am a Google Analytics junkie. This tool shows me on a daily basis what traffic is coming to this site, where people are visiting from (more than 40 countries so far!), and what posts are getting the most views. I enjoy looking at the statistics because it shows results of the work I put into sharing the posts across multiple social networks. I try to understand why some posts do better than others. A good writer wants to know what’s working and what’s not, and tries to improve on his craft.

Today I am looking at the three posts which have been shared most often, trying to discern what it is that makes them successful. I would enjoy hearing your opinion. Please post in the comments section below. Thanks for tuning in. – Trace

Want to know about this tool? It’s free, and I don’t get anything for recommending it, go here> Google Analytics
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Having worked in “traditional” media (television) for more than 20 years, I have been astounded at the growth of social media and it’s impact on how we do business as freelance media professionals. It’s also apparent to me that many of my colleagues in television and music production are not taking part in this revolution, often because of a lack of understanding of how it all works.

Social media is about people sharing information and learning from each other, not directly pitching products.

READ ON and see 3 concise videos that lay out the basic concepts. >>> Read more…

This is a guest post from David Cleaves, co-owner of Ten Eighty Media a fine, full service production rental house based in Dallas – Ft. Worth, Texas. I included David’s article here as it pertains well to the production market and the message transcends to any business, large or small. As freelance professionals we should think hard about who we refer as vendors and what we are offering to our clients through our own advertising efforts. I hope you find this helpful and look forward to your comments. Thanks, Trace
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Quality Content – Top Posts from The Social Freelancer ™ – Free
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Next issue releases Thursday, September 22, 2011, 9 AM Central Standard Time (USA)

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I like my doctor.
Why? Well he’s a nice guy, plus he’s chubbier than me, so I don’t feel so guilty about my expanding middle aged girth! He’s a realist. He told me once that he wouldn’t tell me to not have a beer or 2, maybe 3? …once in a while. He said if he told me not to I might run into him at the concession stand at the Dallas Mavericks basketball game and see him walk away with a cold beer and some nachos. He’s no hypocrite.

What did the doctor say?

It’s not what you do some of the time that matters, it’s what you do ALL the time.

I said “huh?”
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“You don’t want to be a promotional bullhorn in social media. You have to learn when to speak, when to promote and how much self promotion is expected, or tolerated.” ~ Tony Cecala, Ph.D., Business Strategist

Freelance Media Consultant Tracy Ready interviews Tony Cecala, Ph.d. about managing Social Media for small business, entrepreneurs and freelance consultants:

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Watch This Space!

Did you ever notice billboards with this message? “Watch This Space!” You drive past it everyday and then you naturally start watching to see what ad shows up there. Read more…

Image Communications Expert Cathrine Hatcher discusses color and how it affects public perception in this video for TraceTV – Film – Music – Social Media.

We are all constantly communicating, both verbally, and non-verbally. Cathrine’s message here exposes how our choice of color in clothing can affect those that we meet with in our daily lives. It is interesting to note the origins of our perceptions of blue and red in particular. It also seems evident that these concepts carry over to the colors chosen for websites, advertising, television; anywhere, anytime we are communicating a message to one or more individuals. As soon as you arrive for a meeting, or as soon as a potential client is visiting your blog or website they are forming subconscious impressions of you based simply on color.

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