There is a confusion in the design world. Social media is not marketing. Many designers believe that if they are plugged into the social media networks they can use those tools to effectively market. Here is the problem. Marketing is the act of reaching people. In the social media realm people have already been reached. For example, if someone is following you on Twitter, you have already reached them. The follower has chosen to receive information from you.
Does this mean that a follower cannot be marketed to become a client? No, however the chances of a follower becoming a client are slim. One would do better marketing through conventional methods like word of mouth. Word of mouth is still the most effective way of marketing.
With that discussion out of the way, it is time to progress to what prompted the above. Based on the class assignment, I have chosen to a web designer that I admire. To tell the truth I do not know much about the designer, but have admired his website and business goal / direction.
Adam Kayce of Bright Coconut designs WordPress websites for small to mid-size businesses. Adam has a blog on his personal site, a business and personal Twitter account, and a Facebook account. Nothing on Adam’s social networking sites would cause me to hire him. What would cause me to hire him is a personal reference (which I was given) and his portfolio.
