Translation - art & business » Marketing for translators »
Current role of Facebook in marketing
Thread poster: Milos Prudek
Milos Prudek
Milos Prudek  Identity Verified
Czech Republic
Local time: 20:35
English to Czech
+ ...
Oct 6, 2010

What is the current role of Facebook in marketing for freelance translators? How does it help get new business, and to what degree?
 
Alex Eames
Alex Eames
Local time: 19:35
English to Polish
+ ...
More social than professional, but still worth it Oct 6, 2010

At the virtual conference panel discussion last week, people were saying that facebook is more social than professional, but some leads can be gained from there because clients are more likely to hire you if they feel they "know" you a bit. Other networks like LinkedIn were considered of more professional use.

I expect some of the panellists may be along shortly to advise us.... See more
At the virtual conference panel discussion last week, people were saying that facebook is more social than professional, but some leads can be gained from there because clients are more likely to hire you if they feel they "know" you a bit. Other networks like LinkedIn were considered of more professional use.

I expect some of the panellists may be along shortly to advise us.

Alex Eames
http://www.translatortips.com
helping translators do better business ▲ Collapse
 
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 20:35
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
None Oct 6, 2010

In my opinion, completely inexistent role. The only way you can reach big amounts of people is by making tons of friends.

In my opinion, LinkedIn is a more professional, potentially more interesting tool, but the amount of business coming that way is really ridiculous compared with the jobs and contacts you can make in a translator portal like Proz.com or similar.
 
Milos Prudek
Milos Prudek  Identity Verified
Czech Republic
Local time: 20:35
English to Czech
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Privacy concerns Oct 18, 2010

I erased my facebook account due to privacy concerns two month ago. These concerns seem to be justified by this article: http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052702304772804575558484075236968-lMyQjAxMTAwMDEwNzExNDcyWj.html

Having said that, I would love to hear from people who get business from Facebook. C... See more
I erased my facebook account due to privacy concerns two month ago. These concerns seem to be justified by this article: http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052702304772804575558484075236968-lMyQjAxMTAwMDEwNzExNDcyWj.html

Having said that, I would love to hear from people who get business from Facebook. Come forward please. ▲ Collapse
 
Neil Coffey
Neil Coffey  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:35
French to English
+ ...
Privacy / Use Oct 18, 2010

Re the privacy, it's a bit like anything else: the more functionality you use, the more you expose yourself, and you need to assess whether the benefits outweigh the risk in each case. I personally think that:
- having a convenient place to communicate/catch up with friends I actually know probably outweighs the risks of passing certain data to Facebook
- the benefit of accepting as "friends" people I actually don't know from Adam will often NOT outweigh the associated risks
- ... See more
Re the privacy, it's a bit like anything else: the more functionality you use, the more you expose yourself, and you need to assess whether the benefits outweigh the risk in each case. I personally think that:
- having a convenient place to communicate/catch up with friends I actually know probably outweighs the risks of passing certain data to Facebook
- the benefit of accepting as "friends" people I actually don't know from Adam will often NOT outweigh the associated risks
- the risk of passing my information to a third party probably outweighs the benefit of being able to "send" friends pictures of a pint of beer

As far as I can see, the Facebook security model is really designed around accepting as "friends" people who are actually friends and with whom you are prepared to share certain personal information that you wouldn't necessarily volunteer to a purely business client or to the wider world.

That said, actual friends can also from time to time bring you potential business. ▲ Collapse
 
Soonthon LUPKITARO(Ph.D.)
Soonthon LUPKITARO(Ph.D.)  Identity Verified
Thailand
Local time: 01:35
English to Thai
+ ...
Annoying Oct 18, 2010

Facebook links my account with many new friends, but with no job issues at all.

Soonthon Lupkitaro
 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Kristina Radziulyte[Call to this topic]
Jorge Rodrigues[Call to this topic]
Mahmoud Akbari[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Current role of Facebook in marketing







TM-Town
Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business

Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.

More info »
CafeTran Espresso
You've never met a CAT tool this clever!

Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer. Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools. Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free

Buy now! »