| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Facebook for Translators - research for article Thread poster: K S (X)
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K S (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:55
Dear Fellow Translators,
I wonder what views/thoughts you have on using Facebook for marketing your business. I am currently working on a article for a translators' magazine which presents Facebook as a powerful marketing and communication tool for translators/interpreters.
Do you have a Facebook Fan Page? How many Likes do you have?
I am especially interested in hearing from UK-based translators who have a Facebook Fan Page with over 1000 Likes. I will use... See more Dear Fellow Translators,
I wonder what views/thoughts you have on using Facebook for marketing your business. I am currently working on a article for a translators' magazine which presents Facebook as a powerful marketing and communication tool for translators/interpreters.
Do you have a Facebook Fan Page? How many Likes do you have?
I am especially interested in hearing from UK-based translators who have a Facebook Fan Page with over 1000 Likes. I will use your deatils in my article as an example of a successfully run Translator's Page.
Translators from other parts of the world are also welcome to comment. If I am not able to use your data, I can always network with you on Facebook!
My Facebook Fan Page is at Slobodzian Language Solutions Looking forward to meeting you!
Many thanks,
Kasia ▲ Collapse
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Just the latest fashion
[Edited at 2012-04-05 07:43 GMT]
| | | | K S (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:55
TOPIC STARTER | New Toy - not convinced | Apr 5, 2012 |
That's what people were saying about the internet a few decades ago.
Thanks for getting in touch!
| | | | | not convinced - no problem at all | Apr 5, 2012 |
However it takes / wastes time.
I had a comment made by one prospective employer, who was searching (and it was especially stressed) a person, who would not spend his/her working time in social media.
Internet has accelerated business processes (among others).
Networking in socail media does not accelerate business activity, at least at the moment.
It takes time, which employers expect be spent in other way, say 'for business purposes'
Trust me,... See more However it takes / wastes time.
I had a comment made by one prospective employer, who was searching (and it was especially stressed) a person, who would not spend his/her working time in social media.
Internet has accelerated business processes (among others).
Networking in socail media does not accelerate business activity, at least at the moment.
It takes time, which employers expect be spent in other way, say 'for business purposes'
Trust me, I am self-employed.
I have to choose .. either to translate (300 words per hour) or to spend time in facebook, twitter,linkedin etc...
and, much to my regret, I have not enough time for both...
I better spend some minutes for walking in the park, visiting some historical place en vivo,
:0)
Meeting some people in real space is not a bad idea either!
[Edited at 2012-04-05 08:34 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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K S (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:55
TOPIC STARTER | Who would not spend his/her working time in social media | Apr 5, 2012 |
Sergei,
I think you mistunderstood the question. I didn't mean people who spend time on Facebook while they should be working. I meant using Facebook for business marketing purposes. I've seen countless successful examples of that in the UK and Australia. Even my gym publishes special offers only available to Facebook users. Some businesses even employ a social media specialist whose sole purpose is to come up with new marketing skills. Gone are the times where people would go to Ye... See more Sergei,
I think you mistunderstood the question. I didn't mean people who spend time on Facebook while they should be working. I meant using Facebook for business marketing purposes. I've seen countless successful examples of that in the UK and Australia. Even my gym publishes special offers only available to Facebook users. Some businesses even employ a social media specialist whose sole purpose is to come up with new marketing skills. Gone are the times where people would go to Yellow Pages to look for a professional. Facebook now gets as many visitors a day as the almighty Google. In my opinion, it will only grow bigger and bigger. And it does excellerate business activity ▲ Collapse
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the business clients whom I know do not use facebook
Respectively, I do not use it.
I am of the opinion that translators should catch a big fish... to ensure they have enough for living..
I know that many businesses like gyms, beauty parlours, etc.... use facebook.
I have already said - nice fashion, imho.
Me personally see no use in this for my marketing.
Ergo, I would not recommend this way of marketing to my friends.
To my competi... See more the business clients whom I know do not use facebook
Respectively, I do not use it.
I am of the opinion that translators should catch a big fish... to ensure they have enough for living..
I know that many businesses like gyms, beauty parlours, etc.... use facebook.
I have already said - nice fashion, imho.
Me personally see no use in this for my marketing.
Ergo, I would not recommend this way of marketing to my friends.
To my competitors only..
:0) ▲ Collapse
| | | | | It reminds me something that has already happened | Apr 5, 2012 |
The dot-com bubble (also referred to as the Internet bubble and the Information Technology Bubble[1]) was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 (with a climax on March 10, 2000, with the NASDAQ peaking at 5132.52 in intraday trading before closing at 5048.62) during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the Internet sector and related fields.
[Edited at 2012-04-05 09:12 GMT]
| | | | Elene P. 
Georgia
Member (2007)
English to Georgian
+ ...
Sergei Tumanov wrote:
However it takes / wastes time.
I had a comment made by one prospective employer, who was searching (and it was especially stressed) a person, who would not spend his/her working time in social media.
Internet has accelerated business processes (among others).
Networking in socail media does not accelerate business activity, at least at the moment.
It takes time, which employers expect be spent in other way, say 'for business purposes'
Trust me, I am self-employed.
I have to choose .. either to translate (300 words per hour) or to spend time in facebook, twitter,linkedin etc...
and, much to my regret, I have not enough time for both...
I better spend some minutes for walking in the park, visiting some historical place en vivo,
:0)
Meeting some people in real space is not a bad idea either!
[Edited at 2012-04-05 08:34 GMT]
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| Facebook not for translators.. | Apr 5, 2012 |
Facebook is great for marketing a business, but NOT as a freelance translator.
I have myself tried to promote my services a while ago. But I NEVER found a client there. And on the top of that the 'likes' don't drop from the sky. I wasted money and time advertising my page. I cumulated a couple of hundred 'likes' within a week, but again none of them were potential client..
And then you need to update your page/comments/status on a daily/weekly basis. It's definitely a waste of time f... See more Facebook is great for marketing a business, but NOT as a freelance translator.
I have myself tried to promote my services a while ago. But I NEVER found a client there. And on the top of that the 'likes' don't drop from the sky. I wasted money and time advertising my page. I cumulated a couple of hundred 'likes' within a week, but again none of them were potential client..
And then you need to update your page/comments/status on a daily/weekly basis. It's definitely a waste of time for me.
And as Seirge said, I would rather have a walk outside !
However LinkedIn isn't that bad as a social network. I do still update it from time to time, and follow some interesting discussions (translation-related discussions). You can learn a few tips there, share your experience, and also find clients..!
That said, I used Facebook as a marketing purpose a few years back, when I was managing a bar in the City of London. And for that kind of business, Facebook can be amazing. I was using it to promote events, and to be honest, it probably interested about 2% of my Facebook fans everytime I was advertising a new "party". Out of 2000 fans, it could bring roughly 40 customers into my bar, not bad!
So using Facebook for advertising a business, yes why not, depending on the trade. But I don't recommend it to freelance translators. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Who has the time? | Apr 5, 2012 |
To me, a translator who has the time to try to promote his business in Facebook is one who has plenty of available time, i.e. a translator who does not get enough jobs. A successful translator's attitude towards Facebook is more to keep in low-profile mode and with a very short list of contacts as long as you can.
The only use I see in Facebook is when you are friendly with your customers' employees on a more personal level. By adding them or being added in Facebook, they have a way... See more To me, a translator who has the time to try to promote his business in Facebook is one who has plenty of available time, i.e. a translator who does not get enough jobs. A successful translator's attitude towards Facebook is more to keep in low-profile mode and with a very short list of contacts as long as you can.
The only use I see in Facebook is when you are friendly with your customers' employees on a more personal level. By adding them or being added in Facebook, they have a way of keeping in touch with you and try to work with you again when they move to another company, thus creating a sort of "sticky marketing". ▲ Collapse
| | | | Cécile A.-C.
United States
Local time: 05:55
Member (2010)
Portuguese to French
+ ...
| Facebook was initially designed for individuals not companies... | Apr 5, 2012 |
There are media such as Linked and others that are dedicated to professionals social networking, there should be a difference between the two since their purpose and showcase format are completely different from one another. However, because of Facebook success (which is fading away) companies wanted to take advantage of the exposure to promote their business which appears to be more informative than purely business.
[Edited at 2012-04-05 15:27 GMT]
| | | | inkweaver
Germany
Local time: 11:55
French to German
+ ...
| Where's the "like" button? | Apr 5, 2012 |
Sergei Tumanov wrote:
However it takes / wastes time.
I had a comment made by one prospective employer, who was searching (and it was especially stressed) a person, who would not spend his/her working time in social media.
Internet has accelerated business processes (among others).
Networking in socail media does not accelerate business activity, at least at the moment.
It takes time, which employers expect be spent in other way, say 'for business purposes'
Trust me, I am self-employed.
I have to choose .. either to translate (300 words per hour) or to spend time in facebook, twitter,linkedin etc...
and, much to my regret, I have not enough time for both...
I better spend some minutes for walking in the park, visiting some historical place en vivo,
:0)
Meeting some people in real space is not a bad idea either!
[Edited at 2012-04-05 08:34 GMT]
I totally agree with you, Sergei.
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Ildiko Santana
United States
Local time: 02:55
Member (2002)
Hungarian to English
+ ...
MODERATOR | "social" versus "professional" | Apr 5, 2012 |
I fully agree with the colleagues who oppose this form of self-marketing. As the name suggests, *social* networks can be useful when one is so inclined to 'socialize' (mind you, strictly virtually... I'd rather interact with people face-to-face). For conducting *professional* networking, business, self-marketing, etc. there are a few professional networking sites (like LinkedIn, although I have never received a single request for quote through those; I do receive requests for help from other fre... See more I fully agree with the colleagues who oppose this form of self-marketing. As the name suggests, *social* networks can be useful when one is so inclined to 'socialize' (mind you, strictly virtually... I'd rather interact with people face-to-face). For conducting *professional* networking, business, self-marketing, etc. there are a few professional networking sites (like LinkedIn, although I have never received a single request for quote through those; I do receive requests for help from other freelancers who need advice how to promote their services), then there is ProZ, of course, and various professional organizations for translators. I think it's also worth looking at the number of existing and/or potential clients representing themselves on Facebook. So far, out of my approximately 30 clients I have come across ONE who is on Facebook. Although they use their page to increase their exposure, they do not conduct business through Facebook. Perhaps another research idea would be to see how many agencies use Facebook to find their language service providers. My guess is that the number will be close to zero... ▲ Collapse
| | | | K S (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:55
TOPIC STARTER | Thank you for your fedback! | Apr 5, 2012 |
Dear Colleagues,
Thank you so much for all your comments. I appreciate your opinions and will definitely include them in my article.
I still think that Facebook is a brilliant networking tool for translators. Currently living away from home, I never felt the need to stay in touch with my colleagues more. I've also met great translators here. One of the most successful stories is the boycott organised by court and police interpreters in England. The news was spread via ... See more Dear Colleagues,
Thank you so much for all your comments. I appreciate your opinions and will definitely include them in my article.
I still think that Facebook is a brilliant networking tool for translators. Currently living away from home, I never felt the need to stay in touch with my colleagues more. I've also met great translators here. One of the most successful stories is the boycott organised by court and police interpreters in England. The news was spread via social media.
As for the advertising, it all depends what clients you want to target. Still, it's good to get your name out. One of my fans on Facebook got herself an interview for a job placement after we exchanged links. And I've just got a collaboration offer from a fellow translator. Have a little faith
Have a lovely Easter weekend!
Kasia ▲ Collapse
| | | | | PROZ is BETTER | Apr 6, 2012 |
afaik
and
BRILLIANTER
:0))
++
One argument from a serious side:
the Facebook system is so great, so elaborated and so well, really well and in much detail designed, that .. I simply cannot use it..
It;s like the web site of my mobile network provider. The site is so great, there are so many articles about that and that, so many brilliant news about this and that, it is so complicated, that I simply cannot find there any info ... See more afaik
and
BRILLIANTER
:0))
++
One argument from a serious side:
the Facebook system is so great, so elaborated and so well, really well and in much detail designed, that .. I simply cannot use it..
It;s like the web site of my mobile network provider. The site is so great, there are so many articles about that and that, so many brilliant news about this and that, it is so complicated, that I simply cannot find there any info wich I really need. That's why I cannot use it, and just visit the nearest outlet. Sometimes even sales assistants have problem to find answers to my questions in their system.
To my mind, for the professional work something more simple is needed.
By the way, I like google search. ONE empty field... I can use it even on my smartphone!
[Edited at 2012-04-06 09:35 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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