This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
A web developers’ guide to finding freelance work on Instagram
This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
The internet is more diverse and powerful than ever before, and can and should rightfully be used as a launch pad for your career. You must be looking to take advantage of any and every opportunity you get to reach out, network, and seek jobs. As a web developer, you have the perfect platform to showcase your talent on Instagram, so you should try your best to make the most of it. Here’s how.
Build credibility
People judge you by your profile even before they judge you by your work. You must appear to be a real person and not a fake profile. You must have a proper profile picture, a bio that clearly states who you are and what you do, and pictures of you that prove that you are working in web development- from coding to project snaps and so on. It’s amazing if you can put up your resume or portfolio as a link in your bio and if you can participate in the community and be in touch with other developers, whom you can find with hashtags like #python or #javascript. If your profile looks genuine, you will be trusted instantly. You might also want to buy Instagram followers to add a degree of credibility to your personal brand.
Find where you belong
Web development is a very wide net and there are a lot of generic developers around already. You need to stand out and show what unique expertise and perspective you bring to a project. You should show your clients that you understand their industry and are passionate about it. Even if you spend time putting in research and building a website for a company, it won’t be the same as a project you really care and know about. The quality of your work really improves when you’re enjoying yourself, and you should make it very clear what your fields of interest are to attract clients.
Build, build, build
A web designer is judged by the quality of his or her work, so you should start building small to medium projects and host them for free or as sub-domains on your site. Make sure to share project updates on your Instagram profile to showcase your work ethic. Undoubtedly, the first and best site you should build is the one on which your resume and portfolio will reside. This must be up and running at all times so that you can update whenever you need to.
Find your clients
Sure, you’ve got your end of the deal all sorted out, but you still need people who will hire you. This is where Instagram really shines. If you have a niche in mind, go ahead and tap the search bar and search for #LocationNiche (e.g. NewYorkBakery) for multiple locations to find potential clients. Find business profiles and check whether they have websites included in their bios. If their websites look great, drop them from your list, but if they don’t have a site listed or their site looks crappy, you should hit them up and offer your services.
Conclusion
A nice way to phrase your message is that you were looking for a service nearby and liked their profile, but were unable to find out more because their site wasn’t around or wasn’t detailed, and they should contact you if they are interested in having an awesome site built at a very affordable rate. That’s your entry point, and it usually works because small businesses are always looking to build goodwill. You should be prepared to send out a lot of messages. You should also be genuine and polite, no matter what. By following these tips, you will be able to use Instagram effectively as a marketing channel and find projects you are able to build and have fun building too.