Social media: How can freelancers make it work for them?

A training course at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) designed specifically to help freelance journalists boost their multimedia skills came to an end last Friday.

The Infuze programme took working freelancers out of their typical media comfort zone with training and a work placement.

Print freelancers moved to broadcast newsrooms, while broadcasters looked into newspaper videojournalism; for both groups the potential of bringing these different media skills together online was the biggest revelation.

Yet one course member, Christina McDermott, arrived at the event already very aware of the potential of online and social media as a freelancer.

McDermott, or MissCay as she's better known online, has been blogging for six years on LiveJournal and is a self-confessed Twitter addict.

Why does she use social media? Because it's personal, promotional and fits the way she works as a freelancer, she tells Journalism.co.uk.

"I like sourcing stories in more unconventional ways, so if I hear two women next to me on the train talking about something I'll be the woman who taps them on the shoulder and asks for a bit more information," says McDermott.

"I've always been a bit cheeky and cocky with the way I work. Adding Twitter was just a way for me to be quite nosy and see what people were up to, but I've just got completely addicted to it."

McDermott has built a strong identity online - a natural progression from the strong personality she has offline - and sees social media as a way to build your brand as a freelance.

"People know who I am and follow me. It's me getting into this mindset of  'am I really saying something that people want to hear?' Obviously I must be doing something right, so why not harness this and use it in the way I work?" she says.

McDermott had no formal journalism training but has used her blog and Twitter to showcase her work. As such, she's been approached with various opportunities, including an internship with PlayLoudr, work for BBC Manchester and Shiny Media, and some copywriting commissions.

Keeping a professional online profile alongside a personal one is important, says McDermott, who has learned this lesson through trial and error and has now set up separate Twitter accounts, for example.

"I want to use this medium to attract more work, but not everyone's going to be amused by my adventures in my daily life. That's been a really important lesson for how I think about myself online," she says.

There's no better way for a freelancer to access the wealth of contacts and information online than by being part of it, she adds.

"If you know where to tap into it, can just be so valuable in the way that you are working. Whilst I still go out there with a notepad and pen and keep my ear to the ground for stuff, I also like to know what's going on online and what's going on with communities that way," she adds.

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