As an animator, you need Twitter in your networking arsenal. Twitter is a great platform to connect with like-minded creative people, make friends, and share your work. With Twitter, you can even gain animation clients for free.
It may seem challenging since there’s so much competition, but if you use the right strategies to market yourself on Twitter, you might just end up with some awesome new clients.
In this article, we discuss how you can get animation clients on Twitter in 11 easy steps.
As always, you have to start with the basics. Before you dive into reaching out to clients, first check if you’re following these basic guidelines correctly.
1) Optimize Your Twitter Profile
With over 330 million monthly active users and 145 million daily active users on Twitter, you will need to take some action if you want to stand out from the crowd.
You can start by optimizing your Twitter profile. In deciding on your Twitter name and handle, choose a name that’s short and easy to remember, without any numbers or symbols. Be professional yet unique.
Your Twitter bio should include a summary of what you do, where you work, and a URL that leads to your animation website or portfolio. This will help drive more traffic to your website.
For your profile photo and cover photo, make sure you look professional and capable. For these images, you can upload a photo of yourself or your personal brand logo.
2) Use Twitter’s Search Tool
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You can use Twitter’s search tool to help you find animation clients if you use it correctly. Simply search for words that are related to the animation services you offer.
Think about what animation clients usually look for on Twitter or what they tweet about when discussing problems. For example, you can try searching for keywords such as “need an animated video” or “need an animator”.
When you identify a potential customer, simply mention them and tell them that you know how you can help them. Then, include a link to your animation website or portfolio. This is a powerful way to find animation clients and meet their needs.
The next step is to reach out to find out the client’s email address or contact information on their website. If the client isn’t on social media that much, they might prefer a more formal way to get in touch.
3) Engage With Your Followers
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Send your new followers a personal message or mention. This will let your followers know that you want to have a conversation with them. It will also help you start networking with them and keep you at the top of their mind.
Make sure that you also make your long-time followers feel valuable by retweeting, liking, and commenting on their tweets. Some of these people may find inspiration and information from you.
It will mean a lot to your followers, old and new, if you follow them back and regularly provide animation tips and wisdom. They might be able to do the same for you someday.
4) Connect With Animation Influencers
Many people aren’t aware of it, but Twitter is a great platform for you to interact with animation influencers.
For authoritative animators and animation studios to interact with you, ask them questions every once in a while for them to showcase their knowledge and expertise. After they reply to your tweet, keep sending them tweets, letting them know that you find inspiration in and enjoy their work.
5) Follow Your Colleagues
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Remember to also follow your colleagues. These can be fellow freelancers, former coworkers, or former classmates back in school. They are more likely to follow you back and promote your work. You can help each other out when a problem arises.
Also, if a job opportunity comes along, your colleagues might be willing to let you know about it, and you can do the same for them.
6) Encourage Your Existing Animation Clients to Follow You
If you’re just new to Twitter, let your existing clients know of your online presence on Twitter. You can add a Twitter widget to your website or your emails to direct your clients to your Twitter profile.
7) Post and Share Valuable Links
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Once you’ve gained some followers, it’s important to keep them!
Follow the 80/20 rule. Use 20% of your tweets to market your animation services and 80% to share content you think will interest your audience. Posting useful links and valuable information on your Twitter profile will make your Twitter followers see that you’re helpful and an expert in your animation career.
Some things you can tweet about are the latest animation industry trends or statistics. You can also ask questions related to animation to spark interesting conversations.
You can also share updates, photos, and videos of the animation work you’re working on so that your followers can have a look into your animation skills and how you work.
8) Schedule Your Tweets
GIF by Survivor’s Remorse via GIPHY
Timing is everything. To get more engagement and animation clients, you need to tweet at the right time. According to Sprout Social, the best times to post on Twitter are on Wednesdays and Fridays at 9 am. The worst days to post are on Saturdays.
It seems that Twitter users check the platform daily to read the recent news and updates they might have missed. The periods with the lowest engagement periods are before 4 am and after 10 pm.
9) Use Hashtags
GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon via GIPHY
Hashtags are seen and used everywhere. Using hashtags in your tweets will get exposure to a bigger audience beyond your followers and make it easy for clients to find you.
If you want animation clients to discover you, make sure that you use relevant hashtags but don’t overuse them, or else people will find your posts spam-like.
10) Join Twitter Chats
Twitter chats are Twitter conversations about a certain topic or hashtag where anyone can answer. Anyone from any career or background can join, create connections, and even meet potential new clients.
This is also a place where you can show your knowledge and expertise about animation.
11) Pin Your Tweets
Another easy way to get more animation clients on Twitter is to use the ”Pin” function to place one of your tweets at the very top of your Twitter profile. Your pinned tweets will remain there even after you add other tweets.
It will be the first thing your Twitter profile visitors will read when they visit your page, which is why you need to make your pinned tweet eye-catching. You can pin a tweet of a special offer, ebook, video, podcast, etc. Make sure that it offers value and shows the quality of your work as an animator.
In Summary
Getting animation clients on Twitter or anywhere, whether online or offline, isn’t easy. But if you follow these steps consistently, you’re bound to find new animation clients.
Even though you’re on the hunt for new clients, make your older followers feel valued by sending them personal messages and sharing useful content during the times that they are most active online.
Balance the kind of content you post with the 80/20 rule. Post 20% about your animation work and 80% about helpful statistics and articles.
Also, use Twitter’s search tool and hashtags to your advantage and start reaching out to fellow animators and potential clients. You can’t expect animation clients to come to you if you’re not making an effort on your part.
If you’d like to read more tips for animators and the business of animation, feel free to get your copy of our marketing handbook and join our free masterclass.
