The first Social Media marketing for translators (#xl8SMM) Twitter chat was held this past Wednesday. A lot of interesting points and questions have been raised.
Below is the transcript of the chat, as promised. I “cleaned” it up a bit for an easier reading, removing most hashtags and grouping Tweets not chronologically but per question/topic of discussion.
Thanks again to the participants of this first chat for their active and passionate contributions! Hoping to see more translators at the next #xl8SMM chat on Wednesday, October 5th from 4pm to 5pm GMT (18h00 to 19h00 in Western and Central Europe).
ADiamantidis: Hi everybody and welcome to the first #xl8SMM Twitter chat for translators, to exchange and learn about Social Media Marketing in translation!
mstelmaszak: Hi :) That’s a great idea! Thanks @ADiamantidis for organising this #xl8SMM chat!
ADiamantidis: You’re welcome Marta :) I’m curious on how this will turn out, who knows, maybe we’ll repeat it on a regular basis
suzannedeliscar: Greetings from Canada!
Elzosim: Hello from Greece!
intralingo: Hello all! I’m joining in from Costa Rica.
intralingo: Great turnout! Clearly this is of interest/needed!
ADiamantidis: Ok let us get started! Who wants to start? Anybody has a question re. a social network, a strategy, etc.? #xl8SMM
mstelmaszak: I wanted to ask quite a general question! What makes Social Media so appealing and interesting for us, translators?
ADiamantidis: I’d say many reasons: 1. We’re “geeks”, in front of the screen all day- 2. it’s a lonely job, SM allows us to “be” with people, and 3 well it’s a great marketing and networking tool!
Romina_Bona: it’s not a question but an observation. Very few translators take a proactive role in [social media marketing] Do you agree?
ADiamantidis: I agree – I see 2 reasons for this. Many translators tend to be very conservative and don’t embrace easily new technologies and well, they lack time – social media marketing is extremely high consuming if you want palpable results.
mstelmaszak: I think it’s partly because translators are quite introvert and usually “receptive” in what they do
Romina_Bona: However I still believe that translators using [social media marketing] actively are a minority
intralingo: I’d agree, Romina. Comparatively few translators partake in social media.
ADiamantidis: oh absolutely. For me it’s mostly a lack of time and a lack of “education” – they don’t see the point.
mstelmaszak: I think that the general opinion makes translators believe that [social media marketing] is for kids or “brain dead” (real quote from an #xl8tor)
suzannedeliscar: I agree with Romina. I find that translators are very adverse to using social media.The problem is that many linguists do not see themselves as business owners as well, just as linguists.
ADiamantidis: Well, they are to many things, no? ;) Remember the rise of the CAT-Tools?
mstelmaszak: That’s why I added this “business” angle to my blog! Agree!
suzannedeliscar: Linguists have to realize that social media is to be used used to build their brand and their business.
mstelmaszak: Well, we have to convince them that they really ARE running a business…
Romina_Bona: And would you say there is a favorite one among translators? #xl8SMM #Twitter maybe?
ADiamantidis: ProZ.com, definitely ;) LinkedIn, most of them are there. Twitter? No, still too many see it as a playground
intralingo: I wonder if we have to partake in *all* social media, or if choosing one medium is enough.
mstelmaszak: I think that we all have limits of our capacity… I can barely cover Twitter and LinkedIn, and I’m working on Facebook
intralingo: Exactly, Marta. This all takes time, and in the meantime I’m supposed to be translating/writing! ;-) #xl8SMM
ADiamantidis: mmmh either – All, definitely not – no time and many are useless for translators. But just one is too limited. I consider translation networks (ProZ.com, etc.) to be Social networks – so those ones are a must anyway. LinkedIn is a must as well, Twitter too.
intralingo: @ADiamantidis Which are your top picks?
ADiamantidis: LinkedIn and business networks in general (Viadeo, Xing…) and Twitter. I’d focus on those first if I were you.
Elzosim: I would also agree on LinkedIn. It’s more business-orientated network.
ADiamantidis: Ah LinkedIn is an absolute must anyway. Your clients are there and it has amazing networking options and Google ranking.
ADiamantidis: Plus of course translation specific networks, but they are a must anyway.
intralingo: I haven’t been on #xl8or networks for a while but found the level of professionalism years ago to be frustrating.
ADiamantidis: There is everything and anything in those networks – you have to differentiate yourselves.
Romina_Bona: Also do you also actually work as translators? Doesn´t #xl8SMM activity distract you? Is it an activity that you can multitask?
mstelmaszak: I have a strategy and I never let myself spend more time on that than I planned #xl8SMM
intralingo: I can’t actually multitask. I dedicate some time to do that exclusively each day.
Romina_Bona: Right! Beign actively following discussions on Twitter for example is incompatible with translating
ADiamantidis: Well in my case I do translate occasionnally but I am Marketing manager for a transation agency. SMM is a very important part of our marketing strategy. They hired me to do it so they could focus on translating. Which allowed me to get trained in social media marketing.
suzannedeliscar: There are ways to automate your marketing through social media sites, so that minimal time is spent.
mstelmaszak: but then, if you’re too automated, you’re loosing it!
suzannedeliscar: The vast majority of your involvement should be automated. But some planned direct contact is important too.
ADiamantidis: No. Automating updates is a serious no-no in SMM. Only Twitter marketing can support a bit of automation. I only automate on Twitter and check in on the 9 accounts I manage at least 4 times a day.
intralingo: Yes exactly. Without direct contact, I don’t think it will work.
mstelmaszak: @suzannedeliscar I don’t agree with you on that one. I think that we can’t really plan interactions with people in advance.
ADiamantidis: Well the whole point of social media is *Social*… Too much automation always backfires
mstelmaszak: even Klout measures your involvement, not just links you post.
ADiamantidis: Ah Klout is a whole other thing. It’s not an automation tool. It’s just a measurement tool.
mstelmazsak: That’s what I meant, Anne! It measures your involvement, like having discussions, not just posting links on Twitter.
ADiamantidis: absolutely, but I mean it’s not a tool that automates your updates. “Automation tools” is the family of such tools
suzannedeliscar: Another type of planned direct messages is your introduction when you add a new friend or connection.
ADiamantidis: agreed. I keep repeating in webinar to personalize the invitation message.
ADiamantidis: At the end of the day, before talking about time investment, you have to decide what you want to achieve with social media marketing. A 30 year experienced translator with 6 end clients that provide him enough work and money has no interest in SMM. Why would he?
mstelmaszak: as you said, it depends what he would like to achieve through a SM campaign
ADiamantidis: mmh, why would he? If he does not need new clients nor new partners, he won’t see the point in this massive investment
mstelmaszak: exactly. Social media is a strategy as any other, so if he doesn’t want to achieve anything more than he already has…
suzannedeliscar: But even large companies that have been stable for decades invest time in social media.
ADiamantidis: mmh if you’re refering to non translation companies, then it’s a whole other scheme.
suzannedeliscar: Hi Anne, what is the difference with non-translation companies when it comes to social media?
ADiamantidis: Well wow that depends on the industries. But B2C companies for example MUST be on Social Media now to interact with their end clients (us, consumers), promote discounts, products, brands, etc. Other B2B companies as well – in some industries it’s easier than others. But B2C is a different world. Translation on the other hand, it’s a challenge: freelancers vs. agencies -> Client vs. end client.
suzannedeliscar: That’s true. In any industry where you have entities competing with freelancers, there is a challenge.
ADiamantidis: exactly. Our industry is in rails. Freelancers -> agencies -> end clients. SMM is not the same as a consequence.
mstelmazsak: Do you think we’ll be able to eliminate agencies thanks to social media marketing?
ADiamantidis: HAHAHAAAA I certainly hope not or I’ll be out of a job! ;) Well I could then open a Social Media Management business ;) but more seriously, I don’t think so. SMM does not have that kind of power anyway. And agencies won’t disappear that easily but this is another topic.
mstelmaszak: but don’t you think that some companies / industries / products could loose on using too much Social Media?
ADiamantidis: yes they could. This is why there’s a new branche in SMM appearing called “Social Media Crisis Management”
mstelmaszak: Like advertising luxury watches, jewellery or expensive cars on Twitter? Can’t see that happen!
ADiamantidis: hahhaa it’s already happening ;). Same on Facebook. Not on LinkedIn though – business networks are not such channels.
mstelmaszak: Ok, I’ll put it that way: if I’m looking for a wedding ring, I will still be tempted by a fully-winged advertising campaign in a newspaper, not a SM campaign. I think it’s the matter of importance, value.
ADiamantidis: Ok. But if for example, Lidl posts on their Twitter that today you get a discount on potatoes if u mention a given hashtag…
mstelmaszak: And another SM dilemma: what’s more important, having lots of weak connections, or only few, but real and stronger? #xl8SMM
ADiamantidis: Good question. I’d say both but that depends on which site. On Linkedin, the more the better IMO because a big network gives you access to 2nd + 3rd degrees connections of your connections.
mstelmaszak: I totally agree! My LinkedIn is broad and loose, my Twitter is closer and I actually got to know quite a lot of people.
ADiamantidis: Exactly! And if you seek end-clients, then your LinkedIn network MUST be wide and not limited to translation people.
mstelaszak: @ADiamantidis Do you recommend any SMM training and certs? Can we exchange about that later?
ADiamantidis: Sure, if you have time and money! The first course I took was in many modules, 100 USD pro module #Glups
mstelmaszak: I usually learn from free resources and my SMM trained friends, but I’ll gladly have a look
ADiamantidis: There re some great free ressources but of course they’re not giving away all the tricks. I can train you if you want. I do private coaching/training on SMM for businesses.
mstelmaszak: I did some of SMM at lse this year, I’m looking forward to getting my certficate
suzannedeliscar: I have free e-books on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as a starter. Anne is the expert though.
suzannedeliscar: Feel free to message me and I will send you 1, 2 or all 3 e-books.
mstelmaszak: @suzannedeliscar Sure, I’ll do that after our chat, thanks!
Romina_Bona: @suzannedeliscar I’m interested too!
suzannedeliscar: Anyone who would like copies of the social media e-books can send me a direct message or a mention with their e-mail address.
ADiamantidis: ok, so à propos Klout, anybody has any questions on it? #xl8SMM
intralingo: Yes! I signed up for it, find the stats/info useful. But what about giving +Ks etc.? Haven’t delved that far…
ADiamantidis: hahaa ok. Giving +K allows helping someone gain influence on a topic Klout determined for them.
mstelmazsak: Yes, these +K are a bit weird… Making Klout a bit… biased and unreliable?
ADiamantidis: You can give +K to absolutely anyone. No need to be connected to that person in any way. You have a max of 5 +K/day.
mstelmaszak: and that’s what I find a bit disturbing… and that’s what puts me off in Klout.
ADiamantidis: what disturbs you Marta? :) the fact that Klout determines the topics for you?
mstelmaszak: The fact that others can give you +K :)
ADiamantidis: I see. Good point, why do you dislike it?
mstelmaszak: +K to me is like judging a campaign based on how many people said they liked it, instead of how many were influenced
ADiamantidis: mmh I see your point and it’s a good one. I think though that people giving +K are (most of them) sincerely thinking that you ARE influential in a given topic. When I give +K to someone, I think “does this guy influence me on that?”
mstelmaszak: Here’s one question from me on Klout: how do they determine your topics?
ADiamantidis: An algorithm calculates engagement from your audience (retweets, mentions, discussions….)
mstelmaszak: It makes me wonder why I’m influential only about translation, while I share so much other things.
ADiamantidis: Well there are many things to consider: 1. Klout only works in English, so all your tweets etc. in other languages are not taken into account, 2. You must be patient, sometimes their algorithm takes somr time to update, and 3. it depends on what your audience likes the most i.e. which tweets wth which keywords their retweet, engage, etc. the most. Hopes it clarifies? ;)
mstelmaszak: Ok, that’s clearer for me now, thanks!
Romina_Bona: I must go now! I look forward to the transcript. Anyway I’ll check the #xl8SMM tweets. Later!
mstelmazsak: thanks for this chat, I’ll be going now :) It was great to chat about #xl8SMM today!
Elzosim: Thanks for this initiative, Anne. It was a really interesting chat about #xl8SMM
ADiamantidis: Thank you very much everybody who made it to the first Social Media for translators chat today! Next week, same time?
mstelmaszak: Count on me next week!
suzannedeliscar: Thanks to @ADiamantidis for the first Social Media for Translators Chat today.
FwdTranslations: Will try to join #xl8SMM next week. Can I ask questions in advance if I can’t make it? Enjoyed catching up via the hashtag.
ADiamantidis: FwdTranslations: Sure you can ;) Hope to see you next week though!
The next open chat for translators on Social media Marketing in the translation industry will take place tomorrow, Wednesday March 7th, 5pm to 6pm Central European Time (see here what time it will be in your part of the world).
