Grow your network (virtually!)
Photo by Adam Solomon on Unsplash
Networking. Love it or hate it (let’s be honest, how many people actually love it?) it’s important to your career. You’ll have heard the term “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” and especially in an industry as competitive as ours, there’s a s*** tonne of truth in that.
Pre-global pandemic, the best way to build your network and thrive in the creative industries was to rub shoulders with the right people in the right room. But with events, showcases and open studios all indefinitely postponed, the growth of your network need not slow down too.
01: Get social
Social media has always been one of the most powerful tools at your fingertips, but right now the audience has never been more active, engaged and responsive. Getting social isn’t just about sharing snaps of your new puppy or #aesthetic breakfast though, you need to be on the right platforms, at the right time.
It still amazes me how many graduates and young people just stepping out into the industry aren’t using LinkedIn! Check out How to: Get started with LinkedIn, for a more in-depth article on the platform. For those of you already modelling a professional and up-to-date profile, let’s talk networking.
Follow & Connect. Whether you’re looking for a job, client or project, I would encourage you to ‘Follow’ the companies you want to work at / with. ‘Connect’ with the people who run them or work at them, and if they don’t accept your request, remember you can always ‘Follow’ them instead. Therefore, you will stay up to date with all the goings on.
Interact with their posts. Add insightful comments, or messages of support. Don’t spam emojis (this isn’t Instagram) and don’t suck up too hard, but commenting on their post is going to strengthen your connection, boost your profile to their audience and also show up in your network’s feed too.
Share your own work! Just completed a project you’re super proud of? Awesome, share it. You may not get the hundreds of likes that you do on Instagram, but 10 likes on LinkedIn can be far far more powerful than 1,000 on other platforms.
Slide into the DMs. No not in that sense, but if you’ve just connected with a great illustrator, drop them a message. Say “Hey, thanks for connecting! I love your work” and let them know you’re a real human, who connected with them for a reason. Who knows what brilliant partnerships will come out of it?
When using Instagram for networking, it’s important to understand the audience. Unlike LinkedIn, your connections on Instagram are less likely to be a person of influence at your dream company, but more likely to be freelancers and individuals who will provide opportunities for collaboration and information sharing.
Sharing and reactions. If you’ve just followed a new account and you really love their work, then sharing their work to your story to support them is going to strengthen your connection. You could ease yourself in first perhaps by reacting and replying to their stories.
Hashtags. Outside of your current follower list, checkout what the wider network is doing by following some key, niche hashtags, specific to your field of interest and broaden your horizons. Why not follow #TheArenaUK!
And finally, everything I said about LinkedIn also applies. Follow, comment and message as you would on LinkedIn. But just because it’s Instagram, doesn’t mean your professional demeanour should go out the window.
02: Virtual events
As event organisers ‘pivot’ to adapt to the times and avoid the total collapse of the industry, a truck load of events went virtual as lockdown hit. As a way of staying relevant to their audience, lots of respectable companies and platforms are sharing their knowledge and expertise free of charge via online webinars, conferences or social live streams. These are great places to grow your network.
To follow our notes on ‘Get social’, make sure you’re connecting with these people on LinkedIn within 48 hours of the event. You may think it looks keen, but it actually looks efficient. And besides, any later than that and the moment is gone, they’ve totally forgotten about you and moved on with their life. Drop them a note with your invitation along the lines of “Hi [name], it was so good to hear you speak yesterday at [event], I found your talk really insightful. I hope there’s a way for us to collaborate in the future” or something similar. To the point, flattering but not overwhelming and with a clear reason for your invitation.
There are also a lot of great, but slightly more informal virtual places to hang out. For instance, maybe your favourite creator is hosting Instagram Live Q&As? Or panel discussions on YouTube.
03: Online communities *cough*
Now you may well have pigeonholed Facebook as the platform for parents, but it’s all about community. And what most other social networks lack, is the ‘Groups’ feature.
Perhaps more important here than anywhere else - update your profile! Lord knows we all have skeletons buried in our Facebook closets and even if you haven’t posted since 2012, it’s time to update your details (and maybe profile picture too…?). And although you don’t need to completely wipe the page clean, now would be a good time just to update your privacy settings, so your prospective connections only see what you want them to see. Do also update your employment section, education and location though, as this may determine whether you’re accepted into the networking groups.
Find specific and relevant groups to join! For instance, Lauren is a member of the London Musicians Network which has over 30k members (a.k.a potential connections). They can be local or industry specific, but think about why you’re joining.
Dive in. You can easily search for a key topic on a group or buzz word if you’re overwhelmed by posts, but there are some great conversations to be had with like minded individuals.
Lookout for networking calls. Quite often groups like these (particularly local) will set up a virtual ‘roundtable’ to support their members.
In the virtual era of networking, it’s all about staying front of mind. We scroll through thousands of images, videos and messages a day, so you need to create meaningful connections that give that person a reason to remember you.
When budgets are tight, hiring has been paused and projects put on hold, remember...it’s a marathon not a sprint. Keep planting flags and when you get back in touch on the other side of this, you’ll be remembered and much better placed to get to where you want to be.
