The World Of Networking

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Entering the world of networking can be a very confusing experience to navigate around, especially when you first try to get your head around it. There are so many parts that go into networking that it can be easy to get lost in what a person would need to do to make themselves more appealing to who they are trying to network with. There are many different ways of networking and it can be confusing to try and find what would benefit the client the most. There is so much information out there that it can cloud up what is most important to get yourself out there and make yourself appealing to a wider client base.

The first part of networking is to advertise yourself to potential clients. Before setting up accounts or websites it’s best to do research into the area that you want to market yourself towards. It’s good to question the type of clients you would want to work with as well as how you can appeal to those potential clients. Even if you are advertising yourself as an editor there are still different parts of editing to look into. For example, there is a difference between editing for a documentary then there is editing for a TV show or a film. Each medium will have a market within it that is smaller and it would benefit a client and your market to take advantage of those niches. Clients will most likely go to look for those smaller niches and who is specialized within those niches instead of searching for someone who markets themselves broadly in that market.

It’s important to research what has worked for other people within the industry that you are wanting to break into and how the networking skills have applied to them because that can be an important stepping stone to how you personally network. Everyone has their own personal ways of networking however there are different things that unify all of these techniques that people use to get themselves out there. It’s also important to find services that can make it easier for you to find jobs yourself, especially at the beginning when it is a lot harder to find job opportunities. An example of this is Facebook groups where you can find a community of people that can share different opportunities with other people but where there is also a collaborative element. Having that element can really help especially when starting out within your industry.

( Screenshot Credit - https://www.facebook.com/groups/tv.runners )

(Screenshot Credit - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebigscreenwritinggroup )

(Screenshot Credit - https://www.facebook.com/groups/365928690245071 )

Finding a social network to use should be one that can help you enhance and show the skills that you do in the best light. An example of this is if you do photography, editing, cinematography, directing, etc. You want to be able to find a social media that shows that in a visual aspect. These can be platforms like Instagram or making a website that is created to cater to those visual aspects. Reflecting on how you advertise yourself within social media can help you broaden your scope of clients and can even in the best cases it can help you be more appealing to your clients. Researching the type of audience that uses that medium can help you take advantage of the algorithm that is based around that social media and can help you reach a wider audience.

The are advantages to using both smaller and bigger social media platforms. Using a smaller social media platform can mean that it can be less competition to build your audience however it can mean that you are exposing yourself and your work to a smaller pool of clientele. A smaller audience may be harder to cultivate considering that a smaller social media platform may not have all the resources you need to show off your skills as effectively. Compared to a smaller social media platform a bigger one can help you spread yourself out to a more diverse and larger audience however since there are many people using it, it means that there is more competition within the platform especially if you are wanting to promote yourself in a populated career space.

(Image Credit - https://smallbiztrends.com/2013/02/6-stats-influence-business-networking.html )

(Image Credit - https://www.talkwalker.com/blog/social-media-statistics-in-the-uk )

Networking is the most important way to build up your career, especially in creative industries. Without having the skill of networking it would make it a lot harder for someone to make it in higher-up places in some industries. It's how a lot of producers and directors have made it to where they are by using the connections they have gained through networking. Having these connections can also help when it comes to improving your skills since you can get feedback from people who occupy different skills and careers in your industry. Separate from the career opportunities it can help you build a community that can support you and your work in the industry.

Networking can help open you up to opportunities that may be closed off to the general public and exclusive to people who know that particular person this is especially true for the media and creative industries. Networking is more important in creative industries where it can be the difference between you getting job opportunities and getting your work there to being stagnant. It's not that you won’t find jobs without networking it’s just that It would be a lot harder for you to find those jobs and keep that sustainability of jobs coming to you because you don’t have that network to help supply you with jobs. Having both avenues of getting income and opportunities can help you grow in your industry a lot more than you hunting for those jobs yourself especially later on in your career.

Networking can be the most important skill someone can work on especially if you are going freelance. Having the skill can not only influence what work you get and the quality of work but it can also help you build a community that can inspire your work and is there to support you. Having the way you advertise yourself optimized towards what you do is the biggest way to help someone stand out. It’s important to find out what makes you stand out compared to the many people who will also be trying to get attention from the clients you are trying to reach out to. There are many different ways of Networking so it’s important to research and find out what works best for you.