Note From Tongal: “Unconventional Networking for the Digital Age” is part of a series of Tongal Community-written blog posts that were originally sourced in the Tongal Blog Open Call Project. Read more Tongal Community-written posts here and then Pitch us a topic you'd like to write about for the Tongal Blog!
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2018 was quite a year. In January, I went back to school for Digital Cinema Production and decided to create my own photography business. I’ve found that it is very difficult to be a photographer/content creator at twenty, let alone a business owner.
As I’ve been working to grow my business, I’ve been trying really hard to focus on networking. By networking, I’ve been able to learn through the experience of others and make new friends, clients, and other professional connections. I’ve found that conventional ways of networking aren’t enough, however, so here are my tips on the unconventional ways in which I’ve attempted to network and how my experience has been thus far.
Tinder
Tinder is widely known as a dating or hookup app, but I gave networking on Tinder a try at the suggestion of my boyfriend. I used the app in the past and noticed that it opens up a world of interesting people from a variety of backgrounds, so I figured why not? It was somewhat successful. I am a photographer/content creator so I tried connecting with models, musicians, and anyone who seemed interesting on Tinder in hopes of booking a photoshoot or a music video. Overall my experience was positive; I even booked a couple of shoots from it. However, it definitely takes patience as you have to sort out scummy people with romantic (and not so romantic!) intentions or those who apparently can’t read bios.
Shapr
Think Tinder, but for freelancers or content creators. I discovered Shapr after Tinder. I still have it installed despite not making that many connections just yet, but at least I don’t have people trying to date me or whatever on this platform.
Thumbtack
Thumbtack is where I’ve been getting the majority of my gigs. For those of you who don’t know, Thumbtack is an app and website for freelancers to find work via paid leads. Yes, the idea of having to pay for leads that don’t always work out is kind of annoying, but I really think it’s worth the investment.
Meetup
Meetup is an app where you can look up your interests and find groups that plan events around those interests. I haven’t had much luck thus far, but I still have it installed just to give it some more time. I feel like I’d have better luck if I lived in a bigger town, but we’ll see.
Like most businesses, I have a Facebook page for my production company which I use to share my work on. However, I mostly use Facebook to reach out to friends and family - or even people in local exchange groups - to see if they want to do cheap, if not free, photoshoots. I do a lot of free work to build my portfolio and it’s nice to see when it is published to Facebook, how people react to it, their comments, and what they say when they share my posts.
Instagram is my go-to when posting work for my portfolio. I usually redirect people I meet on other platforms to message me on Instagram. As annoying as I used to find hashtags on Instagram, I’ve found that they do come in handy. I often explore random hashtags, usually related to photography, and find new people to follow in hopes that they’ll check out my page too. Overall, this is one of my favorite platforms for expanding my network as a photographer.
Network everywhere IRL
Striking up random conversations with random people: I do this all the time. Whether I Uber, am at work, talking to people online, or wherever, I strike up random conversations with random people. You learn a lot about them and they learn a lot about you and conversations tend to lead to talking about your interests or what you’re passionate about. I think it’s really important to have these random conversations because you never know who you’ll meet. Which leads me to my last piece of networking advice...
Business cards
When you happen to meet someone in person who you hit it off with professionally, it helps to give them something to remember you by. Enter: Business cards. I have about 1,000 business cards that I’m slowly but surely passing out. Not only are they helpful, but people also take you more seriously when you have business cards. There are a lot of great options for printing them online - I use Vistaprint. It’s an investment, but worth it when getting your name out there.
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Now it's your turn! Tell us about your unconventional networking methods in the comments.
We humbly suggest that you also give our Crew Finder Forum a try too ;)
