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INTRODUCTION

In the past, networking involved attending conferences and work events. Now, lots of people do it on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, X and Instagram. In this episode, Phil and Pippa talk about networking online with marketing and communications consultant Adam Driver.

TRANSCRIPT

Phil
Can you build a successful career online?

Adam Driver
Just be consistent with who you are. I think it's the easiest way to go.

Pippa
Today we're talking about networking and promoting yourself online.

Phil
Hello and welcome to Learning English for Work, our podcast to help you improve your business English. I'm Phil.

Pippa
And I'm Pippa. You can find a transcript for this episode to read along on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.

Phil
Pippa, are you good at networking and promoting yourself?

Pippa
Phil, I have to be honest, I'm not very good at networking and promoting myself. I get a bit nervous, particularly in person. And also posting online. I don't really like doing it. I don't really do it much at all.

Phil
Well, actually, I used to be like that as well, but then I started to work freelance, which is where you work for yourself, like having your own business, and you need to go and find clients. So I had to network, so I had to come up with a system and organise myself to do it better. And I did get better at it.

Pippa
That's interesting because our guest today also had a similar experience. It was freelancing that got them to be a bit more active with their networking. And nowadays, social media is a big tool used by lots of people to develop their careers. So things like LinkedIn, X, Instagram, also people with personal blogs or email newsletters, and people can create what they would call their sort of personal brand to talk about their career and show people what they can do. So previously, networking might have looked like going to conferences and events, and now a lot more of it's happening in the online space.

Phil
Yeah. Today we're going to be talking about what networking looks like in the modern workplace. Pippa, you've been speaking to someone who uses social media to help in their career.

Pippa
Yeah, that's right. Adam Driver is a communications and marketing expert who works with businesses to help them improve their marketing. After many years working in communication and marketing for big companies, Adam decided to set up his own business. And like you, Phil, this is when he really started to think more seriously about how to network online.

Adam Driver
LinkedIn and blogs and sort of having your own website and everything like that, as well as networking, for me, is about sort of reaching people that don't know who you are. So in a similar way for other organisations or businesses that I deal with, you're sometimes trying to attract people that don't know what you offer—your services, your products, or who you are, what you can do. And so you're trying to reach more people, and the right people. And yeah, I mean, LinkedIn is an incredible tool for that. It's very powerful for personal brand.
I think you have to also be careful, though, of what you say can have an impact, of course. So, you know what you're talking about, anything you put out there in any social media platform or anything like that, just be considerate that anyone can read it kind of out of context or anything like that. So you do have to be cautious. But yeah, I think they're very powerful tools for getting in front of people that don't know who you are yet or don’t know what you could offer.

Pippa
Yeah, and it's interesting what you say about that balance of having your personality in it, but then also you know that it's also your professional self. Because I feel like a lot of work has become maybe more informal and more personality-driven. And I think some people find that really difficult because they don't know sort of how to present themselves as themselves, but also as a professional self. We used to have more of a distinction between those two selves. But do you think that's not the case anymore?

Adam Driver
Yeah, I completely agree. There was definitely more of a distinction between the professional career Adam person and then you know, your own personal sort of social media networks or being with friends. And the line's definitely blurred. And I think it's constantly difficult, you know. Just be consistent with who you are. I think it's the easiest way to go. So if you would meet someone in real life or we would have this conversation online or over Zoom or a phone call, how you would be in that situation is as close to how you would be kind of online or your LinkedIn persona or blog. I think when people come into trouble is they're trying to be something else, like we are on potentially Instagram and other channels—you sort of overstretch and then that becomes sort of like you're split between these two personas, when actually no one can be two things. We're all only one. And it can be scary putting yourself out there. Of course it can.

Pippa
So, Phil, I think this can be a difficult idea for lots of people. Many people will be used to using social media for their personal life, but trying to use it for your professional life is quite difficult, because it's difficult to know how personal to be, how professional to be. It's really hard, isn't it?

Phil
Yeah, because I mean, if you're too personal, then you might be giving away too much information or it might not look very professional. But then if there's no personality in what you're posting, it's just going to be really boring. So there is a balance, but it can be hard to find it. And some people have got it wrong.

Pippa
Yeah. And it will depend on your working culture in the country you live, the sector you work in, and also where you work. So if you work for a bigger company, there might be things that you don't want to share or can't share because of your company policy online. So do think about that before you go ahead and start sharing your entire working life with everyone online. If you've never done this before, it's really stressful to know where to start. So I asked Adam about some tips for people who are starting out posting.

I suppose a lot of people probably are on these kinds of platforms. They have a profile and they use it, but they maybe aren't that active and they're thinking about making that transition, I suppose to be a bit more active with it. What do you think is kind of valuable time spent in that context from your perspective? I mean is like a viral post worthwhile or is it something else?

Adam Driver
Probably not the viral side of things. I think that you know, again, different brands and businesses, organisations that I have worked with in the past do kind of want to sometimes aim for that because you get massive reach, right? You get to be in front of like, potentially millions of people. But what activities do they do afterwards? What do they follow up with? What's their next step? Do they get in contact with you to book a course or buy a product? So I think the viral thing can potentially help you get more visibility. But it doesn't necessarily help in like the short, medium term. Might get some more followers from it. I think consistency again—come back to that word—is the key thing.

So personally, I post every day on LinkedIn. But that's my approach to it because I have a business that requires me to be front of mind for people to get in touch with me. And I don't have as many retainers as I used to before. They are shorter projects, so the turnaround is quicker, so that's my choice. But the crucial thing is more than post. You know, it's commenting, it's liking. It's not necessarily sharing—that's not as strong. So rough rule of thumb: every time you post, spend double or treble the amount of time on engaging. Liking other posts, scrolling through—whatever it is—that will definitely definitely help over a period of time. And you'll see over the weeks, that can pick up and then from that extra visibility, that's when someone goes, "Oh, I saw your post about so-and-so, or can we have a chat?" And that's where the strength comes. You're not selling, you're not pushing. It's just people being aware of you and then coming to you to have a conversation.

Pippa
I find it really interesting what Adam says about engagement. So that's commenting on posts, liking posts, having conversations with people on these platforms. Because I think a lot of us think that maybe viral posts, so where your post goes a long way to lots of people, is kind of the best way to promote yourself online. But it sounds like actually it's more about having conversations with people like you would if you were at a conference or a networking event.

Phil
You want to use language that's appropriate for the platform that you're on. So it might not be very formal. It might be quite informal, depending on that platform, but you still need to make sure that you're giving a good impression of yourself professionally. You don't want to be making a bad impression or saying things that you shouldn't be saying. So, it's kind of… You do have to be careful what you're posting and how you engage with people, even if it's just a comment under someone else's post, I guess.

Also, it's probably quite good to take a lead from maybe other people in the sector that you work in or the organisation that you work in. There might be ways that people are used to talking to other people in the industry. And also, as you said before, your organisation might have policies which dictate what you're allowed to talk about and what things you can say.

Pippa
Yeah. So a good tip would be to follow lots of people and see what they're doing, and that might give you some ideas before you sort of take that leap and start posting yourself.

Phil
That's it for this episode of Learning English for Work. Head to our website for more programmes to improve your business English.

Phil
Next week we'll discuss wellbeing at work. See you then, bye.

Pippa
Bye.

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