7 Strategies for Effective Online Networking
By Karri • Dec 1st, 2007 • Category: internet marketingWithout a doubt, online networking has been the mainstay of my practice. But like local networking, it must be done in a conscientious manner in order to be effective. As with any kind of professional networking, you must fine tune your approach and strive to build a reputable profile. And that is where, unfortunately, too many business people go astray. Here are some rules to live by (and profit by!) when networking on the web:
1. Be useful. This one seems obvious, doesn’t it? But it’s so easy to get complacent with things like forum participation, especially when you have a deadline approaching or you just start to feel comfortable within a particular online community. However, it takes just a few minutes to share a nugget of wisdom or a well-earned lesson gleaned from your own experiences as a business person. This does not go unnoticed!
2. Be helpful. If you see a need that sparks a desire to help, then do so without hesitation. Volunteer your expertise for an hour or two a month. Offer to edit the forum newsletter. Get involved in the moderation process. Or just send a helpful email “offline” to someone who could use your input or ideas. But NEVER ask for anything in return. The payoff will come later in the form of respect and admiration from your colleagues—things you can’t put a price tag on.
3. Speak up but never down. When you have something insightful to say, do share. When you would like to let someone know you would rather kiss a toad then make nice, save it for your diary. Airing your dirty laundry online may feel satisfying while you are pounding on the keyboard, but later on you will regret it. It makes you look unprofessional and like you have not much else to do with your time. Not the image you want to convey.
4. Keep the mystery alive. As in any courtship, revealing too much can be a turnoff. It’s okay to have foibles—we all do—but always know that anyone could be watching, including a hot prospect. Be selective about what you share and don’t share. Besides, there is nothing worse than losing sleep over something you posted in haste but cannot ever take back. (Nothing on the web is private. Absolutely N-O-T-H-I-N-G.)
5. Be authentic. Now I am going to contradict myself and say that you should always let your personality shine! YOU are a unique and compelling collection of knowledge, experience and wisdom. Share your personal insights or feelings on relevant issues. Just be sure to back up your claims. Sweeping generalizations make you look silly and opinionated—not intelligent or, more importantly, interesting. In a sea of sameness, authenticity tempered with a sprinkling of discretion goes a long way toward impressing those prospects who become clients well aligned to your business style and ethic.
6. Post regularly. This one is perhaps the toughest of them all. The irony of effective networking is that it can bring you a lot of clients, clients who will keep you so busy you feel like you have no time to do anything else—like marketing! However, good marketing doesn’t have a beginning and an end. It is an ongoing investment in the long term success of your business. And maintaining even a modest online profile with your professional networks is critical to keeping that pipeline full of hungry prospects.
7. Don’t ask for work. It’s tacky, makes people uncomfortable and has nothing to do with the art of networking. Enough said.
Of course, there are no hard and fast rules in business, online or off. And networking is no exception. Yet it’s too easy to lose your head in the wee hours of the night sitting cozily behind a faceless computer screen. Don’t give in to temptation. Keep your wits about you and think before you type. Make up your own rules for connecting in cyberspace and post them near your monitor if you have to. No doubt, you will make mistakes (goodness knows I have). But that is all part of the growing process as an entrepreneur. And growth is the reason we’re all here, isn’t it?
