by Rachel Henke, (c) 2007
Well in the old days and not so old days, business people would connect to build mutually rewarding relationships through social groups and networking groups. Did this work? Yes of course. You can bet it did and still does. Hundreds of lucrative partnerships are formed over a round of golf or at the local ‘club.’ The power of referral marketing has long been acknowledged and having experienced it I can certainly vouch for the fact that leads received through referrals can often be the hottest business leads of all.
The challenges for many with the networking groups that require your physical presence are numerous. They can be inconvenient in location, costly and time-consuming. Many popular networking clubs give great value to members but what are the drawbacks? Well for instance; if you have a couple of children who need to be taken to school it is a real challenge to be 30 minutes away having a ‘business breakfast’ at the same time! I guess that’s traditionally why men have been seen more often at these kinds of clubs. Thankfully all of that is changing but the gap that e networking fills for the time crunched business owning parent is considerable. Here are a couple of valuable ways you can build your own social network online with very low cost or free strategies:
Discussion Forums
This is a whole new world! This is still a startlingly powerful and new phenomenon – people are connecting all over the world on these forums every second. There are Forums on every subject imaginable. It is possible to spend hours just on these alone, leaving a ‘residual’ value and carving out an organic path back to your website. This is done by contributing to the forum (avoid pitching your business directly or you will be asked to leave!) At the end of your blogs or blurbs for the day you are permitted to have a formal ‘signature’ which is in essence your virtual business card and will give people who are getting to know and like you on the forum an opportunity to see what you have to offer. This is a long-term method and the value is not only in exchanging useful information but in the long shelf life of these conversation threads which are posted, and will be referred to by many people on lively forums, while you have long since forgotten about your posting!
Instant Messaging
The most popular are MSN and Skype. I have found Skype to be the most user friendly to make new connections all over the world. This makes email seem like snail mail! If you want to build an international business and have contacts or business partners all over the world this is an absolutely amazing FREE way to build relationships! You can narrow your searches to individual countries and age groups. Again make sure that you have a website that presents what you are offering very clearly so that when people click on your profile to learn more about what you do they can immediately complete a form to request more information, and are not given too many options which tends to confuse.
Online Business and Social Networks
These network platforms really do seem to be the new ‘going out.’ Until you become involved in some of these networks it is difficult to appreciate the value that you can give and receive though online contribution and relationship building.
The aim of these networks is generally to help people find jobs, staff, business partners, experts, friends, mentors and many other connections. In some of the more business productive ones such as Ecademy and Ryze you can even join the virtual ‘clubs!’ This means that even if you live far from a big city you can still absorb culture, and in many cases connect with influential people all over the world.
Profiles
These profiles can be linked to the online business and social networks, forums in some cases, and another rising star on the web scene is ‘my space’ which has unlimited business potential to reach millions. One question you can ask yourself if you want to raise your internet presence is how many spaces is your face in? Link up your face, by which I mean a good photo, with some valuable and concise information about your business services and then use all of the above methods to attract people to your website and you will start to build a powerful e network of your own.
So in closing just make sure to abide by the rules of conduct for each forum or communication method. This is commonly known as ‘netiquette.’ A good principle to operate by is to focus on building relationships and the business will follow where appropriate. Be time efficient and allocate a certain amount of time per day or week to contribute to your e networking so that you don’t fall into the trap of random surfing and chatting all day long. It is very tempting but will not get you far! Think of this as a long-term strategy to establish your business presence on the web, so make sure you are establishing the one you want! Finally ensure your website links on all your contributions are accessible so that you can be rewarded for your contribution. As people spend more and more time on pcs, and the home-based business industry grows, it might just be that e networking is becoming the new going out!
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