Join a Web-Based Network

Most business is done face-to-face, and networking for most business people is about meeting and engaging with people face-to-face. But for most (especially young) people, networking is all about the World Wide Web and maintaining relationships with blogs, messaging and tweets. More and more, these two concepts of networking are coming together.

The internet is becoming the first place people turn for many aspects of their lives, certainly for any information need. The same is happening with business networking. This should not be a surprise. The internet is undeniably the fastest way to increase your visibility to thousands (or even millions) of people. Going online can suddenly make your business international and accessible 24/7.

According to Ivan Misner, the three most popular business online network forums are LinkedIn.com, Ecademy.com and Ryze.com. I am active on the first two. The third I had not heard of before I started researching this article. I would be interested to hear of others.

You could simply join an online network and connect with a handful of friends, but you are unlikely to see any return for your (albeit small) investment. You need to engage with the online “community” and develop a presence on the site. Contribute to online forums and debate. Answer questions within your area of expertise, and pose some of your own. Building your visibility is the first step to building relationships.

Keep in mind that people don’t like to be sold to. So be cautious how you build your online network. It is easy to gather contacts. It is harder to turn them into connections with whom you have a real relationship.

Does it work? It’s only a year or so since I started engaging fully with my online network, but I am beginning to generate serious value from it. I’d lost touch with one former client—we had both moved jobs and e-mail addresses—but she got back in touch via LinkedIn and referred me to a colleague needing my skills. In another instance, it was my participation in a LinkedIn group that, combined with my profile and this website, has resulted in my starting as a non-executive director and advisor to a start-up bio-informatics company.

Action this week! Try the following:

• Join one or more online networking communities with the intention of building relationships.
• Start a [[menu:blog], or write a regular column for a web site or e-newsletter.
• Develop an e-newsletter for your own business.

A couple of tips: Never forget that online networking is still about building relationships. And understand that online networking has its own cultural norms.

Finally, let me stress again the importance of building relationships, even in a “virtual” network. You need to be someone that others want to be around, whether it is in a cybermeeting room or a business lunch. In other words, you need to become magnetic.

See also:

• Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, talking to the WSJ about how to be an effective entrepreneur. “It takes a network in order to succeed.”

This article is similar to an educational talk I gave at a BNI Premier networking breakfast. It is based on material in The 29% Solution by Ivan Misner.