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Online Networking for Better Business

by Frauke Nonnenmacher

Last month I mentioned that trust is a vital part in getting business. One of the best ways of building trust is by doing some regular networking. There are many ways of networking, from big networking clubs like BRE or BNI to small, informal groups. But today I want to talk about an alternative to these – online networking. hip
The advantages of online networking are that you can reach a vastly larger group than you possibly can during face-to-face meetings. You’re not tied to fixed meeting times or have to worry about mandatory attendance. And businesses on a budget will be happy to hear that online networking is generally much more affordable than joining a networking club.

On the downside you’re not networking in a group that excludes your competitors – in fact you may face quite stiff competition, depending on what line of business you’re in. No fixed meetings also means that it’s easy to let things slip, so it’s up to you to make sure that things keep rolling along smoothly.
Having said that I don’t think there’s any reason not to give online networking a try. Unless you’re swamped with work, of course, or you don’t own a computer with Internet access. (In which case, how did you get hold of this article in the first place?)
Online Networking for Success
Here are a few hint and tips to maximize your success with online networking. The same can be used for face-to-face networking, of course.
1) Don’t go around asking for business.

Trust me, you don’t want to come across as an annoying salesperson. Instead see if there’s anything you can do to help others. A good online networking club will have forums where you can give help and advice to others – take advantage of this. It’s a great trust builder, and it provides you with professional visibility. Useful advice does stick in peoples’ minds – and so will your name.
2) Do use your signature to your advantage.

Create a short signature to use at the end of all your correspondence in the club. It can be the same as your email signature, or something tailored specifically to the networking club. My only recommendation would be to stick to a plain text signature, rather than HTML. Make sure your signature contains the URL of your web site, and a good tag line (mine’s “The right words to improve your business”, for example.) Including the URL will improve your search engine rankings, as most networking clubs are picked up by search engines, and including your tag line will make people remember you.
3) Recommend people you’ve done business with.

Networking is just as much about getting business for others as getting it for yourself, so if you can recommend somebody you’ve done business with in the past, do it whenever possible. You’ll find that people will return the favour.
So, after these helpful hints, here are a few online networking clubs to get you started. I’ve selected three very different ones to give you an idea on what’s out there, and what’s suitable for you. All these offer some sort of free membership, as far as I know – but please do check yourselves – you know how fast things change on the Internet…
Ecademy (www.ecademy.com) – This is the online networking club I’m most involved in. It’s semi-formal, with public forums, private messaging, a marketplace, blogs and useful articles. You’ll have to pay to get the most out of it, but in my opinion it’s well worth the investment.
Ryze (www.ryze.com) – Ryze is a very informal and chatty network, possibly best suited for small companies operating a retail business from home. Forums, guestbooks and private messaging are available, and it’s very easy to meet new people.
LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) – LinkedIn is a very formal networking club. Unless a member has specified that they’re open for direct contact, it’s only possible to contact other members via recommendations from people you already know. It takes time and effort to build a network here, but the ones you do build seem to have an extraordinary level of trust.
So there you have it – online networking in a box, ready and waiting for you to try. Oh, and if you’re checking our Ecademy – give me a shout while you’re there and let me know how you find this online networking lark…
Frauke Nonnenmacher may be contacted at http://www.creativecats.com
Need online copy that gets results? Frauke Nonnenmacher is a copywriter who specialises in clear, informative and persuasive web copy. For more information, please visit her web site at http://www.creativecats.com