Networking has become something of a lost art these days. With the rise of social networking sites and increased travel costs, more and more businesses are eliminating live networking events from their budgets in favor of utilizing sites like Twitter and Facebook.
While these sites do offer some fabulous networking opportunities, it’s also easy to log in and lose track of your ultimate goal. It’s also very easy to get so caught up setting up the new account in anticipation of the thousands of promised leads, that we forget to take the time to learn how to utilize these tools in order to achieve the desired results.
Networking, whether live or virtual, has a few basic rules that must be adhered to in order to be effective.
Be interested
Care about the people you are networking with. Ask questions, find out more about them and honestly look for opportunities to assist them regardless of whether or not it benefits you.
Be interesting
Don’t just sell, sell, sell! No one wants to be around someone who does nothing but toots their own horn! A well rounded, friendly, intelligent person with a smile on their face is simply an appealing person to be around. Don’t be afraid to discuss subjects outside your immediate professional objective. Let others enjoy being around you. Share your wisdom, wit and personality and soon you’ll be the person everyone is looking for. This holds true whether the event is physical or at a social networking site.
Be responsive
No one wants to work with a person who drops the ball on a project or doesn’t communicate well with others. When someone sends you an email or leaves you a voicemail then you should return it as promptly as possible. By the same token you should be looking at your @ reply messages and direct messages on Twitter and checking your comments and inbox on Facebook. You never know when a great opportunity will present itself and if you don’t respond to it then someone else will. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and have a conversation with someone you’ve met online! In my mind there’s still no better way to discover a mutually beneficial relationship then to just say a friendly hello from time to time!
What are some networking lessons that you’ve learned over the years? I’m always looking for great opportunities to network with others and create mutually beneficial relationships. If you’re interested in the same then drop me an @ reply on Twitter by tweeting to @GayleBuske or leave a comment on our Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/teamdoubleclick
Let’s set up a time to talk and get to know each other!
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