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October 2008 ~ Connect Via Online Social Networking Sites
by Sabrina Risley
Online social networking or online networking is the latest craze to hit the business world in the last couple years. You might be familiar with some sites including LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Through these social sites, business owners generate increased exposure and the ability to connect with thousands of people, regardless of geography.
Most networking sites are free and provide businesses a profile page, a link to their company's website, ability to communicate with "connections", participation in forums and discussions, promotion of their business and more - all this with their fingertips at their keyboard!
Similar to participating in traditional "live" networking events, there are a few rules to consider when participating in online networking. I suggest building rapport, forming partnerships, visiting regularly and actively, providing useful information and being tactful.
Building Rapport: This is crucial. You cannot begin your online reputation by sending out promotional messages to advertise your business to your connections until you have established a personal relationship. Your unwanted solicitations will be met with a "click - delete" and you will be branded a spammer. Focus on promoting you, the person. Allow others to get to know you personally, your interests and hobbies. Someone out there will share similar interests and taadah!! You've just formed a new personal relationship which can develop into a business relationship. Establishing trust first allows you to create a good reputation. Then, you can determine if your connection or prospect has a need for your business and you may proceed accordingly.
Forming Partnerships: Seek out others in your same industry or complementary industries and work to structure a win-win relationship. These are "power partners" with which you feel comfortable doing business and referring your contacts. In turn, they will refer business to you, forward leads, possibly hire you on for a project or include you in a joint venture relationship. Your partners will be there to endorse and vouch for your business online.
Visiting Regularly & Actively: Your business won't get noticed if you visit your online network intermittently and don't get involved. I recommend visiting and participating in forums as often as possible, but at least once weekly. The more you post, the more exposure you gain for your business. Be careful with the frequency with which you post because it is possible to post too often. You don’t want to annoy contacts by posting too often and posting information that isn’t noteworthy. Which leads to the final point...
Providing Useful Information & Being Tactful: Post messages often but always provide useful information. You want to establish yourself as a professional and a resource in your area of expertise. You want to respond to posted questions or requests for advice with positive, useful and constructive information. Your posted messages are a reflection of you and your business and are also stored for people to refer to in the future. Therefore, avoid being derogatory or critical, be sure to double-check your posts for tone, spelling errors and completeness prior to submitting.
