I was talking to a friend and colleague the other day about a book launch I attended this week at which I did some excellent networking…
Not by slamming my card into people’s hands or selling myself left, right and centre but simply by talking and, most importantly, listening to them.
Networking is vital to your business, whatever shape it takes. Without other people you simply will not survive. With that in mind, we’re going to at ways you can do that online and off so you, too, can build on those contacts and boost your bottom line.
Let’s start with Instagram, one of my new favourite ways to network because, as of now, you can direct message anyone. Here’s Gary Vaynerchuk on why he loves it too and how to use it to your advantage:
https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/network-instagram-direct-message/
As I hinted earlier, subtlety is key to effective networking and here’s how to inject more of that into your efforts:
http://uk.businessinsider.com/7-subtle-ways-to-network-more-effectively-online-2017-2?r=US&IR=T
And for some insights from 13 experts on more effective online networking, go here:
http://www.philgerbyshak.com/network-online-how-to/
Social media is, of course, an excellent way to network online but there are alternatives to those megaliths such as FB and Instagram, some of which may well serve you better as they are more targeted to your needs.
You can find a good selection here:
https://www.sitepoint.com/social-networking-sites-for-business/
Although if you do prefer to stick to FB for networking, there is a good WikiHow on what to do here:
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Facebook-for-Business-Networking
Many marketers want to network to find affiliates to promote their products – if that’s you then you need to take a look at this:
http://rebelgrowth.com/how-to-get-affiliates/
This:
http://www.clickbank.com/finding-affiliates-to-promote-your-product/
One powerful way to network is to attract people to you by telling your story effectively and here’s a great resource from Hubspot to enable you to do that – yours in exchange for your email:
http://hs.primitivesocial.com/telling-your-story-through-facebook
A powerful way to tell your story is through video and they also have a step by step guide on how to make truly stand-out videos for social media and your sites here:
Your TED talk this week is a hugely popular one on the hidden influence of social networks, how they affect you and how you can use them to your advantage:
