Creating meaningful and useful contacts has always been an integral requirement of good business. With more and more companies operating online, the networking that once took place at conferences and industry meet-ups, in a face-to-face environment, is now more often than not conducted in the digital space, with companies sharing information and building client bases through strategic contact book-building that is able to cross international borders. Here are just some of the ways that you can network in the digital age, creating connections that will enhance your company’s fortunes.
Twitter Tags
Twitter has risen quickly over the last decade to become one of the most important forms of social media for companies and individuals looking to make contacts through the internet. By tagging another individual or company, you’re able to send a public tweet to parties you’re interested in connecting with. The publicity garnered from the savvy use of Twitter can be a real boost to a company’s profile, so slip in some jokes to your public communications in order to encourage retweets from those who see them.
Blog Reposts
Even if you don’t operate a blog yourself, there are millions of influential individuals and companies generating a great deal of traffic through popular blog posts that can reach huge audiences. Partnering with such blogs is an excellent way of increasing your own exposure, sharing resources and boosting one-another. Express your interest in such partnerships by first reposting or linking through to the blogs that you feel would make the most productive partnerships; in this industry, a little flattery and attention can go a long way to forging a strong working relationship.
Targeted Emails
There are many thousands of companies on the internet with whom one may hope to build a relationship. Using sites such as theemailfinder.co, you’ll be able to harvest the emails of your favorite domains before sending emails, either in bulk or on an individual basis, that may be the beginning of a fruitful cooperative business relationship. Networking through email may on the surface appear unimaginative, but adding a personal twist to your correspondence may well help show your investment in the individual or company with whom you’re conversing, instead of simply appearing to be building useful contacts.
LinkedIn Conversations
The social media site for companies and individuals hoping to connect their talents, it’s LinkedIn that’s taken the world by storm in recent years. A personal profile would seem absolutely necessary in modern-day networking, while those who own a business should also create a profile for their company in order to liaise with recruiters, clients, customers and a huge pool of talented individuals you may wish to hire. As its business-oriented, you’ll generally find that LinkedIn users are on the same page - you’ll find exactly the right level of professionalism and cordiality to help create those meaningful contacts you’ve been looking for.
Networking in the digital age is about being savvy with new platforms; this list of tips should help anyone hoping to build their contact book when it comes to the business side of life.
