Everything You Need to Know About Online Networking
We all know (and some of us dread) the idea of networking.
It conjures up an image of stuffing ourselves into a
suit or pantyhose, going to events, wearing a sticker
with our name scrawled on it, approaching and introducing
ourselves to strangers, and trying to remember to keep
our cold drinks in the hand we don't shake with.
Fun, isn't it?
When I tell people offline that I do much of my business
networking online, they usually look puzzled. As I explain
to the uninitiated, networking online is the same as
networking offline, in many ways. You want to make contacts,
build relationships, generate leads and meet prospects,
and spread the word about your business. Relationship
building and networking takes time offline, and it is
no different online. So, let's get started!
Types
of business networks
There are two common technologies used for online business
networking - mailing lists (a.k.a. listservs) and discussion
forums.
A mailing list is simply a group of email addresses
subscribed to a single list, where sending an email
to the list address distributes the email to all the
subscribers. Mailing lists have been around as long
as email, and there is a variety of formats: moderated
or un-moderated, announcement or discussion. An announcement
list is one where the list owner can send out but no
one can reply, so it is used for sending things like
newsletters, not business networking. A discussion list
allows all subscribers to contribute, and interact,
and it can be moderated, with someone determining what
an acceptable posting to the list is. Sometimes moderated
lists are set up so someone has to approve each and
every posting - and sometimes the moderator simply stays
quiet until someone needs a stern warning or help. An
un-moderated list has no one in charge and can rapidly
turn into mayhem, since everyone is under the cloak
of anonymity and there is little repercussion for misbehavior.
For the most part, business networking mailing lists
are moderated by one or more individuals.
Discussion forums operate differently because they are
usually web based. You go to a web site, create a profile
for yourself by registering to join, and start browsing
the topics. This format is effective because it is usually
organized by topics, and you can read whatever anyone
before you had written. The discussions are "threaded,"
which means that the original post and all the replies
that follow are linked to one another, and indented
so you can see the order of who responded to who, when.
Forums are often searchable so if you need to find something
out, you can search by those words and see if anyone
has discussed it previously and contact them. Other
benefits of discussion forums are that your profile
can tell interested parties about you and your business,
and you can set it up to email you if anyone replies
to a topic you post.
Finding
a place to network
Depending on how you wish to network, you can find networks
to join in a number of ways. The most effective would
be to ask people you know on or off the web if they
recommend any good networks. For example, if you're
a web designer in Manhattan, your colleagues might tell
you about the World Wide Web Artists Consortium mailing
list - an industry related network that has been in
existence for many years, based in NYC. If you know
another business person who operates online, they might
tell you to check out Ryze.
Get on Google.com and do some searches for keywords
like "forum" or "discussion board" and include your
industry or interests in the search. For example, if
you are a freelance writer, you might search Google
for "freelance business forum" or "writers mailing list."
It really depends on what you want to accomplish, who
you want to network with (colleagues? prospective clients?).
For mailing lists, there are sites like Topica.com and
Liszt.com that categorize the millions of mailing lists,
which you can search to find some potential places to
network.
Just because you find a network doesn't mean you will
necessarily want to join it. For discussion forums,
look at participation. How much traffic does the site
seem to get? And how many, and how recent, were the
posts? Don't waste your time joining if it doesn't seem
like anyone ever comes there. You cannot gauge the traffic
on mailing lists as easily so you will have to subscribe
and see what comes through before determining if it
will benefit you.
Getting
Started
You can join a mailing list either by filling out a
form on a web site with your email address, or sending
an email to a subscription address. You will usually
get a confirmation that you need to reply to, in order
to be subscribed. Then you should get a welcome message
telling you the basics of using that particular mailing
list - how to post to the list, how to unsubscribe,
and who to contact if you have problems. After you have
subscribed, you will start to get emails from the list.
Whether or not you are networking via a mailing list,
you should always have a "sig" file for your email account.
A sig, or signature, is simply a bit of information
about your business and contact information that is
automatically appended to the end of every email you
send out. It is set up in the options or preferences
of your email application. For networking, it is essential
that you set up a 2-4 line sig for anyone who wants
to contact you, know what you do or find your web site.
For discussion forums, you can usually read posts as
a guest, but to contribute, you will have to register.
Registering usually involves filling out a form and
answering questions about your business, and providing
contact information. Be cautious what you provide here
- you may want to include your web site address and
phone number, but don't post things like your street
address. If there is a description or bio field, fill
it out - this is how people learn about you and what
you do.
How
to participate
Before entering into a discussion, it is a good idea
to observe for a while. Get a feel for the types of
people who are participating, what the communication
style is, and the personality of the group. It is no
different from face to face networking - you wouldn't
want to wear a suit to a surfer's convention, or show
up loud and brash at a chamber of commerce meeting.
For discussion forums, look around to see if there is
a link to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and read
it. It may provide essential information about what
is acceptable behavior or discourse, and tips for interacting
with the group. You might also find a link or address
to speak with the moderator or list owner, either on
the web site or in the welcome email. This is a good
person to contact with any questions or concerns.
One way to begin is to scan for questions that other
members ask, which you can answer. Make yourself useful,
helpful and share what you know. This is a great way
to establish yourself as an expert, and get your name
(and that sig you created!) out in front of the group.
Once you feel comfortable, and have established some
rapport, add your own questions, comments and concerns
to the list or forum, and continue to do so over time.
You might also notice, after observing a while, that
new members post a short intro about themselves and
you may want to do something like that too.
One of the most critical things to know about networking
online is that the sales and advertising aspect of it
is very subtle. DO NOT go leaping into a forum or list
promoting yourself or your business directly. This will
not win you respect or positive attention because if
everyone did that, the group would deteriorate completely
(as many have). Let your knowledge and your willingness
to help others be your billboard and over time, you
will establish trust and understanding among the group
members about what you do, and what you are looking
for.
If you aren't well versed in netiquette, it is more
important than ever that you brush up on the basic rules.
For example, typing in caps means you are shouting -
so make sure you don't do that! Trim the email or post
you are replying to, so it only includes the essential
bits of the previous writer's post, and your reply.
Don't post or send anything to the whole list which
was sent to you privately without the sender's permission.
There are many simple "golden rule" behaviors you should
become familiar with, before networking online, or else
you run the risk of making a bad impression or worse,
alienating potential contacts. Don't worry though -
there are literally thousands of netiquette sites online
that you can search for and review, to get the hang
of it.
Make
it easier
Networking online, by its very nature, takes some time.
If you decide to pursue this avenue for building your
business, you will find that it is easy to become overwhelmed
with emails to read, or have difficulty finding time
to browse the forums. There are some things you can
do to make this simpler and easier to do on a regular
basis.
If typing is not your thing, you will probably find
it difficult to network online. In fact, hunting and
pecking can make online communication downright frustrating.
Invest in a fun, affordable, and effective typing instruction
program like www.MavisBeacon.com and you will
eventually find it much easier to tap the potential
of networking online.
Scan the discussion forum and identify which forums
you want to participate in. Some networking groups have
multiple subjects - i.e., on a business networking group
there might be a subsection for entrepreneurs, for free
agents and work at home moms (WAHMs). Don't try to take
it all on - but make it a habit to be a regular, reading
and responding to posts, where it is most relevant to
your business.
If you are involved in a discussion forum, you will
have a username and password. Chances are there will
be an option to save this log-in information and this
is a convenience as long as you don't share your computer
with anyone else. Once you have logged in, bookmark
the forum to your Favorites (if you use Internet Explorer)
so that it is easy to access.
In the discussion forums, you may also have the option
to set notifications so that when someone responds to
your posts or replies, you are notified by email with
a link to quickly jump to that particular post in the
forum.
For mailing lists, set up filters or rules in your email
application to save any incoming mail from a mailing
list into a particular folder. This will keep you organized
and make it easier to routinely scan the subjects and
see if any particular discussions are interesting to
you. Some mailing lists generate a LOT of email so be
sure to do this early on. Mark the emails that you want
to save with a flag or category, and routinely purge
the rest so that you do not end up with bloated folders
of emails you will never read, or have read already.
Schedule or make a commitment to visit the forums, or
the folder you set up to filter the email regularly,
at least every 2-3 days or once a week. This not only
builds it into your routine, but it reflects to the
group that you're responsible, reliable, and not a fly-by-night
operation. Of course, if you join a group and it doesn't
work for you - move on - don't waste your time when
there are so many others to try. With some effort and
commitment, you will eventually find that your online
network of contacts, referral sources, and potential
clients is larger and farther flung than anything you
could build with face to face networking.
© 2004 Eileen P. Parzek, SOHO It Goes!
Eileen 'Turtle' Parzek is a veteran marketing designer
and online communications consultant who has been working
from home and virtually since 1995. Her business, SOHO
It Goes! (www.soho-it-goes.com)
specializes in providing technology driven design, marketing
and communication services to small businesses and organizations.
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