All the possible business cards in a click
We all understand Business Networking as the process of building a chain of people with the same commercial interests looking for a mutual beneficial relationship. Not that long time ago, business cards used to be the main symbol of Business Networking. Nevertheless, the Net has totally changed the way we communicate and this way of building business relations is not the exception. Business Networks online are getting more and more popular in the market world.
We never know what serendipity will become a business opportunity; more contacts we have, more possibilities will be waiting to happen. The viral power of Internet makes this idea a huge weapon of business expansion.
In Business Networks online, members invite friends and friends of friends, so your contact network will grow geometrically.
The most popular Businetworks is definitely LinkedIn with more than 40 million people in 200 countries. It’s massive and has lots of interesting groups to join! It focuses more on individuals than in business itself therefore is the place for personal-brands to be.
StartUpNation has, beyond the social thing, a very large amount of free articles, suggestions, forums and practical ways to find useful information related to business and problem solving.
This kind of sites are getting more and more popular, new stars in the sky like BizNik or LoopDesk are appearing, the latter was launched in May and has now members in 30 states of the U.S. and 10 different countries. They know the growing will keep on going and offer a free year membership.
Brandon Beck, the CEO founder of LoopDesk, gives us some tips to be successful on business networking online:
- Connect to members and recommend others, encourage people to connect with you and start creating relationships and reputation.
- Find service providers and list yourself in classified lists for immediate exposure. Through your profile, share everything you can offer to other members.
- Find face-to-face networking groups, connect and grow with local members.
- Ask, discuss, share knowledge.
- List all your different business to a bigger worldwide exposure.
While you’re connected, be there! Answer, participate, keep in touch with people; that’s what online networking is about. You don’t shake-hands-and-exchange-cards anymore, but it’s not enough to just have a profile, reach out and look for an online hand to receive your Web contact.
Sources:
- Ivan Misner (2008). What is Business Networking, anyway?
- Craig M. Jamieson (2009, July 8). Four Business-Social Networking Sites Worth Visiting.
- Buzzy Gordon (2009). Effective Networking for Busy People. Think you don’t have time to network? Think again.
