Stop Overthinking On-line Networking

By Dustin Owen

Two decades ago, LinkedIn was founded. It has been 17 years since Facebook opened up its membership to anyone with a valid email address and 13+ years of age. Since 2015, Instagram, in the version we know it today, has been in existence. But as I travel the country speaking at large national sales conferences or hop on Zoom for a small group coaching session I am jaw-dropped stunned by how little today’s entrepreneurs, sales professionals and small business owners leverage online networking platforms for the benefits of expanding their network, generating more leads and ultimately producing more revenue.

Through this befuddlement I had to do some soul searching of my own as well as some investigative professional interrogation of those whose paths crossed mine. My discovery was one of enlightenment. I quickly realized that online networking was not being leveraged because for too many it is still thought of as new or foreign. For too many they see these platforms through the lens of an advertising executive perched up on Madison Avenue. To them Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram are either a forum for a select few to become “influencer famous” or a vehicle for businesses small and large to run advertisements the way radio, yellow pages, billboards or network TV was a staple for advertising ones product or service 20+ years ago. Contrary to their beliefs, they are better and more robust.

My “ah-ha” moment came when I started to compare why one would and should attend traditional networking events and how networking online is much the same yet less cumbersome. I am old-school. I buy into the notion that one’s net worth is the sum of their network. If there is a product or service to be sold, get out, get known, be seen and make connections. By doing so one will achieve their sales goals. I am new-school. I have learned that technology should be leveraged to accomplish what already shows patterns of success. I just first have to make sense of it. Here goes:

The Five Ways On-Line Networking Is Like Traditional Networking

The first step to successfully networking is to attend an event. The first step to online networking is to have an account. The accounts you need are Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. These are your “events”. Because most business professionals only want to attend events that are worth their time based on the other attendees, online networking requires its own “attendee list.” With online networking you can control who you are networking with and how many are in your group simply by sending a friend request (Facebook), following that person (Instagram) or connecting (LinkedIn). A task I give most of my coaching students is to increase their audience by 20% on all three platforms and for many another 20% is needed after the initial task is complete.

Before you attend a networking event, you need to get dressed, do your hair and wear your name badge. When you are on-line, your profile picture tells your audience everything they need to know about you in the same light as how you were dressed spoke a thousand words had the event been in person. Your name badge is your contact information. Not having your contact information easily accessible on one of your social media accounts is akin to showing up to an event with no name badge.

When you are working the room, you must make eye contact, smile and shake hands. Online networking requires the same effort. It is most important to send connection requests. This is making eye contact. You have got to smile. This is you liking or hearting another person’s post. Shaking hands is something we do first when introducing ourselves. While on-line, shaking hands is sending a direct message to your new contact saying, “hi” and thanking them for the connection.

Small talk is key. When attending an in-person business networking event the professional who can connect with strangers the easiest and find common ground quickly typically benefits the most. When we consider how this translates to online networking, we can only look at our posts. What are we posting? How often are we posting. Are our posts engaging? When someone likes or comments on our posts, do we comment back or thank them? At a minimum, do we acknowledge the fact someone slowed down to show us some attention? For many business professionals, this is where they can grow the most. The answers tend to lean towards not posting at all or posting too much about one topic such as all work, all family or all current events. Posts should be daily. They should be a good mixture of work, play, family and current events. When someone comments, comment back or send them a message. If you notice certain people tend to like or heart your posts, return the favor. Imagine yourself in a random hotel conference room holding that small plate of 3-day old shrimp cocktail and warm, stale domestic beer. Would you ever not engage with another person who was standing in front of you laughing at your jokes, nodding as you spoke or sharing back common stories? Of course not! Then make sure you are not that person online. Be sure to engage.

Take the relationship offline. When you attend a networking function, you are not there to close the deal or make the sale. You are there to meet people. You are there to connect. You are there to size up who you feel like you can bring the most value to and who in return could become a user of your product or service. You then need to plan a follow-up meeting. The same applies online. You are there to meet (send connection requests), make eye contact (like or heart their posts), shake hands (send a message), share in small talk (post to your account) and ultimately invite them to meet one-on-one with you whether over a Zoom or over coffee. This can be done either via a traditional phone call or a message sent via the platform for which you are connected.

Lastly, while examining the similarities online networking embodies as compared to traditional networking we need to list its differences. It is only fair. When you choose online networking you:

Pick the time and place. Online networking is open 24/7. No more driving across town fighting traffic, burning fuel and risking being late to Jr.’s soccer practice.

Pay $0 to attend. Unlike traditional networking, there is no charge to connect with others who do what you do.

Don’t have to get dressed, do your hair or even brush your teeth. (Just make sure your profile picture is current, professional and what you want others to see first.)

Guarantee the room is always full with the types of people you want to be connected with you. No more guessing and hoping the right people show up.

Cover more space in less time. Online networking lets you “see” more people is less time. You will spend time networking with more of the right type of professionals and less with those less likely to find value in a connection with you.