Four Proven Ways To Expand Your Professional Network

The best way to highlight the importance of having an effective professional network is by relying on figures, as numbers never lie. According to some statistics, more than half of MBA graduates rely on networking to identify the best job opportunities.

The internet isn’t just a place where you go to find websites, keep an eye on your competitors, and so on. It’s a digital business environment where you can find several solutions for exposure, growth, collaboration, and learning.

One of those solutions includes building a strong professional network that gives your business credibility. Whether you’re looking to partner with other businesses or hire top talent for new job positions, an effective network can take your entire organization to a whole new level.

The more influential and well-developed your network, the more opportunities you get to expand your business. It’s also vital to determine the type of network you need, as an open network provides much more opportunities than a closed one. Since this is crucial for your success, here’s how to build an enduring, open, and effective network for your business.

Join Corporate Networks and Groups

Whatever the size of your current corporate network, it could be significantly larger. You can expand it considerably by incorporating peer groups and all other groups related to your line of work, business niche, marketplace, and industry.

Nowadays, there are tons of corporate networks and groups on the web and social media. Discover as many as you can, delve deeper into blogs and forums, and identify every networking possibility and option with even the slightest connection to your business.

You can go one step further by creating your own specific groups across social media networks and channels where your target audience is active the most. LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest provide the most groups of the sort.

These groups allow you to:

• Stay connected with authoritative professionals in your industry.
• Find out about the latest trends in your business niche.
• Make quality connections in the right places.
• Gain access to development and business opportunities beyond your local market.

Build Offline Connections

When we speak of networks, we don’t always refer to some network online or on the web. There are ways to build your network offline too. Simply identify business connections relevant to your business and industry and start working on building connections with those professionals.

Social events and word of mouth are still the best ways to get in touch with people from different corners of the planet. If someone in Japan knows about your business, visiting business events such as conferences in foreign countries is one of the best ways to expand your operations.

Work on Your Communication Skills

When it comes to networking, so much depends on your industry knowledge and communication skills. It’s paramount that you understand the importance of evolving in your ability to convene and relate with others when having a professional conversation about business opportunities, events, the latest technologies and tools, and so on.

The art of effective communication is what helps you nurture your existing relationships and create new ones. Therefore, you need to learn how to rely on your communication skills just as you rely on the latest tech tools. If you show interest, respect, and consideration when making connections, clients will want to engage with you more regularly.

Consider Investing in Top Tools

Now, aside from social media channels, you should consider investing in a carefully selected assortment of tools that can help you build an effective business network and ensure your company never comes anywhere near bankruptcy. Some of the tools you should consider include:

• Hootsuite – since you need a strong presence on social media platforms, you’ll need an effective way to handle multiple social media accounts, as this can be quite a time-consuming task. Hootsuite is more than just a tool; it’s an entire social media management platform that offers plenty of options to automate your social media management efforts and monitor your performance.
• Trulia – if you’re a retailer or a real estate agent, Trulia is an excellent platform that improves your decision-making process. The platform offers an array of useful features you can use to create a thorough FAQ page to educate your consumers and create more meaningful relationships.
• Headline Analyzer – in the world of the internet, every little detail counts. Your consumers won’t read your posts and blogs if your titles aren’t attention-grabbing and engaging. This tool helps you create a real value with each new update.
• flexiWAN – a tool that allows you to create a centrally-managed network and choose from various hosting options to build your business network architecture in a customizable manner.

Final thoughts

Building your business network from scratch can seem hard, tedious, and complex, as well as time-consuming (and it often is). However, you can make your efforts much more seamless and fruitful if you combine your previous experience, knowledge, and skills with the power of the internet and modern technology.

This powerful and game-changing combination may just be what you need to get ahead of the competition and help your business remain relevant in your marketplace.

Tommy Wyher is a marketer from Tampa, Florida. He prides himself in helping brands reach new levels in brand awareness. In his free time, he enjoys the beach and spending time with his family.

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