Networking is an increasingly important part of business. Business managers and entrepreneurs are using networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn to establish business contacts and to locate talent for their organizations. The lines are fast becoming blurred between social and professional networking.

LinkedIn is the platform of choice for professional networking. It is a social networking tool that allows members to maintain a list of contacts they know and trust in business, make new connections and re-connect with past contacts and acquaintances. LinkedIn has over 20 million members making it the number one professional networking site today.

The best business networkers are connected into the broad fabric well beyond their immediate professional boundaries. They build relationships and interact with people. They are genuinely interested in people and what they are thinking. They seek interaction because they are curious about people and their ideas.

The modern business networker uses online social networks in addition to traditional networking. They make regular contributions in forums such as LinkedIn Answers and write regular blog articles that are thoughtful and helpful. The modern business networker has a “pay it forward” rather than a “what’s in it for me” philosophy.

They are always looking for ways to help people. They learn something and are looking to pass it on to help others. The best networkers rarely expect a personal payoff. This makes them a natural magnet for people wanting to join their network.

Business networking is a communications skill based on human interaction. The same rules apply to face-to-face and online networking.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 26th, 2008 at 7:56 am and is filed under BLIF Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.