June 30th, 2011
by Dan Gold
The Wild Web Women LinkedIn Group had a great question posed on the topic of Women and Social Networking this week and I wanted to share the Q/A here to help more women lassoing this wild, wild web world.
QUESTION: Despite the fact that I know networking is one of the best ways to meet other women in business and it has important benefits (like job searching), I’m not very good at it. Also, there aren’t many active groups in my area. I’m wondering what some suggestions are for meeting other women in business and bulking up your contact list.
ANSWER: Great question, online networking can be really tough when there are not a lot of local events happening to build your base of people to take from live meets to online tweets, but on the positive side – this can be a gift because it can allow you to laser-focus your social networking so it really counts (versus going to a bunch of live events that aren’t up your alley).
My advice:
#1 Stop the negative self-talk (like saying you aren’t good at it) Success comes in cans, not can’ts…we are all learning this social networking stuff so we are in it together! Don’t put yourself down.
#2 Ask yourself what you are interested in business-wise. Who do you want to connect with? Why? If you are in a certain industry, search for professionals in these fields. I like to align social-web-wise with other speakers and authors because they motivate me. When I seek them out, I am clear on my intention and my time is centered on people who count. When we network on the social web, it is about quality vs. quantity.
#3 When you connect, extend a personal message. When you know who you want to connect with and why, this helps you craft your message.
Example: “Hi Wild Web Woman, I am interested in networking with other women in business and came across your profile in LinkedIn. I see you do ____ and I am really inspired by the work you do in ____. There are not a lot of impressive women like you in my city and would be grateful to have a virtual contact with you on LinkedIn. Warm Regards, Wild Web Woman
**note, compliments carry a lot of social networking power and so does actually doing your homework on who you want to connect with!**
#4 Remember, we are adults, we learn by doing. Nobody has been social networking long enough to be an uber expert, so just get in the game and have fun, learning and optimizing as you go. You are light years ahead of the game because you joined the Wild Web Women LinkedIn Group and asked us for advice! Bravo!
Virtual marketing hugs,
Lorrie, The Marketing Therapist
