Networking is an art. It takes time, effort, and patience to build a strong network of contacts that can help you reach your goals faster.
Networking is also important in our business as we need to connect with other professionals in the same niche who can share ideas and tips with us on how to do better SEO for our clients. If you are new to networking or haven’t been doing it for a while, here are some tips on how you can become more effective networking:
Create a LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn is a great way to connect with people who can help you in your career. It’s also one of the most important ways for employers to find and hire candidates, so it’s essential that you create an effective LinkedIn profile.
The first step is creating a personal profile that includes information about yourself and your skills (or lack thereof). Make sure this is clearly distinguishable from any other professional profiles on LinkedIn—if someone looks at both yours and theirs, they won’t realize which one belongs solely to you!
Your personal page should include:
- A photo of yourself (don’t worry if it doesn’t look professional—we’ll talk more about this later)
- Your education background or work history (if applicable) * Any awards/recognitions * A brief summary of what makes you unique as an individual – maybe even some hilarious stories from college days!
Complete Your Profile
- Include your education and work experience.
- Include a photo.
- Include a link to your website or blog.
- Link to your LinkedIn profile, Twitter account, Facebook page and other social media profiles (if you have them).
Join LinkedIn Groups
LinkedIn groups are a great way to connect with others who share your interests. You can find groups for almost any industry or topic, and you’ll probably find the most relevant one in no time.
Once you’re connected to someone who knows what they’re doing, ask them for advice or help when necessary. Don’t be afraid of asking for advice—it’s not awkward at all! You’ll be surprised how many people will be willing to help if you show them that you’re serious about improving yourself and growing as an entrepreneur/marketer/whatever else type of person you might be into right now.
You should also consider joining LinkedIn groups where there are other marketers like yourself who are interested in learning more about Search Marketing strategies too! It’s always nice having someone else who shares similar interests around; it helps keep things interesting and fun (and less boring).
Contributes Alice Rowen Hall from Rowen Homes
Contribute to the Group Discussions
In a group discussion, the most helpful thing you can do is add value.
- Add useful content. If someone asks a question or makes a suggestion that could be useful to others in the group, respond with something valuable and relevant.
- Respond to comments and questions posted by other members of the group. This will help keep things organized (and prevent confusion!) and also show people who may not have been paying attention that someone actually cares about what they said!
Shares Helen Ferris, founder of Imagine Maids
Volunteer for Local Events
As a search marketer, it’s important to get involved in your local community. Volunteering for local events gives you the opportunity to meet other people and network with them. In addition, when you volunteer at an event, organizers will be more likely to invite you back again if they enjoy working with you or think that your skills could help them achieve their goals.
Volunteers can expect:
- A lot of face time with the organizer(s)
- A lot of opportunities to learn new things about the event(s) like how much money was raised or what types of donations were made by attendees (e-commerce etc.)
If there is a specific area where most volunteers need help (such as social media), then we can assign specific tasks based on skill set rather than just random volunteers being assigned tasks without any prior notice.
Andrew Cooper, Owner at Simply E-Liquid shares this important knowledge.
Connect with Sponsors, Speakers and Other Volunteers
To network with sponsors, speakers and other volunteers:
- Find out who your audience is and what they’re interested in. Ask them what they’re looking for when it comes to events or conferences. You can also ask if there are any particular speakers that they’d like to hear more about.
- Reach out to those people and let them know you’re interested in connecting with them on a personal level—and offer your services as an asset in return! This will show them how much value YOU bring to the table, which increases the likelihood of their accepting your invitation (and making sure everyone else knows).
- Have proper networking tools: You want to make sure that you’re able to contact the people you meet after the events are over. Be sure to use a digital business card that allows you to conveniently share your contact info and let your new leads input theirs too. This allows for quick follow-up later.
Takeaway:
The takeaway from this article is that networking is not just about bringing people together. It’s also about getting leads and building relationships with them, so be sure to follow up after every meeting with your contact to make sure everything went well!
- Ask for a follow-up meeting. If you’ve met someone who seems like a good fit for your company, ask them if there is anything else we can do for them in our network of professionals (like us). We’re happy to connect you with other industry experts based on your needs, but let’s make sure we’re all on the same page first by scheduling an introductory call or meeting so that both parties know what they’re working towards together!
- Send a thank-you note after each networking event.* This one’s simple: send an email thanking everyone who attended the event and letting them know how thankful we are that they were able attend! It doesn’t matter how long ago it was—it will show those attending how much value they added by coming out themselves! Be sure though not just focus on thanking people directly involved but also any attendees who may have brought along their own connections too–this could lead off into great things down future paths.”
Conclusion
We hope you’ve found this post helpful in creating a strong presence on LinkedIn and that it improves your search marketing efforts. We know that it can be difficult to find time to network, but don’t let that stop you! It’s important to remember that you are doing more than just building your personal brand; when done correctly, these activities can help build a community of like-minded professionals around an issue or cause of your choice.
