Business Builders Group is a worldwide community that helps SME owners and leaders grow; through professional development, collaboration and the generation of warm referrals from people that they know, like and trust.
Kelly Hoey - who has amassed over 560,000 followers on linked-in has written a brilliant article on the importance of networking and how to network effectively.
As you know - networking for me is one of the four pillars to success.
Yet a lot of people feel anxious or lost when it comes to networking, especially when engaging in conversations online. If you’re one of those people, take comfort in knowing you’re not alone, say Kelly.
Kelly share with us effective strategies that are needed to overcome those anxieties so you can connect powerfully with your network - and build know like and trust!
Her golden rule when it comes to networking in the digital age is simple:
be yourself (that is, be human) regardless of where you meet someone, because networking online is no different than networking offline. Now more than ever we’re craving stronger human connections.
The good news is that today, we have more tools to connect meaningfully with others than at any time in history. Social networks, messaging apps, co-working spaces, meetups and BBG forums and BNI chapters are just a few examples.
When it comes to allowing the real you to shine online, here are her three suggestions:
Think of online platforms as you would physical ‘offline’ spaces - For Kelly , online networking platforms are simply an extension of physical spaces.
LinkedIn is the office or industry conference. Facebook is the high school reunion or family gathering.
Twitter is the cocktail party.
While you may share the same information in all of these networking spaces, you wouldn’t necessarily share it in the same way (i.e. how you share a big promotion at work with your family is unlikely to be the way you tell your closest friends or colleagues).
Build your online network by focusing on people you already know, like and trust -
Networking is a time-wasting anxiety when you only seek to meet strangers.
Spend more time connecting with your tribe, the people who already know you and know what you are capable of delivering – friends, customers and colleagues.
BBG is a brilliant forum to help you build those deep relationships with like minded people who will focus on helping you through collaboration , learning and growth
Networking and building know like and trust takes time, energy and care.
Focus on who you want to meet and identify ways in which you can add value to them.
“Give people what they want and you will get what you want”
It took Kerry seven years of online conversations for her to meet best-selling author Tom Peters (using her ‘be the good guest at the cocktail party’ approach on Twitter *). Today, Tom is a mentor and friend and f hers
Marketing in the digital age
Another huge obstacle that may be holding you and your business back is the anxiety when it comes to promoting or marketing yourself online.
If you think an online marketing strategy is about pushing a product or only talking about yourself – then you should be uncomfortable.
When you are networking or promoting your product remind myself to be the person other people want to talk to.
Because here’s the thing: effectively connecting with others on social platforms is not about one-way marketing; it’s all about two-way interaction.
It’s a conversation, a dialogue. It’s sharing information and ideas. It’s being of service.
It is not the digital equivalent of walking into a crowded room of people shouting “FRIENDS, I HAVE A 50 PERCENT OFF SALE YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS!” without saying hello.
Effective online marketing is about creating multiple touchpoints to stay top-of-mind.
A good rule to follow before posting: ask yourself if the information you’re sharing will help someone else with their career or business. She has been doing this consistently once a day, first thing in the morning. Her network tells her that she is the first update they see every day - and She has amassed over 560,000 followers on LinkedIn.
One way to do this is by enlisting a group of close friends to promote each other regularly by sharing content online (whether by forwarding the insights to your friends via e-mail or Facebook updates or posting a tweet or RT). Send a weekly email to the group asking them “what do you need promoted online this week?”.
A great example of this is the Cartier Awards Twitter chat on closing the gender gap in STEM. These types of online conversations will connect you to others who share your passion in a format that is based on contributing good ideas and solutions. Isn’t that what great marketing is really all about?
* The good guest is the person who wants to be invited back, is helpful to the host and takes interest in the others invited to the party. Online, this translates to retweeting and liking (the digital nod or acknowledgment of another's contribution).
This article was inspired by an article on the blog of the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards. @Cartier Women's Initiative Awards are an international business competition created in 2006 to identify, support and encourage projects by women entrepreneurs.
by Anna McAfee | Featured Contributor
“What tribes are, is a very simple concept that goes back 50 million years. It’s about leading and connecting people and ideas. And it’s something that people have wanted forever” says Seth Godin.
You’d have to be living under a rock to not have recently heard the words ‘community’ and ‘tribe’. But why does it matter so much, and why does it matters now? We need to take a look at the world, where we are as individuals, and where we are as a collective.
But what is a community? As individuals we are members of multiple groups of people, which are defined by geography, work, study, interests, online social networks, and online group participation.
As humans we have a basic need for community but modern lifestyles are squeezing this out. Community is more and more absent from the way we live our lives. We have evolved in tribes, always lived and hunted as groups, but we are living more isolated lives online and not interacting with individuals and groups around us. Social change has meant that many of us have moved away from where we grew up, and we don’t have a support network around us. Its alarming that for many its becoming the norm to go for days without seeing another human face to face.
The internet and social media have created unprecedented opportunities for connection across the globe. A hyper-connected world, always online, has provided considerable advantages, with greater opportunities for remote work and flexibility, in particular for women. We have information at our fingertips and the ability to find customers and build business relationships remotely.
Where there is an upside, there is also a downside. Social media is eating humans. Estimates show that 2.95B people on earth (one third of humanity) will use social media by 2020. It connects us in ways we’ve never before seen or imagined. It disconnects us in ways we take for granted. In a time when social media shapes our world view and drives our daily interactions, we need to define a new balance between online and offline, between global and local, between virtual and reality. Modern life is creating a human connection gap, there is lack of social cohesion around us, and less of a sense of belonging.
Photo by Slava Bowman on Unsplash
In recent years there has been a shift towards authentic connection in what has become a fast, technologically advanced world. Social media has added so much to our world and our businesses but we have lost something in the process. We have become accustomed to define ourselves by the job we do, who we know, how many likes we get. Yet we are so much more than the superficiality of all those things.
As a result of change we are seeing a shift in consumer demands, a craving for a more human experience. In our DNA there is a desire to be a part of a community, or multiple communities, that support us and help us grow.
Brands and companies are being expected to deliver a more human experience to its customers and followers. We now have #O2O movements (online to offline) and #H2H (human to human) delivery of content, products and services.
Another example of this change is the #letsgethonest campaign in late 2017 and re-run again in 2018. 26 million people shared their failures and weaknesses via content, on the basis that what we share as humans aren’t perfections and successes, but universal flaws and failures.
Online brands such as Fiverr and Asana are now delivering a community experience to customers and contributors. #LinkedInLocal, a campaign to take online connections offline and come together to meet in groups face-to face, has spread to over 85 countries in less than two years. We continually see the rise and growth of Facebook communities for like-minded people, anything from mothers groups to soul-centred entrepreneurs, there is a Facebook group for literally everything.
Even in a digital world it is so important to build our own “villages” to support us. Social isolation is damaging to health, education, business and society. As humans we need to find the balance between an increased need for privacy, and shutting ourselves off from the world. Human interaction must be meaningful and when we recognise this we need to picture what our own ideal in-person villages look like, and use technology for good in order to seek them out.
Getting the right people for the right job is key to enable any business to survive and thrive.
“My recruitment plus” is the best of breed of technology that helps you achieve this - for pennies! This Technology - enables you to have a virtual recruitment firm on your web - it will help grow your database with relevant people - it does this by keyword-matching, mega-social media access , artificial intelligence and a whole lot more. It will even provide your Onboarding system for your HR functions!
The future, and the now, of recruitment, is where cutting-edge technology such as “my recruitment plus” merges with the most sophisticated human influencing skills.
There will always be a place for an outstanding recruiter - which is like gold for any organisation.
Communication, information, persuasion, advising and credibility is needed.
Automation has already sliced away big chunks of a recruiters job.
The magic happens at the key “moments of truth” and the great recruiter is super-skilled at those key ‘moments of truth’ - where outcomes are shaped and deals are done.
The recruiter will manage a counter-offer or qualify a job-order - something that technology can never do!!
The recruiter is a champion of influence, control, advice, sophisticated persuasion based on knowledge and experience, and is able to manage outcomes for the greater good of all parties.
A great recruiter who loves and understands these skills - will have fun, money, self esteem.. and a long career.
If you are that person - we would love to chat with you!
Steve Jobs believed in the fundamental power of belief.
You have to trust in something -- your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.
See genius in your craziness, believe in yourself, believe in your vision, and be constantly prepared to defend those ideas.
You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.
Jobs knew that plans are never perfect. Only in hindsight can they appear that way.
Here's what really happens.
People who eventually find success start by trying things. Lots of things. They succeed at some. They fail at others. They learn from those successes and those failures.
And along the way they seize and at times even create their own opportunities to advance themselves and those around them
Although having a plan and goals are important, with milestones and an end in mind, the reality is - that shit happens and plans change !
Jobs identified 10 certain principles and values that are key to success - in whatever you are trying to achieve....
