What’s in a name? Virtual networking is also known as digital networking, and has even been called virtual marketing. Regardless of what you call it, the opportunities it provides are the same. That is to say, considerable.
For the sake of simplicity, this article will refer to it as virtual networking – feel free to replace that with digital networking (or whatever preference you have) as you read.
There are so many benefits that you’ll be able to enjoy when it comes to virtual networking, but it basically comes down to some of the relationships that you’re able to form along the way.
This article will take a closer look at virtual networking to help you see how great this can be for you to utilize too. Let’s get started!
Social Media Was Basically Built For Your Virtual Networking Strategy
Social media is one of the best places for you to form some good connections that you’re not able to get anywhere else. Knowing how to work with social media campaigns and figuring out the best way to speak to others who are looking to reach out to you as well.
There’s so much that you can do with your social media that’ll make virtual networking go out of this world. Some of the ways that you can step up your own virtual networking strategy with social media are below.
You don’t need to work with every social media site to create some of the virtual networking connections that you want. But you do need to work with the right ones.
Professionals who are willing to work with some of the best social media sites will find that this is a great way to work through and reach the connections that they want on all levels.
Some of the best options to choose when picking a good social media site are…
YouTube: YouTube is a great visual social media site where you can interact with a lot of people. Share videos, webinars, and other important information that you would like to share with others. Make sure that you present high-quality videos that are certain to impress and do not sound the same as all the others. This’ll give you a lot of chances to interact with the viewers, and you can lead them to your website or other options for connection.
Instagram: Instagram is great for forming a connection through visuals and showcasing some of your work. If you work in an industry that values pictures and images, then you need to spend some time on Instagram to form some of your connections.
Twitter/X: Short and sweet and to the point is the name of the game when it comes to Twitter. This is a great place to share some of your information in a small package to make sure that you are getting the best results to your connections.
LinkedIn: This is a business social media site, a good one to form some of the bonds that you need with other like-minded professionals in the same industry. Look into the connections of those you already connect with, share useful information on the industry, and find other ways to connect with those who matter the most to you.
Connect Your Social Media To Your Invites
Any time you invite connections to a webinar, a time to meet, or anything else, take the time to attach your social media to this as well.
They may not choose to use it, but it can provide you with a good way to get in connection with them and will allow them more time to search you out and learn more about you, too.
You should only focus on a couple of social media sites at once. This’ll help save a lot of confusion and can keep the invites to a minimum.
Three is usually pretty good, unless you have a large reach and need more. Any emails or other options that you send out to others should have information about the social media you use to help here.
Keep It Professional
No matter what you do with your social media, you need to make sure that you act professionally all the time.
No one wants to come to your profile to make a connection and then find out that you’re unprofessional or that you say and do things that offend them. If you’re using your social media to reach others and form more business connections, then the page needs to be professional the whole time.
This means that it is time to clean up the social media page as much as possible. Have pictures that go along with the message that you want to share, and posts that are relevant.
Clean up your current social media site if it doesn’t match with the new message that you want to send to other people, either. Little things can turn customers and other professional connections away from you and, so take the time to clean up the social media to make it professional.
How To Get Found On Social Media And Other Content Marketing Sites?
One goal that you need to work towards when it comes to your social media presence is to make sure that other people can find you through searching.
With the right tools, like an optimized bio and some good hashtags, you can have others find you and start that connection first.
Getting found requires a bit of effort, research and a lot of consistency! Don’t expect that you’re going to explode in popularity overnight – in truth, this is a long-term commitment that WILL pay off heavily as long as you stick to it and never quit. And, provided you follow the basic guidelines I’m including below.
Use Relevant Hashtags
One of the first things that you should consider doing when it comes to your social media and content marketing sites is to use the right hashtag.
This makes it easier for your connections to just type in the hashtag and find you.
Think of a hashtag as a keyword and while hashtags don’t work as they once did on Instagram, they’re still helpful everywhere else.
When you utilize a unique hashtag that’s relevant to your industry, it can also help new connections find you when they search online.
Research some of the top hashtags in your industry and find ways to add them naturally into the posts and comments that you write on social media. This’ll help others to find you when they search for that information.
Another option is to make a unique hashtag, one that is special to your business. You can always promote that later and utilize that buzz to bring more connections into your site.
Optimize Your Bio
The next thing to work on is optimizing your bio. You need to have a strong bio that tells the reader who you are quickly and won’t make it hard to learn who you are. You can add more than one line, but it also shouldn’t be a novel of information, either.
Here are a few things to keep in mind as you create your bio. The following is far from complete, but it’s a good start. For a more in-depth look at optimizing your bio, take a look at our article on the 8 elements of a compelling social profile!
Be consistent on all digital platforms.
Choose a bio that works for all social media platforms and your website. Each one has their own limits on the characters that you can use but try to be as consistent as you can.
Be clear and concise: You’ll be limited on space that you can use on some social media, like Twitter and Instagram, while others allow more characters. No matter the amount of space you have, find ways to explain who you are with impactful and useful information.
Include the right keywords: You need to use some good keywords that will make the profile easier to search. You can include things like your primary skill sets, services, or even products in the bio to make it easier to search.
When you optimize your bio, it’s easier to maintain consistency from one area to the next. And you’ll have the benefit of making it easier for your viewers and connections to find you when they need to.
Engage With Other Accounts
It’s not enough to just write a few posts and then ignore the social media in between these posts. That’s one way to make it hard for your account to be found by others you wish to connect with.
You need to be active on social media and interact with as many people as possible, without looking like spam, to help make yourself more visible.
The first interactions that you do need to be with those who come to the page and comment.
When someone comments on a post, asks a question, or messages you, make sure that you respond back.
This doesn’t have to be instant, so do not worry if you can’t be on the page all day long. But it does need to be done in a reasonable amount of time, so the viewer feels like they’re important.
You also need to interact with others that have similar interests to you. Follow and like other pages that are inspirational to you, that share a good message, or who are in the same industry as you. Then comment, provide advice, and otherwise interact with that page.
This may get the owners of that page to comment or follow you back. But more importantly, this is a great way for the followers of that other page to see your information and perhaps make a jump over to being your follower as well.
How To Make New Virtual Connections
Now it’s time to look at some of the different options that you can use in order to make some new virtual connections. You may already have some connections, and you can utilize different virtual means to make those connections to get ahead along the way.
But if you want to really make a good network and lots of connections, you’ll need to find some good ways to make new virtual connections that you never had before.
Use LinkedIn
LinkedIn is one of the top places where you can build up the virtual network that you’re looking for, especially in the professional field. There are a ton of professionals who are already online on this social media site, and many are looking for connections already. This makes it a great opportunity to form some of the connections that you want.
Make sure that you have a LinkedIn profile to get started. You need to have it completed with some of the most important information about yourself, ensuring that you’re able to get the most views.
Take some time to form good connections, too. Look for the commonalities with others when you send a connection request to make it more likely that you are going to meet someone and form that connection.
Also consider adding some of the connections that you need to ensure that you’ll see the best results.
Facebook Groups
Facebook Groups are a place where you’re able to connect with others who share some of the same interests as you, and they’re extremely popular!
It’s even possible to create your own group and then connect it back to your page to get the community started. Or you can look for groups in your industry or in your interests and join that to start participating.
There are different steps that you can take in order to help connect to a community, whether you’re making your own group or connecting with others in a different group.
Above all else, stick to the following and you’ll do just fine…
Be Genuine and Helpful: You need to build up trust through some of your posts and comments. Make it easy for people to talk to you, talk about things that provide value, and more to be authentic on the page.
Be Consistently Active: Don’t just sit back and assume that others are going to connect with you through this. You need to be an active participant to make sure that others can see you and will work with you as well. Give positive feedback with reactions and comments, engage in some good conversations, and create a good environment where people want to participate.
Use Facebook Live: When it’s your own group, make sure to utilize Facebook Live. This allows you to engage with the members and make a splash along the way.
Make all the Facebook Live options unique and creative to ensure that your members will want to be part of it.
There are a lot of ways that you can utilize Facebook Groups to help you make virtual connections. Look at some of the tips above to make sure that you’ll get the best results.
Quora
A treasure trove of knowledge and expertise, Quora has quickly become one of the most trusted platforms for asking questions and sharing insights.
By dedicating a few moments to create your Quora profile, you’re not just joining a Q&A site; you’re stepping into a global community of professionals, enthusiasts, and experts from countless domains.
Begin by identifying and following topics relevant to your industry. You can also connect with influencers and professionals who resonate with your interests.
Engage by asking insightful questions or sharing your expertise in answers. And remember, quality content can establish your authority and increase your visibility, connecting you with potential collaborators or clients.
Known as “The Front Page of the Internet,” Reddit is a vast network of communities, each focused on specific interests or topics, called ‘subreddits’.
To immerse yourself in this vibrant ecosystem, start by signing up and exploring subreddits related to your industry or passion.
Once you’ve identified the right communities, dive into the conversations. But before you do, take a moment to familiarize yourself with each subreddit’s rules — they can vary significantly.
Engage genuinely, contribute value, and you’ll find that not only can you gain knowledge and insights, but you can also forge meaningful professional connections.
Webinars
There are a lot of online webinars that you can join, and you should take advantage of this as well. Find something that interests you and then utilize it to meet other people too.
There are so many benefits of attending these online webinars, so it’s worth your time to learn something new and meet other people.
Take some time to learn which webinars are out there. You may feel overwhelmed in the beginning, trying to figure out which one is right for you.
Think about what would help propel your career and get you ahead, what would be the most valuable to you. It can be something new and unique as well so that you can learn something that’s brand new.
Once you find a webinar or two that seem interesting to you, it’s time for you to attend and participate. While some webinars allow others to sit back and just listen and learn, this makes it hard for you to really focus on making new connections.
You need to get right in there and learn how to participate and have a lot of fun. When you are able to do that, you increase your chances of meeting others and really making a difference along the way with how many connections you have.
Making new virtual connections is one of the best ways for you to get ahead and make a difference in how big your network is going to grow.
Find the right webinars online and learn how to reach out to others, and you will find that you can make great virtual networking is the right thing for you.
Virtual Networking Tools For Success
When it’s time to work with your virtual networking to meet others and get ahead, you want to make sure that you’re reaching your people as efficiently as possible.
There are a lot of great virtual networking tools that you can use, you’ll just need to make your plans and see which tool will provide you with the most benefits in the process.
One of the first places that you can look when it’s time to work with your virtual networking is Zoom. Almost everyone has an account with Zoom, and it’s easy to set up and use, even without downloading something onto your computer. Choose to talk to one person or multiple and see what all this site can do.
While Zoom may not have all the same features that some of the other options on our list do, but it does provide a lot of benefits compared to utilize them. It’s simple to work with, whether you would like to talk to just one person or a lot, Zoom is going to provide you with all of the services that you need to set up that virtual meeting and make lasting connections.
GoToWebinar
GoToWebinar is a great option to choose when it’s time to have a flexible webinar that’ll work for all the virtual networks that you would like to expand all the things that you’re able to do with those who come to your events.
This is like what you can see with Zoom, but it also provides a lot of other great choices that’ll give you interaction, insightful analytics, powerful integrations, and so much more. This makes it useful for paying attention to some of the different things that you need to really get your virtual meeting off the ground. You can also use it for basic talking and communicating if you would like too.
Slack
Those who are trying to put together a virtual event will find that Slack is a great option that they’re able to utilize. There are a ton of great features that the individual or the group can use in order to help them to get the most engagement, with as little onboarding as possible. This is great for some of the last minute meetings that you would like to set up or for things that happen but don’t have a ton of planning with them.
One thing that a lot of organizers like about Slack is that it allows them and other attendees to just jump right on whenever they would like, engaging in a real-time conversation without all the friction that some of the other options are going to have. This makes it easier for the organizer to ignite a community and even direct their attention better than before.
If you would like a chance to mix up some of the formatting that you do for your virtual event, then you can take the time to work on Eventify to create your very own event app. This is possible with Eventify, which is designed to help you create a completely personalized, cross-platform app for your event so that you can take some of the networking that you do to the next level.
Eventify works on the idea of tag technology, which is going to work to match attendees together. At the registration, an attendee can pick a maximum of 20 tags that are meant to match their interests, which range from fintech to food technology based on your event. They can then connect with others according to their interests. It’s also possible for an attendee to send out invites to others, get, and receive some private messages, and set up meetings one on one if they would like.
Next on the list is Brella. This is an aesthetically pleasing event platform that’s sure to provide one of the best virtual event platforms on the list. And networking is going to be one of the specialties that you like the most.
This one is unique because it’s going to utilize artificial intelligence to help connect the attendees together. All of those who join will be able to get with the right people, can utilize some of the live chat features to converse with other sponsors, and even book one on one video meetings to bring in professional conversations when it’s needed. There are no limits, and you are sure to love everything that this one has to offer.
Upstage by Hire Space is a great place to start when you need to get a virtual or hybrid conference off the ground. They offer some of the best when it comes to all the networking capabilities that you need to foster some of those connections that are so important to your company.
How does this one work though?
Attendees can join on this network and enjoy real-time discussions, do networking sessions that are like the speed dating we have seen in the past, and even join in with a focus group thanks to some of the smart features that are provided to the customer based on their goals and interest. There are many great reporting features to see how many of the attendees were able to interact with one another and even set up some 1 on 1 meetings if you need.
All these virtual networking tools are going to help your company get set up for success. Determining which one is right for you’ll make a world of difference in your overall success and will ensure that you’re able to get ahead and make virtual networking work well for you.
Closing Thoughts
In our modern world, we need to network more than ever. But it isn’t always possible to do the networking face to face like we have in the past.
Thanks to all the neat technology that’s going on around us, it’s possible to do a virtual networking event, either individually or in a big group, to make sure that we can reach those important connections that’ll bring us to success.
There are so many reasons to network with those around us. Whether you want to look to break into a new field, reach new clients to grow your own business, or have connections available in case something changes later, virtual networking opens more doors than ever before.
With the right techniques and following some of the tips above, you’ll be able to open your net of connections and see some of the great networking that you need.
