8 Networking Steps to Boost Your Marketing Efforts!
I have talked a lot about marketing, especially in this blog. And, I am sure that most of you guys have read those posts (if you haven’t, do check out my author page). I remember the times that I have told my readers that networking is just another method to promote/market your blog or your brand. In this blog post, we are going to take a look at the importance of networking on marketing and what we can do to improve our marketing efforts. Let’s start:
Networking: How it can help Marketing?
Networking is about sharing quality content with other people (and caring about them). When you share others’ content (and communicate/network with them), they will also be willing to share your content (and communicate with you). That’s common knowledge. A wise blogger uses this common knowledge to get more out of less. The primary reason for article marketing is exposure and traffic. And networking – I think – is the best way to gain more exposure by reiterating yourself.
Networking, in a way, is collaboration. Let me give you a simple example:
While you were doing your regular routine check at Twitter, you happened to notice a catchy tweet. You liked that tweet and you decided to contact the author (that’s networking). Soon enough you guys will become friends and help each other out with promoting stuff (That’s the power of networking).Now, this is a benefit for both you and the person you are networking with. Both of you guys get something in return for what you give. Since, both parties work together, networking can be defined as a collaborative effort (Well, it is).
If used effectively, Networking can save you a lot of time and effort.
Note: Another benefit of networking is that you are interacting with people. This helps you to improve your blogging and communication skills. Now that I have explained what networking can do, let’s take a look at how you can apply this to your own style.
Marketing with Networking – Twitter
1. Find Great Networkers and Others Who Share Content
You can do this through different ways:
- Look for interesting tweets.
- Look through people who followed you recently.
- Look in other peoples’ timeline.
- Look in blogs, blog forums and blog communities.
2. Start Talking
- Respond to a tweet. Do you agree or disagree with the tweet?
- Tell them why your tweet was interesting.
- Check their blog articles. Respond and Re-tweet.
3. Keep Talking
- Develop a close circle of networking friends that you can work with. Network with these guys at least once a week.
- Collaborate with your networking buddies. Conduct experiments and do different projects.
4. Repeat the Steps
- Allot some time for networking. Stick to your schedule.
- Decide and Do!
- Experiment on your own.
- Use different techniques (form your own).
Marketing with Networking – Google +
1. Create Circles and Add People to Them.
- Create circles for people with whom you network the most.
- Another thing that you can do is have discussions and debates within your circles. Just select the appropriate circle when you want to share something just with the members of the circle.
- You can also create a circle for your clients/subscribers (this helps you to share exclusive tips, coupons and techniques with your clients/subscribers).
- Circles can be a lot of help. Use them according to your purpose. For instance: You could create a circle to bookmark posts that you can read later. Just create an empty circle and share the items with just that circle. Note: I saw this tip in G+. Credit goes to the original thinker 😀
2. Share, Recommend, Plus, Comment and Share!
Share yours and others valuable content. Don’t limit everything to your niche. Share stuff from other niches too. Recommend people. For instance: if you are writing a short blog post in G+ and got inspiration from someone, mention them in your post. This will help you to get them talking and sharing your post.
Comment on posts that you have something to add. Repeat these steps again and again.
3. Meet New People and Network with Them!
Check others circles for great people, start networking with them. Make use of G+ Suggestions (Google Plus suggests to you, people to add to your circles – based on the people you already have on your circles).
4. Rinse and Repeat!
Motivation to Networking?
When I used to be active in Twitter (I am not that active nowadays), I used to have a lot of motivators to keep me in check. Here is the list:
- I considered Networking as a fun activity. When you are networking, try to make it more casual (Just Talk!).
- Consider social media stats as my motivator (like CrowdBooster and Klout). I understand that these sites may not be accurate. But, I still use them to motivate me to act.
- Dagaloo! I am sure that most of you guys are familiar with @Nicholas_Cardot. He is the guy behind Social Media Game called Dagaloo. Dagaloo takes everything to a new level. For me, it really helped me to network more (just because I love the game!). You can try Dagaloo at Dagaloo.com. Just login with your twitter credentials and you are ready to play!
- Finding a good motivator helps you to stay focused on the networking with your friends/clients.
Conclusion
Well, if you want more networking tips, just keep up with my blog. I will be publishing an eBook on Networking and Marketing (the stuff on the eBook is more dense; focused on specific techniques/methods that you can use). Anyway, thank you for reading! I will appreciate if you leave your thought provoking opinion about my article. Thank you!
If you really like this post, please do help me out to promote this post. Thanks!
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