Her Magazine is New Zealand’s only women’s business lifestyle magazine! Her Magazine highlights the achievements of successful and rising New Zealand businesswomen. Her Magazine encourages a healthy work/life balance.
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MASTER CLASS :real time relationships REAL TIME RELATIONSHIPS Five steps to building connections online Here are five steps to make the most of your online networking experience: 1. When you send a connection request to someone you wish to connect with, always personalise the message, so that the person receiving your request understands why you want to connect and where they may know you from. A common mistake here is to use the "friend" option when you don't know each other from Adam, so consider using "other" instead. 2. When you receive a connection request, spend a moment and have a quick look at their profile to see if WE ALL KNOW THAT face-to-face networking events are a great way to meet new business connections and bring out your well rehearsed elevator pitch, but for many these events can be excruciatingly difficult if you are not comfortable meeting new people for the first time. So if the thought of real life networking events turns your blood cold and your hands clammy before you even get there, there is another way to build your business network that might suit you down to the ground. A place where you can network in your PJ's early in the morning, or with a decent glass of wine in the evening, the choice is yours. LinkedIn is now a well-recognised online networking site simply brimming with business owners and all levels of management right up to the President. In fact Barack Obama himself has an active profile. As many millions of people are using LinkedIn for networking, it is important we don't forget to use the basic etiquette that we use all the time at an offline event. For some reason we do behave differently online than face-to-face with a real live person, so remember that it is still person to person communication, and not simply computer to computer. There are so many networking opportunities available on LinkedIn alone, but you needn't spend all day there. Make it a habit before you start your emails and look to spend around 10 minutes per day seeing what's going on and dipping in where you can to start adding value and building your network. If you are as nice, friendly and well mannered online as you are offline, you can't go wrong. Now go and create some great new business connections and build relationships. Linda Coles www.bluebanana.co.nz 54 | www.hermagazine.co.nz there is something interesting for you to make a quick comment on. Maybe you have some connections in common that could start a brief conversation, or you have a similar background? Most people simply click accept at this point, and nothing further happens, which is pointless. You wouldn't like it if you said "hi" to someone and they simply walked off, it amounts to the same thing. 3. Keep in touch with your connections by occasionally sending them a quick message, maybe simply sharing something you think they may find interesting, a link to an article for instance. Keep your own personal brand on their radar. 4. Spending time in groups that are relevant to you and your target market is a great way to meet new connections, so when you are able to comment on a discussion, dive in! Remember, even if the discussion thread seems a bit quiet not everyone in the group may have a comment to put forward but they are happy watching from a far. I call them "web watchers", and they exist in vast numbers. They are not only learning from the discussion, but can see a whole lot more about you in the way you answer and start questions, and how you present yourself. Online, you are on show all the time. 5. Use the updates on your home page to see who has started a new job so you can congratulate them, or who has uploaded a new photo for instance. This takes seconds to do and simply places you on the radar of the receiver, and is a great gradual relationship building technique.