Much to my husband’s chagrin, I’ve never been much of a skier. No matter how hard he’s tried to make it enticing, and no matter how much I’ve appreciated the luxe accommodations and the Austrian ski instructors, the skiing itself just hasn’t been a good fit. On a trip to the French Alps a few years ago, I didn’t even bother bringing my ski clothes. I mean, why keep up the pretense, right? So for 10 straight days while he hit the slopes, I ate rich French food and did no exercise. No surprise then that when I got back home and got back to the gym with my trainer, I couldn’t lift as much weight as I could before I left. It had taken me forever to get to a certain strength level it seemed, and in less than two weeks, I had taken some very noticeable steps back.
Just like being able to do more reps and lift more weight with regular visits to the gym, maintaining a strong personal brand requires that same kind of commitment and consistency.
Active networking produces opportunities
Active networking keeps your brand visible and increases both the quantity and quality of opportunities that come your way.
Keep your networking “muscles” in tip top shape
Here are five ways to keep your networking muscles in tip-top shape so your personal brand is always top of mind:
1) Share often. An easy and quick way to keep contacts abreast of what you’re doing and to spur interaction and conversation is to update your Facebook and/or LinkedIn status regularly. By staying silent, you keep the door closed to communication, but by sharing something–a success, a goal, a wish, an observation-you provide regular opportunities for contacts to engage with you.
2) Pay attention. Browse the online profiles of those with whom you want to build a closer connection and find a reason to interact. Make a comment, offer help, wish them luck, whatever is appropriate based on what they’re posting. Those light touches over time can strengthen bonds more effectively than going for one big bang interaction.
3) Add routine. Join a professional organization or networking group to put some structure and frequency to your networking. It’s in your calendar, like a standing appointment with your personal trainer. You know that the last Tuesday evening of the month, or the third Friday at lunch, for example, is your monthly meeting. You don’t have to think about it.
4) Think small. For your contacts who aren’t social media junkies, sometimes the only way to get visibility and stay on their radar screens is face-to-face. While big events can help you circulate with multiple contacts in one sitting, getting together for a one-on-one coffee can often do more to deepen relationships with the key people in your network.
5) Test market. Describing what you do can sometimes get stale. Either you get so used to giving the same elevator pitch that it sounds rote, or contacts have heard it so often that they’ve tuned out. In your networking interactions, test new ways of saying who you are and what you do. You just might find a better combination that more easily generates the response you want.
When you’re not doing much to maintain the visibility of your personal brand, inertia is automatically kicking in to erode it. Focusing on one or two specific strategies and doing them regularly is often much more effective than trying every strategy once.
Author:
Liz Lynch is founder of the Center for Networking Excellence and author of Smart Networking: Attract a Following In Person and Online (McGraw-Hill, 2008). She writes, speaks and consults to experienced professionals on how to seamlessly integrate social media and traditional networking to save time and accelerate results.
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Consistence, tacts and knowledge will empower the brand more in today recession. This is an eye opening piece that helps.
And just as businesses are often encouraged to market even during economic downturns so as to benefit from the inevitable resurgence, the same is true of individuals marketing their personal brand.
Liz, I really like this post! Nice perspective on WHAT IT TAKES. Important stuff to consider when adopting social media – and not a bad set of steps for building business whatever the circumstances!
Great platform for those that are currently networking to have a system and for those who aren’t networking to get started. I personally find it much easier when I am engaged in a networking routine regularly.
Thank you for this post, Liz! Actively communicating with people in your network (either online or arranging to meet face-to-face) can really strengthen your relationships and open up the doors to many opportunities, both personally and professionally. Being able to translate your online relationships into real world friendships can really solidify your network(s). I especially like your point about “thinking small,” because this allows you to establish a real connection by sitting down with them one-on-one. This is a classic case of quality over quantity, because you’re not simply going out to a big event and introducing yourself by handing out your business card and then walking off to meet someone else.Active networking indeed keeps your brand visible, whether it’s the brand of yourself or your company. Social Media is a very powerful tool, but it’s useless unless you have action behind it. Unless you’re already internet famous or a rock star (http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/04/opening-acts-and-rock-stars.html), actively reaching out to your contacts will be your ticket to building a strong network and producing many opportunities for yourself.