Running a business can be lonely at the best of times, but when virtual assistant Chris Heron was struggling with back pain two years ago, she felt very isolated working alone in her rural Devonshire home office. “I was thinking to myself if I worked with other people in a normal job, I probably wouldn’t have gotten so low because there’s interaction with other people,” she says. “With small businesses, there’s often nobody to brainstorm or collaborate with. I realised other women must be going through this as well.”
Her solution was to start a WhatsApp group. Now 21-strong, the group of professional women working in the south-west includes event managers, web designers, financial advisers and business coaches. They try to meet in person quarterly, but it’s often the virtual support day-to-day that has proved most helpful. “I think because we work on our own, it’s nice to be able to touch base with somebody else during the day,” says Heron. “We’re there to support everybody.”
With the widespread use of social media by business owners, such virtual networking opportunities are increasing in number; today’s entrepreneurs must be ready to build meaningful connections at all times. Here’s how to do that effectively, according to the experts.
Build connections naturally
Online networking may be possible 24/7, but many of the old rules about how to interact still apply, social media expert Paul Sutton says. Most importantly, entrepreneurs must avoid spamming people with a sales message as soon as they’ve connected with someone new. To that end, Sutton advises against sending a direct message straight away. Instead, engage with the content they’re posting, interact with what they’re talking about, and grow the relationship with consistent, regular contact points that build to something bigger over time.
“Look for people who are interesting to you – they don’t have to be in your industry necessarily,” he says. “The closer that relationship becomes, the more likely it is to turn into something that’s mutually beneficial. What social media does is it gives you the space to build [that] at scale – you can build strong bonds with lots of people in your business community all at the same time.”
Look for relevant groups
Like Heron’s WhatsApp group, the use of private messaging as a networking tool has risen in prominence in recent years, says Sutton. It reflects a shift in how social media is being used more generally, with users more inclined to share content with friends via closed groups rather than engage with content publicly. Entrepreneurs will find relevant groups on platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn – these might be industry specific, linked to a local area, or bring users together through some other common ground.
Sutton has set up a Slack channel with almost 100 members for people in his industry off the back of his podcast, and has found it’s a medium that works well. “In a networking sense, rather than broadcasting information and content to the world … it’s very relevant people getting together in this private space, where we can give each other advice, disseminate lots of information about the industry, and share news.”
Anne Sheehan, director at Vodafone Business UK, points out that these kinds of platforms can also boost productivity. “Whether it’s task management apps or collaboration tools, technology offers a huge opportunity to supercharge productivity. The key is to connect people, processes and information in a way that unlocks a workforce’s ability to do their best work.”
Add value
Rather than trying to sell your business while networking online, Lucy Hutchings Hunt, founder of digital development agency Systemyzed, believes entrepreneurs should give content away for free to build a reputation. “People do not make a buying decision at their first point of contact,” she says. “It’s all about building up that real sense of trust and nurturing your own tribe of raving fans who really believe that you’re the person to help them move forward.” That could be by making introductions if you have a contact who could support a new acquaintance, for example.
Providing free content has worked well for Alex Jobling, head of digital marketing at music marketing agency Burstimo. He and his co-founder Maddy Raven started posting videos about how musicians can better promote themselves online to Instagram and YouTube in 2018. “At first we were a bit apprehensive about just giving away everything we know,” Jobling says. “[But] anyone can put on their website that they’re an industry expert. We’re proving it and showing a lot of confidence in giving [that knowledge] away.” The videos have attracted business from independent musicians as well as corporate clients such as Sony Music and Universal. Instagram is now the company’s primary source of referrals.
Be genuine and consistent
Hutchings Hunt says regardless of the platform you use (although she recommends LinkedIn if business owners have limited time and energy), you should always send a consistent message. “Talk to people on Instagram in the same way and tone of voice you would on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook,” she adds. “You might change the content you post but don’t have a different persona in each place because that smacks of inauthenticity. [Aim for] total congruence in terms of voice and presence wherever you’re showing up, so people know and trust you.
“We all need to start thinking about building our personal brands to support our businesses and careers,” she says, adding that being consistent includes finding time to regularly nurture connections online. “Unfortunately we humans have very short attention spans. If you don’t show up [online] in six months, people are going to forget you.”
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