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Professional Networking

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Websites like LinkedIn.com are built specifically for building your professional networks, adding professional contacts, closing deals, forming work relationships, finding vendors, doing consultation projects, and so on. Needless to say, the impact this has had on businesses and individuals is profound.

It was made in 2003 when the surge in social media networks was on the rise. Within 4 years it had astounding numbers to show: 3.2 million visitors / month, growing at 485%/year. It has 24 million registered users spanning in 150 countries. This means that 24 million people are connected to each other professionally all across the globe by using LinkedIn. Five years ago if I had asked you to imagine sharing your business card with hundreds of prospective clients or recruiters in one instant, you would have laughed it off. Things have changed, and LinkedIn is perhaps one of the best demonstrations of useful social applications.

Just like Facebook, you can maintain a list of contacts called connections. You can then get connected to the connections of your contacts. These second and third degree connections make a great real life parable. You go to a party and spot a friend sitting on a table with some people. You walk up to him and he introduces you to his friends. You chat a while and share contact details with your new acquaintances and set up another get together. In the next get-together you get a chance to meet and network with the friends of your new acquaintance. LinkedIn works the same way by allowing you to find people through trusted mutual contacts.

The idea behind the ‘gated-access approach’ is to build trust…

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  • Professional networks fuel the internet, its great to accomplish targetted ways of networking and sometimes the platforms really are supportive.

    I find groups like linkedin have the job search. Facebook has great groups, they are both platforms you can use to support what your trying to accomplish. I enjoy them for me.
  • Yes, Lisa. This is a great use for LinkedIn. Where Facebook is a combination of professional and social seekers the LinkedIn platform is very professional and folks are there for business purposes. It's a great way to recommend some to a job, and connect with their network for them to show how they are respected in their community.
  • bobbicknell
    Very powerful point about trust and getting introduced to friends who know friends wtih Linked In. I didn't know about the resource toplinked.com so point well taken about leads of quality vs tons of names who have no interest in you and just are to busy shouting to listen.

    Amazing how social networks allow networking with trusted mutual contacts around the world with common interests in groups vs old method of only local in person with no way to touch the lives of others around the world. This blog post shows the power of Linkedin and its growth and the community of questions and answers which I was unaware of. Thanks Simon for great post and info in your awesome book "Social Traffic"!
  • It seems there's a niche social networking site for every market these days. Some are better than others and since I mainly focus on business I've done some work in Linkedin.

    I do like how you have to be introduced to someone's connection before getting to them because this cuts down the spam you get. Other sites didn't do this and I get loads of junk friend requests some from bot created accounts.

    The toplinked service sounds interesting and the question is will those people listen or are they just there to build thousands of 'friends' who never get anywhere or produce anything of value.
  • I couldn't agree more that simply building a huge list is a waste of time considering that they cannot all be quality relationships. To be able to add value to each relationship it's important that a common interest is identified by both parties. You are the leader in terms of this strategy, to be sure.
  • Professional networking creates the forum for like minded equal standing to interact. There is an unwritten expectation that like-minded peers will create the most desirable opportunities to develope business relationships. This stimulates the desire to share contact details.

    What one soon discovers is that the theory of the seven degrees of separation soon plays out to everyones advantage in this environment. Like all Simon Fords articles this provides a clear well balance perspective of the inns and out of linkedIn. A good and worthwhile read..
  • I agree Steve. When like-minded individuals get together one plus one can actually equal nine. And as Simon talked about on the weekly webinar as humans we only have the ability to manage about 150 relationships at any one time. Anything beyond that and the value decreases for everyone on a sliding scale. Linkedin is definitely a great place to find some people to add to your 150 and create massive value for all parties.
  • Using Linked In immediately removes the need to work so hard on building yourself as authentic provider of service - it is already about being professional and if you are not you simply don't get the references. Linked in shows that SM Marketting can work at its best in this forum because it is all about being social and being seen and being seen as WORTHY by others. Gaining a following is one thing but gaining an erudite learned community of followers who support your thinking want to buy into it is another. Linked in is a sure route to this
  • I feel pretty sure that the debate is over - 100 quality followers is better than 1500 aimless wonderers. Usually these people build their own list of followers with only those that they really want. This is a neat and convicted way to gain credible followers are more likely to be interested to be interested in what you are selling. The Hit rate, it can only follow, will be higher as a consequence. Simon's book on SM highlights this debate very clearly
  • I completely agree with Bobbicknell - isn't it amazing how small the world has become but more than ever sites like Linked IN only work because people building networks that are trustworthy! Simons states this over and over and over in his book . We need to take heed of the message if we are to succeed in SM marketting.
  • I love Simon's reference to Linked In being the equivalent of sharing Business cards with millions of people. I add one thing - lets hand them out to those who are really going to read them! For me this means building a quality following rather than quantity following. Simon's book debates this issue well. Thanks for the provocative questions and helping to make the path to successful SM Marketting more clear
  • Steve,

    I agree with you and Bob. And we are all in agreement with Simon that social networking online only works when it's done in a trusted environment. This is similar to the way things work in the off-line world. The power of your network is only as good as the strength of the connections you have with them and the trust they have in you and you in them.

    The beauty that Simon also talks about is how much faster you can build this powerful network online when you do it the right way because you can share your virtual business card with millions of people with very little effort from yourself.
  • As the world becomes smaller every day with the introduction of new technologies and widgets like Google Friend Connect, Professional Networking sites like LinkedIn provide a platform for likeminded people with a similar status can interact, swop information and conduct business.

    Simon U Fords Book of Social Traffic and the vidoe above provide clarity and insites that difficult to come across normally.
  • This is the next Big Thang
  • The only problem I have with professional networking online today is that for the most part al the major platforms (linkedin and xing) foster development around already made contacts. Its true that none of us really care to have as big a list of contacts if possible if we dont know anyone in that list, but it would help if there was an actual platform that fostered growth with people we DIDNT already know (the true sense of networking). And that, my friends, Linkedin does not do too well!

    Omar
    http://professionalonlinenetworking.blogspot.com/
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