The World Wide Web can be an excellent resource for those involved in direct sales. Just as networking offline can be a great boost for business, networking online can be useful in gaining sales as well as new recruits for your business. So the next time that you are online, check out these great places to network online to further your direct sales business online.
Online Forums
Online forums are excellent places for people in direct sales to network while online. Wahm.com and internetbasedmoms.com are two wonderful places to start. You’ll meet and network with moms that are very successful with their businesses as well as moms that are looking for a business to start and lots of moms somewhere in between.
When networking on online forums please be mindful of the rules and regulations of each forum that you decide to visit. Not only with this save you from doing any unauthorized advertising, it will help you build a solid reputation as a business owner.
Ryze.com (oldest)
Ryze.com is another great place to network your business online. Business owners like you can create a homepage dedicated to networking your businesses. After you create your homepage you are all set to begin joining groups and networking with other business people on the web.
Squidoo.com
Squidoo.com is a fairly new social networking site that is gaining in popularity very rapidly. With Squidoo you can create lenses, which are basically short articles on any topic that you care to write about. This would be an excellent way to establish yourself as being very knowledgeable about the products or service that your business has to offer. Squidoo can be a useful tool in driving potential customers to your websites.
Email Groups
Email groups, like those offered by Yahoo, are another option for online networking. All you need to do is search for groups that would fit your business. “Work at Home Moms in Wisconsin”, or “Moms in Home Business” would just be a couple of examples of the types of groups that you should keep an eye out for when looking for email groups to join.
These are just a few of the great places online that you can utilize for networking. Look for ways to be a useful contributor and supportive friend wherever you choose to network and you will be well on your way to building your business in no time at all.
Social Networks
Social networks are becoming the place to be as far as online networking. The trick is to create a strategy and choose the right groups, and network for your purpose. Don’t forget that these are “social” networks. It revolves around socializing.
Linkedin Group - if you want to build relationship with many influencial people, linkedin group is the answer. It’s one of the best way to meet and engage with people in certain industry or business niche. I am currently a member of the VA group as well as the Company of Women where I met many interesting people.
Facebook Group and Facebook Pages - search an industry on facebook or a business and you are likely to find a group that interest you. While linkedin is considered a business social network, facebook is the cocktail party – members of these networks acts and expect different.
The key thing to remember when networking online is to become a contributor instead of just going in and announcing your company products or service. Hang out for a while and observe what others are doing.
