Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is about how to make virtual networking work.
Speaker 1: No matter your job, but particularly if you are running
Speaker 1: a business where you need new clients and collaborators, you
Speaker 1: need to meet new people. It is really hard to
Speaker 1: establish relationships virtually, but it is not impossible if you
Speaker 1: think this through. Many of us have been doing a
Speaker 1: lot of our work virtually over the last eighteen months.
Speaker 1: It has been fascinating to see how much day to
Speaker 1: day work can be done virtually, even in industries that
Speaker 1: had been slow to adopt remote work. It is harder
Speaker 1: to meet new people virtually, though Fortunately modern technology makes
Speaker 1: some connecting far easier than it was in the past,
Speaker 1: and once you connect in some way, you can move
Speaker 1: people up the ladder of connection. Some of my best
Speaker 1: friends have begun their relationship with me as virtual connections.
Speaker 1: What tended to happen is that I would read their
Speaker 1: blogs and began leaving comments, or they read my blog
Speaker 1: and began leaving comments. When I see the same names
Speaker 1: over and over, I get to know the people leaving
Speaker 1: those comments. Sometimes we start exchanging emails and so forth. Now,
Speaker 1: not as many people may be blogging these days, but
Speaker 1: lots of people are on social media, So if you
Speaker 1: would like to get to know someone, start following them.
Speaker 1: Leave thoughtful comments when it seems authentic. Over time, this
Speaker 1: can start to grow a relationship. Not immediately. Don't dive
Speaker 1: into a big ask after leaving one comment, but it
Speaker 1: can be a start. You can also develop a reason
Speaker 1: that people will want to get to know you. Lots
Speaker 1: of people are starting podcasts these days, and if you
Speaker 1: have a podcast, you will have a legitimate reason to
Speaker 1: reach out to almost anyone to ask them to be
Speaker 1: a guest. Practice with a few friends first for your
Speaker 1: first few episodes, but once you have some done you'll
Speaker 1: be good, and if you get a good audience, lots
Speaker 1: of people will want to have a conversation with you.
Speaker 1: Do the conversation with video on, so you get to
Speaker 1: talk to people face to face, even if you're only
Speaker 1: recording the audio. You can also start virtual groups that
Speaker 1: people will want to seek out. A private industry discussion
Speaker 1: group can be a real benefit to people. Think about
Speaker 1: what angle might be best, but if you create a
Speaker 1: safe and trusting space, you will build relationships with people,
Speaker 1: and people will refer their friends as well. You can
Speaker 1: also just generally offer to be helpful. If you have
Speaker 1: established particular expertise on a topic, you could make yourself
Speaker 1: available for people to book twenty minute calls with you,
Speaker 1: maybe just every other Friday or so. Do these by
Speaker 1: video calls so you get to know people's faces. You
Speaker 1: don't have to do a ton, but maybe two to
Speaker 1: three of Fortnite will build you a lot of goodwill
Speaker 1: over time. Everyone knows someone else. It all comes together
Speaker 1: eventually when you start to get to know people virtually.
Speaker 1: Suggest video chats and then look for circumstances when you
Speaker 1: might be in the same virtual spaces or even in
Speaker 1: the same physical spaces. As the world opens up. If
Speaker 1: you do your homework now, the first in person conference
Speaker 1: you go to, it's just going to be a banjanza.
Speaker 1: As you meet all your virtual connection in person, it
Speaker 1: is going to be great. So why not get started now.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter. Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod
Speaker 1: that's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: At i heeart media dot com that before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I
Speaker 1: look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a
Speaker 1: production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I
Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H