Online business networking is an increasingly important part of any business. Entrepreneurs, Business managers and marketing professionals are using online Web 2.0 sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook to establish business contacts and to locate talent for their organizations. The lines in the social media world are fast becoming blurred between social and professional networking.

Online Business Social Networks

For professional networking, LinkedIn is the platform of choice. LinkedIn is a business social networking tool that allows members to maintain a list of contacts that they know and trust in business. Members can make new connections and re-connect with past contacts and colleagues.  LinkedIn has over 55 million (http://press.linkedin.com/faq) members making it the number one professional online business networking site today.

The best online business social networkers are connected into the wide fabric well beyond their personal boundaries. Online business networking involves the building of relationships and the interactions of people. They are genuinely interested in the people and what they are thinking.  These people seek interaction because they are curious about other people and their ideas.

The modern online business networker uses social networks in addition to traditional networking. These networkers makes regular blog posts and contributions in forums such as LinkedIn Answers and Yahoo Answers. These people usually write regular blog post articles that are informative and thoughtful.  These business networkers has a pay it forward philosophy rather than a what’s in it for me way of thinking.

These are the people that are always looking for ways to help other people.  They learn and are looking for ways to pass it on to help others.  The best network rarely expects a personal pay off.  This makes them a natural magnet for people wanting to join their network.

Business networking is a communications skill based on human interaction. The same rules apply to face-to-face and online networking.

Category: Business Networking
Tags: Business Networking, social networks, web 2.0

About the author: Anton Koekemoer

I am a professional blogger, developer, web technology consultant and a marketing strategist with an emphasis on Web 2.0 technologies. I am the founder of SocialPress, a business social networking service aimed at South African entrepreneurs to take their business to the next level via networking an...read more about Anton Koekemoer