“Schmoozing” and “rubbing elbows” are old-school expressions used among business professionals for networking—the art of introducing and meeting one another, and establishing rapport in the hope of furthering one’s entrepreneurial objectives. In today’s economy, the opportunities to hobnob with the corporate elite may be fewer and farther between, what with golf and lunch at the country club or cocktails and dinner at the lavish charity event having become somewhat cost-prohibitive and impractical for the decorated-apparel business owner.

Still, business networking is a viable and vital marketing method by which business opportunities are created through connecting with like-minded individuals who have common goals. Many professional people believe business networking is a more cost-effective means of generating sales and reaching corporate agreements than advertising or public relations efforts. That is not to say that one should abandon one’s tried-and-true marketing campaigns but, rather, to augment the company’s promotional hard work with novel and creative ways of meeting the right people at opportune times.

Noted business author Harvey Mackay wrote: “Networking is finding fast whom you need to get what you need in any given situation, and helping others do the same.” Mackay further describes a business network as having four main elements: Reciprocity, Interdependency, Sharing, and Keeping at it. Since building your own personal network can be RISKy business, the resulting acronym is appropriate. Business professionals are increasingly using Internet-based social websites—Facebook and MySpace, to name the two most popular—as a means of growing their circle of business contacts and promoting themselves online. Enter the creation of websites specifically designed to foster and leverage business relationships in the virtual world . . . at no cost to the participant. Interested in finding out how? Let’s explore.

Making the connection

Over the years, there have been online forums and bulletin boards where decorated-apparel-industry aficionados converged to share ideas, express opinions, and debate the issues facing our craft and marketplace. But now, there are even simpler ways to connect with potential customers, suppliers and business associates that may just be the key to unlocking the door to real business growth.

LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) and Plaxo Pulse (www.plaxo.com) are two such networking sites that open up their address books and makes public key information about their subscribers. Both companies were founded in late 2002. As of October 2008, LinkedIn had more than 30 million registered users spanning 150 industries. In May 2008, Plaxo Pulse reported over 20 million members.

The founders and top management of these two companies are not newbies to the dot-com world, coming from such Internet giants as PayPal, Yahoo, Google and Napster. Last year, Plaxo was acquired by Comcast—a leader in cable, telecommunications and Internet services—in an effort to enhance its customer’s experience and reach across the Internet dimension.

Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn’s CEO and founder, says his business network is “recession ready” and will play a big role in shepherding startups and struggling businesses through the economic downturn. He believes, as industries struggle, more business people will shed the illusion that they’re safe and protected. The smart ones increasingly will network outside of their respective companies, looking for the right leads or morsels of knowledge. To accomplish this, he says, millions of them will turn to LinkedIn. Hoffman trusts that survival instincts will lead professionals to nurture their networks, and even pay for their subscriptions in time: “A typical 30-something-year-old should easily have 50 to 100 contacts. A forward-thinking business owner? I’d bet you’d grow your network to 1,000 to 1,500.”

John McCrea, Plaxo’s VP of Marketing, says small and midsized business owners were always people who spent time and money building up their Rolodexes, then on database software, then on PDAs. “They survive and thrive based on the power of personal networks. Those tools made networking stuff easier to do and made the small business person appear well organized,” he notes.

“Now, if you’re trying to win a significant piece of business from someone and, by virtue of them being a Plaxo (or another social network) user, you learn they were in the Napa Valley for a wine tour and liked a particular Chardonnay, it makes it easier to have a fun conversation. It makes you a more effective business person.”

A recent change in LinkedIn policy on allowing marketing researchers to survey its members has resulted in the first-ever public study of the type of people inclined to become a business-networking user. Sixty percent have high incomes and hold executive titles. Twenty-eight percent are in management positions with annual incomes averaging $104,000. Sixty-six percent are decision makers or are involved in the decision-making process at their company. LinkedIn users earning between $200K and $350K were seven times more likely than those making less to have in excess of 150 LinkedIn connections. It’s interesting, also, to note that 62 percent of business owners with networks consider LinkedIn to be their preferred platform.

How it works

Online business networking is akin to the Kevin Bacon six-degrees-of separation formula and penetrates three layers deep. This provides the opportunity for someone in need to contact the middle-person—one of your connections—and inquire about you before blindly calling you; and, of course, vice-versa. The result is usually a warmer introduction to a relative stranger rather than the forever-dreaded cold call.

Establishing your personal business network using LinkedIn or Plaxo Pulse is the easy part; building it takes dedication and commitment. You won’t gain much ground if you sit back and wait for peers, colleagues and your current customers to find and connect to you. You should search the current user base for everyone you know professionally and send them an invitation to connect to you. You may also invite people who are not yet members to join. Be aware though, often inviting non-users to join may net disappointing results if they are unaware of the value of an online business network and aren’t willing to build up a network that ultimately enhances yours. Still, it is conceivable to build up a network of millions of people within a short period of time by making smart associations with well-connected professionals.

To benefit from making the plunge into online business networking, you are going to have to develop a network that lives and breathes on its own. Here are some tips from Patrick Crane, LinkedIn’s VP of Marketing:

Upload your address book.

Focus on nurturing your network by seeing what questions your connections are asking and helping them when you can.

Check your network updates; they are emailed to you, frequently.

When you find someone with whom you want to work, pick the strongest connection you have to introduce you. For this, you may need to try the advanced search.

Write and solicit recommendations for the people you trust and respect.

Crane states: “The great thing about only connecting with people you know, trust and have experience working with, is that when you need to find that expert, get that answer, reference-check a potential great hire, get that introduction, or discreetly check on the activities of a competitor, then the trusted network of people you’ve proactively created can help you out. It’s like a tapestry—the stronger and tighter the individual threads, the stronger the overall piece of cloth becomes.”

Simple steps to generate business

If all you do is establish a business networking account and occasionally accept someone’s invitation to connect, you are unlikely to leverage the asset. Your first step should be to complete your profile as comprehensively as practical—or at least with as much information as you are willing to disclose. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll connect with clients, colleagues and school friends you haven’t spoken to in years. Make sure to include your previous jobs, your education background and upload a photo of yourself.

Next, find contacts who are already on your chosen business networking provider. You can do this by uploading their user list and it will tell you which people in your contact address book are already part of their network. These are the first people with whom you should connect.

Along with giving and soliciting recommendations within your network, post questions and answers to others’ questions in the Answers section. This is a good way to make new connections and establish your expertise at the same time.

Another great step is finding or creating an interest group. It’s a great way to network on a smaller scale with a select number of like-minded individuals. For example, you can find groups that are comprised of local businesses, then exchange qualified leads or make others aware of good people you know who are looking for new jobs.

Finally, use the Applications and Presentations functions to further enhance your profile. You can initiate a blog or share a slide show presentation about your experience at a trade show or convention. You can upload your notes from a seminar you attended or literature about your business, or broadcast news about the goings-on at your company.

Final thoughts

The power of an online business network is in the network itself. As with most things in marketing, you will reap only what you are willing to put into it. Therefore, the more involved you and your connections are within LinkedIn or Plaxo Pulse, the more powerful a tool it becomes.

However, don’t just dive into business networking blindly. Do your homework about which networking platform is right for you and what you hope to accomplish for your business. There are others out there to consider—such as ConnectBuzz, which is based in Europe. Consider the impact on you of the reality that your daily email traffic will increase substantially and that you will have little control over what others say about your company on their blogs. Also, the information you share with others is now in the public domain and can be used by others at your expense—for example: the possibility of identity fraud.

Still, the rewards are likely to outweigh the risks. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? Good luck!