Why should we Outsource Our Networking?

February 18, 2009

Networking is considered one of the most effective ways of marketing and promoting your business. So what is Networking? There are various Networking Sites available – mainly social, some which you may have heard of are those such as MySpace or Facebook. They are sites which are designed to help people form relationships through the internet. These sites are appearing all over the internet and spreading like wildfire. There are also many other additional web 2.0 tools such as Podcasts, Webinars, Blogs, and Video Casts to name a few. All these tools allow us as individuals or businesses to advertise, promote, inform, share and educate online.

A majority of the social networking sites have free accounts – which makes getting started easy. It’s definitely a cost effective way of getting you and your business out there. Not only are these sites free, but most other networking tools are also free, such as video, podcasts, and blogging. With technology, mobile phones and computers are all feasible when promoting your business.

There is one major pitfall to networking – Time.

Joining, monitoring, and participating, along with inbox management and the general upkeep of your network is time consuming and, whilst very effective, can eat into valuable time in the working day. But all is not lost. A Virtual Assistant or VA can assist with your networking and time management. Staying on top of things is made easy when you have someone handling your account sign-up’s, researching into the most effective places to network, managing profile completion, groups, contacts and much more. A VA can enable you to effectively network. Whether you are an expert who needs more time in the day, or a beginner who has little knowledge in this area, a Virtual Assistant can make ‘all the difference in the World’.

Acquiring assistance with your networking can mean gaining all of the benefits without having to find openings in your calendar to work through every time consuming detail yourself.

Over time, it’s possible to develop a significant network of contacts, potential clients and colleagues by outsourcing as little as one or two hours a week to this project. The more time that is outsourced, the quicker the results will start to show. It is essential to keep in mind that it can often take time to see these results when starting out. There are no ‘quick fix’ networking techniques; this strategy provides a long term effect toward establishing yourself and your business. So although networking is an excellent way of promoting a company, product, service or individual, it is not an instant solution for financial gain, nor will your web site traffic improve overnight.

So what should you be looking for when outsourcing your networking tasks?

1) A good VA will first take an interest in your business, products, services, location, target market, website, and pretty much any other aspect of information you are able to provide in order for them to understand exactly what you are all about.

2) They should offer you a consultation – or at the very least, a form to complete so that you can convey a clear picture of your long term goals. Through this, your VA can then establish what you hope to achieve with networking.

3) They should then research and locate the most beneficial networking methods, sites and techniques based on the information you have provided.

4) Finally, a plan or schedule should be formulated and presented with suggested options, sites and timescales explaining the choices and benefits of each of these methods.

5) Once the plan is agreed – it’s all systems go, just sit back and let your VA get to work!

Have your say and leave a comment, I personally review all of the comments on this site, and I would love to read yours ;)
Thanks so much!
Michelle

Posted by Virtual Miss Friday | Filed Under **Blogs**, **Business**, **Internet**, **Marketing**, **Media**, **Motivate**, **VMF**, **eBusiness**, Advertising, Development, Promotion