Enterprise Nation

A new home business owner moves from her home county of Kent to a new part of the UK. The business moves with her, but her contacts do not. Finding herself in a new location, she decides to network online as well as meet new people face-to-face. Here are three pieces of advice we offered to said home business owner on how to get herself known. It’s a good route to meeting friends and making sales. 

One, two, three

• Step 1: Find the sites that suit your business

Go for a combination of general business websites (such as Enterprise Nation, BT Tradespace, Business Scene and startups.co.uk) as well as sites particular to your trade and mix in a few social networking sites like Facebook.

Spend a bit of time on each site to find out how they function and the topics people are talking about in the forums.

Once you feel comfortable, register (if required) write your profile and start posting comments and questions on the site/in the forums.  

• Step 2: Follow etiquette

When posting, don’t be too pushy! If you only ever post sales messages, other forum members will think you’re just there to sell rather than contribute to the community.

Be helpful and answer people’s questions. After all, that’s the best way to demonstrate your expertise. With give and take, you’ll soon become a trusted member of the online group. That then leads to new business as fellow forum members turn to you for paid-for advice, having seen what you can do and what you have to offer.  

• Step 3: Visit regularly

Don’t expect immediate results or a sale after just one post or comment. As in the offline world, it takes a few conversations for people to get to know you so try to return to the sites you choose on a regular basis so you’re remembered and pop up in someone’s head when they’re considering choosing a supplier from your line of work.

Do you have any other tips for how to successfully network online?