Creating Online Relationships

I’ve been a member of quite a few (read: way too many) message boards in my years on the Internet. Some have been about hair, some about motherhood/moms, some about business. What I’ve noticed on the business boards, and I know you’ll start nodding your head once you read this – sometimes it’s worse than the pop-up ads you get when you’re surfing. It seems like on certain boards – and I will be truthful: not this one – someone is always trying to 1) sell you a product 2) sell you a report that will make you loads of $$$$ for only seven dollars 3) sell you an E-book that will make all your wildest richest dreams come true.

I have nothing against people trying to sell you something. That’s why we’re all here, right? However, there comes a time when members need to understand what networking is supposed to be. It’s not posting on folks pages about the opportunity of a lifetime and how you (or someone you know) made $5 million dollars in within 3 hours of putting this very special system into place. Online networking is about creating relationships with people.

As a mom of three, I can’t easily pack a suitcase and jet (or drive) off to a networking event. At this time in my children’s lives, they come first. However, I try to make up for it by devoting some of my time to communicating with people with like interests online. And believe me, it takes time. In order to truly form relationships and have your personality shine through online, you have to post on a regular basis, participate in varied discussions and really make an effort to get yourself “out there”. Just as you wouldn’t just give someone your business card, take theirs and not follow up, the same thing goes when you join a board.

I remember one board on which it was such a struggle to particpate because all the discussions weren’t discussions, just thinly veiled sales pitches for someone’s product or service. It’s pretty difficult to respond to a post that says, “I love natural products. Have you tried hot lemon juice mixed with corn cobs? It gives you so much energy and you feel brand new. I sell this mixture on my website, check me out at www.gimmeyomoneynow.com.

Some tips to building relationships:

Visit the profile of new members of your ning groups and post a “hi, welcome to the board! I see you are a XXXXX or you sell YYYYY. Check out the XYZ group, they are also into that.” Note, if you want to make them aware of your biz in an unobtrusive kind of way, use a signature banner or put your webbie in your signature.
(PS don’t post the exact same comment on every person’s profile – most likely no one will catch on, but for those who do won’t feel “special” any more.)

Participate in discussions – just like my online classes, post something meaningful to give people an idea of your personality. Don’t just post “I agree” or “yeah, baby”. Ask a question, answer a question – give information, give a website that might help. People appreciate the help and will thank you.

Be a regular – don’t just post a whole bunch of info, then disappear for weeks at a time. People will forget you Keep yourself in the loop by visiting at least 2x a week – view this as part of the public relations aspect of your business.

Finally, keep it simple. Choose a couple of boards at first then narrow your choice down to the one board that you feel 1) the most interested in 2)the one where you can truly post meaningful discussions/posts and 3)the one that will benefit you…(Believe me I tried to keep up with three-four boards – at one point it seemed like all I was doing was posting on boards!!)

I hope these tips help you create and maintain online relationships in your “ning” groups or other online groups. Please feel free to add to the discussion.