How To Build Your Online Networking Strategy (part 2)

We've examined how to establish an online presence profiling your organization as a provider of career consulting to candidates and employers. Your web site will often be a reference point for contacts you make and should reinforce positive impressions. Now let's focus on utilizing the Internet as a development tool that will help you build a strong contact base.

Being at the right place at the right time has always been a key success factor in winning new business. Online, time is much less important than place because on the Net information never really goes away. Information is fresh, prominently displayed and more frequently viewed, or its archived, found on tertiary pages and less likely viewed. The key is to find the places on the Net where your potential contacts visit and to continually maintain a presence in those areas.

The first task is to identify where your target markets exist online. There are two approaches that should be exercised to achieve this. The first approach is to search from the perspective of the HR/recruiting professional looking to identify people of a particular profession or skill type. The second approach is taken from the perspective of the industry professional searching for information on the products, industry, etc. that tend to be associated with one's professional background. In either case, the focus should be on locating communities and web sites that promote fresh content and allow people to interact. Fresh content generally translates to frequent visitors and person to person interaction allows people to expose themselves and their level of professionalism.

Identify quality information portals that cater to the industries that you recruit in. Start by establishing reciprocal links with these sites. This usually gives you a permanent spot in a tertiary sector of the site like a resources or links page. Subscribe to publications they offer. Monitor these for leads revealed in content, take note of contributors and check the feedback sections for people who send in good replies. Participate in discussion groups. You probably have little to offer in terms of technical input but you can become the go-to person regarding staffing issues in a group/community. If there is little discussion on such topics start your own. Asking questions is a great way to generate discussions. The idea here is to generate publicity in order for visitors to recognize your name and form an opinion of you. Avoid posting jobs or selling your firm in billboard fashion, as you'll likely be ousted for doing so. Become a regular contributor (once a week) and let your opinion build you credibility. Web site promotion strategies often involve contests. Pay attention to contest entrants, quality entries and of course contest winners. Also watch for conferences, seminars, trade shows, etc. being promoted through portal sites.

Newsgroups offer the same PR opportunities as discussion boards and generally the same etiquette applies.

Professional associations often have web sites with a plethora of information. Quite often they will publish profiles of officers, committee members and event coordinators. Get to know these people by commending them on their efforts. Contribute opinion and volunteer where possible. Associations typically have community events, guest speakers, newsletters, etc. Finding out about them and getting involved has never been easier.

Take a look at what your competition is doing to get ahead. You'll be surprised at how many are doing little more than buying ad space. Ads have a much lower click-through ratio than text links that you can get from contributing your opinion and don't do much for building credibility. People are more likely to click on a link to your firm's site if it's associated with a newsworthy piece of information. You should take the time to find and get to know some other reputable firms/recruiters in your field. Having a few partners on hand that can help you with tough assignments or in busy times is key to maximizing productivity. Start by contacting other recruiters that contribute to your community in similar manners. Also compile a short list of reputable firms that network in fields closely related to your own. The job orders you receive that fall outside of your specialty and typically get left untouched can be forwarded to an associate. It's only a matter of time before you experience the reverse.

Consistency is the key to establishing an effective online presence. Rotate your online networking tasks into your weekly schedule in order to keep your contributions in the forefront of the information shuffle. Make it easy on yourself by organizing bookmarks for the resources you compile. Develop categorized email lists of the contacts you generate for timely access. Don't dismiss these tasks because you're too busy. They require more thought than they do effort! Nelson Abreu