A successful eCommerce business understands the importance of a strong network around it. Without the continuous support of customers and professionals in the industry, the chance of flourishing gets smaller and smaller. Luckily, building your network can easily be established when conducted online.
Building an online network is essential for any eCommerce business because the world is becoming increasingly digital. People are spending 18 hours a week streaming videos online. 16 hours a week gaming and 14 hours a week streaming music follow that. The bottom line — people are online.
So, if you want to build a strong network of customers, business owners, partners, and fans of your brand, you can easily branch out to people who are spending a large majority of their time there. If you don’t take advantage of online networking, you’re missing a huge opportunity to stay connected with those that can elevate your business.
Aside from business benefits, an online network can do wonders for you personally. You have an opportunity to meet new people and build relationships that last long-term. These individuals can keep you uplifted and thriving through the tough times in eCommerce business ownership.
With the benefits above in mind, you’re probably ready to start building an online network of your own. These five tips can help you do that.
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Update Your Online Presence
Effective online networking starts with your online presence. Your customers, colleagues, and other eCommerce professionals won’t take you seriously if your online presence is unprofessional and unorganized.
In addition, you won’t have anywhere to point people in your network when they want to learn more and further engage with your business. So, updating your online presence is one of the first steps you should take when building an online network.
Make a list of every place you are online. After that, audit them one by one. Is your content and contact information up to date? Are your profiles filled in completely? Is your branding consistent across your platforms? Is it clear what you do?
Once you make these notes, go back through your online presence and make the necessary updates. A clean, professional online presence will draw people to your network and keep them there.
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Define Your Networking Goals
You never want to go into networking blind. Understanding what you want from networking is a much wiser approach.
When you have definitive goals for networking, you can create a plan to achieve them. You’ll also be able to make productive adjustments when you aren’t getting the desired results.
Define your networking goals by writing down answers to these questions:
- Why do you want to network?
- Who do you want to connect with when networking?
- What kind of people do you want to fill my network with?
- What will networking do for your eCommerce business?
- What are the long and short-term results you want from networking?
Once you define your networking goals, you can create steps to reach them, such as choosing which applications you’d like more of a presence on.
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Choose Your Networking Channels Wisely
You could network anywhere. But because there are so many online platforms and digital channels available for networking, choosing the most effective ones is critical. You’ll fall short of your networking goals if you try to be everywhere.
Instead, be strategic about your networking channels.
For example, social media is an excellent place to network, but many different social media platforms exist. Figure out which platforms your target audience is on the most. Then, out of those platforms, determine which are fit for networking.
The following are also excellent choices for networking channels:
- Forums;
- An email list or newsletter;
- Online communities dedicated to eCommerce;
- In-person and virtual industry events.
Always consider your target audience and whether the platform supports connection and communication before selecting your channels.
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Lean on Technology
So much goes into building an online network. Even if you have a team, managing every networking platform is highly detailed, time-consuming, and energy-intensive if you’re doing it right. Because of this, it’s not only important to delegate tasks as necessary, but to harness technology whenever possible. The best example for you to apply this to your eCommerce business is to look into artificial intelligence (AI) tools. AI is changing the modern world, especially the modern business world.
These tools can elevate your networking and outreach by:
- Creating smart content
- Automating responses
- Personalizing interactions
- Collecting data on your network
- Analyzing customer engagement patterns
- Generating meaningful insights to improve the use of each networking platform
By looking into different AI tools you can apply to your eCommerce business, you’ll also stand out among the competition. Since only 37% of businesses use AI today, you’ll be more productive and efficient than most.
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Genuinely Engage With Your Network
Starting a network and sustaining it are both essential but two very different things. In other words, you can bring a whole bunch of people together, but to keep them there, you have to engage with them and create an experience worth returning to.
So, treat every relationship and interaction with the utmost care. Converse with people in your network. Listen to their feedback about your brand and give them a thoughtful response. Also, see how you can genuinely help those in your network. For example, offer content, resources, introductions, and attend their events.
However, you engage with your network, be sure your actions and words are authentic.
Conclusion
Building an online network for your eCommerce business is one of the best moves you can make as an owner. It keeps you close to your customers, strengthens your brand, and keeps you relevant in an increasingly digital world.
