HELPING ENTREPRENEURS DIGITIZE THEIR NETWORKING AND BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS

When looking for business partners, investors, customers, or new employees, good networking is crucial for your success as an entrepreneur. Whether it's customer acquisition, building your brand image, increasing awareness of your company, or the next round of financing, you'll have a hard time without good contacts in the business world. Xing and LinkedIn, the two top business platforms in the B2B sector, are of course familiar to you and you have probably created a profile on both networks.

In addition, there are other good alternatives for business networking online and offline to meet like-minded people, exchange experiences, learn from each other, make good business contacts, and build up a solid business network.

WHAT IS BUSINESS NETWORKING?

Business contacts that you get to know in your professional environment, for example at trade fairs, camps, workshops, specialist conferences, or online, form your business network. But be careful: Business networking is a give and take. Contacts do not necessarily lead to a deal. In addition to building and expanding this network, the art of business networking lies in maintaining your business contacts. Without this care, your network is just a collection of loose contacts that don't get you anywhere. An open, diplomatic manner, subtle self-presence, and an honest and sincere interest in your counterpart are the basis for solid business contacts.

BUSINESS NETWORKING: WHICH NETWORK SUITS YOU?

Business networking isn’t necessarily for everyone. But it’s not rocket science either, and if you follow a few basic rules, you can learn it. Those who initially find it difficult to network usually take their first steps online. There are also numerous other offline alternatives. Which business network best suits you and your business model depends on the goals you are pursuing with business networking. To get the most out of your efforts, start by answering a few questions and developing your personal business networking strategy.

• What is your goal in business networking?
• How much time do you want to invest?
• Which formats and events support your goals?
• Listen or contribute?

As a freelancer, you will use business networking primarily for customer acquisition, but also to exchange experiences with other sole proprietors. Founders, on the other hand, are more likely to be looking for investors or other founders who can support them with valuable tips for successfully implementing their business idea. Established companies often use professional networks for recruiting. Accordingly, the format of a business networking event is critical to success.

Depending on your goals, you have the choice between trade fairs, road shows, business talks, regular tables, camps, and many other exciting formats. If you know your goal, become active where you are most likely to meet your target group. Networking is time-consuming. Therefore, also consider the time factor: only invest your time in events that are useful to you. You can find investors, for example, locally or even internationally. When looking for new employees, attending events in your area makes a lot more sense. Those who already have both feet firmly on the ground in business actively take part in business networking events and share their experiences and secrets of success, for example as speakers to inexperienced founders.

Whether online or offline, locally, nationally, or internationally as a listener or speaker: the business world offers you numerous opportunities to build up your entrepreneurial network.

SOCIAL NETWORKS FOR BUSINESS CONTACTS

Xing and LinkedIn are the top business platforms in the B2B sector for networking. The user profiles are exclusively geared toward professional qualifications. So you can easily find the contacts you need to get ahead in your industry or your business area. Xing covers the B2B market in the DACH region. If you are looking for international contacts, you will find them on LinkedIn. The LinkedIn business portal is used by 98 percent of the TOP 500 companies worldwide, making it the world’s most popular social media platform for companies, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

As part of your marketing strategy, you probably also use social networks like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Don’t miss out on this range for building and expanding your professional network.

HELPING ENTREPRENEURS DIGITIZE THEIR NETWORKING AND BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS

The use of networking and commercial alliances is decisive to achieve the objectives of organizations and companies. For this reason, Connectana Systems has made a special arrangement to help entrepreneurs to digitize their networking and business relationships.

This arrangement helps digitize the networking of its partners, through the use of Connectana’s Digital Business Cards. This is a new communication channel that unites the entire digital footprint of those who use them, be it their communication channels, social networks, web, videos, and interactive digital content. 

Connectana has offered special benefits so that members can obtain Connectana’s Digital Cards at a very reasonable price.

HOW CONNECTANA’S DIGITAL CARDS HELP IN NETWORKING AND BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS

As entrepreneurs and managers at all levels, it is necessary to have printed business cards. Precisely, one of its functions is to be able to share our contact data and obtain that of others to expand our network of contacts. And what happens when they run out at a meeting or event? What if for some reason we lose the cards that have been shared with us?

Here is the first benefit of a Connectana digital card: You will always have your business card on your mobile, and you can share it unlimitedly, at any time. In addition to sharing contact information, you will also share videos, brochures, and other digital content, which was previously printed.

More benefits of Connectana’s digital business cards, which help you:

• Have your contact information and content in different languages. 
• Place CTA (Call to action) for different purposes, especially for your website.
• Connect with your prospects and customers thanks to the fact that you can share, update and store contact information with a simple scan of the QR on the card or by sharing the personalized link. 
• Share with access designed especially for mobile, but also to use and view on devices such as tablets and laptops.
• Having a new channel that unites all your communication channels and makes options available to your customers so that they can choose how they connect with you.
• Give immediate access to all your business and professional social networks such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
• Strengthen the digital identity of your company as a modern, sustainable company, respectful of environmental laws and the environment.