Exploring the intersection between digital connection, community strategy, local communities, belonging, permaculture principles, sustainability, and psychology. My work analyses the systems that prop up our current networking practices and looks at practical steps we can unlearn to build stronger networks that serve both people and the planet.
👋 Stop waving, start talking (and other ways to cultivate connection)
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Here are 3 ideas to help you cultivate more connection in your life this week 👇 1️⃣ Selling services on social media If there is one trend I’ve seen growing over the past few years, it's the reluctance of people to buy from service-based businesses solely based on social media. While products on social media still seem appealing, service-based businesses need to look beyond socials. Relationships, and that means networking, are key. A post might generate likes and engagement, but ask yourself: does it advance your actual business goals? If you're seeking clients for your service business, ensure your content strategy aligns with that objective. The familiar 'know, like and trust' principle has evolved. Today, trust builds through genuine interactions, not just information sharing. But are you creating opportunities for real conversations with potential clients? The network you build may matter more than your content output. 2️⃣ Set a consistent mini-goal If networking feels overwhelming or you struggle with consistency, commit to one small, sustainable action. Some examples; 🤝 Attending one networking event per quarter 🪁 Reach out to 10 new people a week 💻 A goal to spend 10 minutes a day in your preferred platform’s newsfeed Pick something that feels achievable long term. 3️⃣ Comments are key I have been a LinkedIn trainer for 15 years now, and I can tell you one thing I see time and time again. I meet people who say they use LinkedIn but never get anything from it. When I check their activity, all they ever do is post; they never comment and never interact. A like is not a meaningful interaction. Think of social media as a large group of people. If you stand in the corner waving, you aren’t going to gain much. If you go and talk to others, you will gain much more from the experience. Commenting on the content others create is joining a conversation. Creating your own content is starting a conversation. Of course, many people use social media as a learning tool and are happy to scroll through a feed without interactions. If learning and observing is your goal, then that’s ok - but if conversations are what you’re after, then you need to use the comment buttons. Until next week, Anna |
Networking: A New Manifesto
Exploring the intersection between digital connection, community strategy, local communities, belonging, permaculture principles, sustainability, and psychology. My work analyses the systems that prop up our current networking practices and looks at practical steps we can unlearn to build stronger networks that serve both people and the planet.
Here are 3 ideas to help you cultivate more connection in your life this week 🔗 (if you're new here, I publish these weekly here, and also on LinkedIn). (1) What brings you here today?I run a lot of events. I attend a lot as well, especially networking ones. The question every business coach will say you MUST have an answer to, and one people dread the most (both asking and answering it) is this: so what do you do? There are so many reasons why this is a really hard question to answer, and...
Here are 3 ideas to help you cultivate more connection in your life this week - all about approaching conversations. (1) Have a difficult conversation Especially in the workplace where connection is so important, we have to be prepared to have hard conversations around things like team dynamics, performance and employment. People appreciate it so much more and conversations can help provide resolution and support. Hunter Leonard recently shared the news story from last month about Atlassian...
Here are 3 ideas to help you cultivate more connection in your life this week. If you enjoy this week's edition you can leave a comment online if you like. (1) There is joy to be found in fandomsThis newsletter is running late in part because of Taylor Swift. In case you weren’t aware she dropped a number of delightful clues yesterday and announced a new album. Whether you care about this or not makes no difference to me, but it did cause me immense joy and distraction. My Threads feed...