Your professional network is made up of all those people you rely on for your business to keep ticking. That’s what makes it professional! In today’s fast-paced climate, you need to have reliable methods of communicating within this network. Here are a few of the best ways for keeping in the loop when your partners and associates need you.
A lot of businesspeople could do with a combination of different networking methods. However, if you’re a creative freelancer, the best choice for you is usually social media. If you’re a self-employed freelancer, or the head of a creative start-up, then a lot of your work is going to be marketing. These days, social media is a hugely significant tool for reaching your target audience. Furthermore, sites like Facebook and Google Plus will allow you to share content with a few clicks of the mouse. This can be exceptionally useful if you want to bounce work off of your clients. With mobile apps for many social networks, you’ll have a certain guarantee of reliability when it comes to communication. Whenever you share some form of content, your network will be alerted in a matter of seconds!
So social media is pretty well suited to a network who’s already working with you. But what about outside contacts who you want to bring in as a partner? These kinds of situations require a slightly more personal touch, where you can have a little more control over the discourse. Many business owners like to use a good old email thread for any negotiations with another CEO. With social media being so prevalent in online business, monitoring all of your company’s different channels can feel pretty overwhelming and chaotic. Sending an email, on the other hand, is much more direct. Whereas a brief two-line Facebook message can feel easy to ignore, a detailed email will draw your interest immediately. The format itself simply feels more professional when you’re dealing with an outside party.
Like many executives, you might have to travel a lot. During this time, you may have important mail due to arrive at your usual address. If any of this is important to your professional life, you’ll doubtlessly want access to it. If you’ve been stuck in this situation before or you’re anticipating it, you might want to consider a mailbox forwarding service. The usefulness of these services make me marvel at how unknown they are! After setting up with one of these companies, you’ll be able to forward all of your mail to a separate physical address. There, it will be scanned and forwarded to an online inbox. You almost have cloud storage which is compatible with physical mail! The next time you’re away on business, you won’t have to worry about missing a payment or taking a long time to reply to an important letter.
With these tips, you’ll have much better communication between you and your professional network. Remember that the possibilities go far beyond these. Try different things and find out what works for you!
