Becoming a Networker

Around this time last year, I was a fairly timid yet ambitious rising college junior, finally venturing out to my first real networking event. It was a Mashable-hosted tweetup on Capitol Hill, and I wandered in feeling totally overwhelmed. I’d just begun to get into social media and finally feeling like a real adult, but I’d never been to a networking event outside of American University.

Oh my how times have changed.

Tonight is Mashable’s DC “Summermash” event. That means this is also the one-year anniversary of my becoming a networker. Networking has changed my life–I’ve realized opportunities I could’ve never before imagined, and I’ve made some of my best friends in the world through online social networks. In honor of the occasion, I figured I’d offer a few tips on how I’ve managed to get where I am and how you can be well on your way, too.

1. Get social. This should be just about the most obvious of all the tips on this list–especially coming from me–but I simply can’t stress it enough. If you aren’t active on social media, you’re behind. Get on Twitter, get on LinkedIn, and stay active on Facebook. Collect those business cards, look people up, research the people who will be at events before you go–all simple things you can do to connect with great people online and be one step ahead of the game. Need examples? Check me out on Twitter (@alexpriest), LinkedIn, and Facebook.
2. Get real. This is equally important, and far too often overlooked. Connecting online isn’t enough–meeting face-to-face is more important than ever in today’s networking world. I connect with thousands of people on Twitter, but the ones I remember, trust, and am likely to pass on opportunities to are the ones I’ve met and know IRL (in real life). Find those events (see my sidebar for some upcoming ones) and get out and meet your online connections in the flesh.
3. Be a brand. I hate the term “personal brand” but if it walks like a brand, talks like a brand, and acts like a brand… it’s a brand. You should be one. Sell yourself. Design some custom business cards (I recommend Moo.com), build yourself a website (I recommend WordPress), and be consistent with how you present yourself and communicate both online and off. It’s more important than you think.
4. Stay connected. Sure, nobody likes being tethered to your phone, but oftentimes speed and responsiveness counts. I do my best to respond to every Twitter DM within five minutes, every text message within one hour, and every personal e-mail and phone call within 24 hours. Simply being on top of your game when it comes to communicating with your personal network can make you stand out more than you realize.
5. Don’t be timid. Yea, it’s awkward walking into a room and not knowing anyone. Sure, it’s a little uncomfortable trying to break into a conversation with a group of people you don’t know. Do it anyway. You’ll never meet people if you don’t get over your fears and jump in. Chances are, that group conversation you just butted into only got started because someone did the same thing only moments before.
6. Provide value. Don’t be “just a connection.” Be a news source, and opportunity archive, and a content provider. Write often, pass on interesting links, and reach out to people you haven’t talked to in a while from time to time, just to let them know you’re thinking about them. Don’t be dead weight and blabber on someone’s Twitter feed about your relationship issues, unless you’re a relationship blogger. It’s fine to be casual, and I’d say as much as 10-15% of your social network communications can be pretty mindless, but you have to be providing some value there somewhere.
7. Be everywhere. Don’t settle for just going to one networking event a month. Don’t settle for just being on Twitter and LinkedIn. Don’t settle for just one organization or group of friends. Get out and go to new events weekly. Set a personal goal to find and experience a new organization’s events at least once a month (if you’re in a city, trust me, this isn’t hard to do). Meet new people every day. Is it tiring? Sure. Does it keep you busy? Of course. Is it better than sitting home on the couch and watching TV? Hell yes.
8. Don’t underestimate yourself. I have problems with this one sometimes. The thoughts run through my mind pretty regularly, actually: I’m just a student. They won’t take me seriously. I’m just “the intern.” Well snap out of it. I slap myself on basically a weekly basis to avoid this mindset, because it’s absolute nonsense. It doesn’t matter if you are 16 or 61, a student, an intern, or a corporate vice president. I don’t care if you’re in a different industry, a different city, or a different planet. I don’t care if you’re straight or gay, black or white, loud or quiet. You are who you are and you have every bit of potential to provide value to someone’s network as anyone else. Don’t forget that.

And literally, that’s just a few of the things that have popped in my head as I sat down to write this. Follow these tips. Get out there. Have fun. Be a networker.



Author: Alex Priest

Alex Priest is the DC Community Manager for @Uber_DC. He’s been called “hilariously driven” and is a lover of social media, politics, transportation, technology, design, bicycling, and more. Alex loves living, learning, and collaborating in what he considers one of the best cities in the world: DC. His goal in life? To simply tell good stories when he’s old. Follow him on Twitter @alexpriest.