Much to my husband’s chagrin, I’ve never been much of a skier. No matter how hard he’s tried to make it enticing, and no matter how much I’ve appreciated the luxe accommodations and the Austrian ski instructors, the skiing itself just hasn’t been a good fit. On a trip to the French Alps a few years ago, I didn’t even bother bringing my ski clothes. I mean, why keep up the pretense, right? So for 10 straight days while he hit the slopes, I ate rich French food and did no exercise. No surprise then that when I got back home and got back to the gym with my trainer, I couldn’t lift as much weight as I could before I left. It had taken me forever to get to a certain strength level it seemed, and in less than two weeks, I had taken some very noticeable steps back.
Just like being able to do more reps and lift more weight with regular visits to the gym, maintaining a strong personal brand requires that same kind of commitment and consistency.
Active networking produces opportunities
Active networking keeps your brand visible and increases both the quantity and quality of opportunities that come your way.
Keep your networking “muscles” in tip top shape
Here are five ways to keep your networking muscles in tip-top shape so your personal brand is always top of mind:
1) Share often. An easy and quick way to keep contacts abreast of what you’re doing and to spur interaction and conversation is to update your Facebook and/or LinkedIn status regularly. By staying silent, you keep the door closed to communication, but by sharing something–a success, a goal, a wish, an observation-you provide regular opportunities for contacts to engage with you.
2) Pay attention. Browse the online profiles of those with whom you want to build a closer connection and find a reason to interact. Make a comment, offer help, wish them luck, whatever is appropriate based on what they’re posting. Those light touches over time can strengthen bonds more effectively than going for one big bang interaction.
3) Add routine. Join a professional organization or networking group to put some structure and frequency to your networking. It’s in your calendar, like a standing appointment with your personal trainer. You know that the last Tuesday evening of the month, or the third Friday at lunch, for example, is your monthly meeting. You don’t have to think about it.
4) Think small. For your contacts who aren’t social media junkies, sometimes the only way to get visibility and stay on their radar screens is face-to-face. While big events can help you circulate with multiple contacts in one sitting, getting together for a one-on-one coffee can often do more to deepen relationships with the key people in your network.
5) Test market. Describing what you do can sometimes get stale. Either you get so used to giving the same elevator pitch that it sounds rote, or contacts have heard it so often that they’ve tuned out. In your networking interactions, test new ways of saying who you are and what you do. You just might find a better combination that more easily generates the response you want.
When you’re not doing much to maintain the visibility of your personal brand, inertia is automatically kicking in to erode it. Focusing on one or two specific strategies and doing them regularly is often much more effective than trying every strategy once.
