The secret to effective networking

  Earlier this month, The Times published an article by Antonia Senior entitled ‘Why women are such bad networkers'. The piece, supported by the London Business School, claims that women are too self conscious to work a room, and lose out to their male counterparts. As a Public Relations Agency leading the way in on- and off-line PR, we at Punch are pretty well versed on how to use online networking forums to your advantage.

As a PR Company, networking forms a vital part of day-to-day business for Punch Communications - visiting exhibitions, attending launch events, meeting journalists, hosting conferences -  in short, ensuring you have a presence at any gathering that could lead to making new contacts and winning new business. But there's a knack to it, and standing there timidly clutching your welcome pack and your warm glass of wine is not it!

It is always daunting making your presence felt at such events, and it's really a case of practice makes perfect. But the rise of social media and social networking should, in reality, make these events so much easier, not just for women, for everyone who feels a little wrong-footed when they find themselves in a room full of suits. Senior's article suggests that people utilise Facebook and Twitter more, setting up personal and business accounts to differentiate between their personas, and yet there is no mention of LinkedIn, a massively powerful, global business networking resource that would make such opportunities much more valuable.

Punch Communications is a strong advocate of Technology PR and LinkedIn is a must-have resource when it comes to making new contacts, sharing insight and research, and recruiting. Those who use it frequently, and well, know that it's a vital tool in raising awareness of individuals and organisations, for reputation management on a professional level, and an excellent way to drive traffic to your work, be it a blog, a testimonial, the announcement of a new position or coup, or a link to your website with your latest project on display.

By dedicating half-an-hour a day or so to keeping yourself abreast of who's linking with who, what you might be able to share with them and what they might be able to offer you, there's massive potential to extend your network of contacts, expand the skill-sets your business can offer, and benefit from a new professional relationship. Since LinkedIn can be synchronized with a Twitter account, it's possible to share all your insight and musings over a number of forums, should you wish.

From there, it's simply a matter of dovetailing your physical and virtual presence. If you can get hold of a delegate list prior to an event, take the time to peruse the attendees on LinkedIn - connect to them, familiarise yourself with them, drop them an introduction and say you'll seek them out to find out more about their work. Give them a reason to talk to you - that way you'll get so much more out of an event than a couple of canapés. If you can't get your hands on the list beforehand, follow up on the event and contact the delegates later, apologising for not managing to grab five minutes with them but seeking more information.

Ultimately, networking events aren't there to kill two hours, they're arranged to help us offer a better service to our clients, employees and colleagues, and from a personal point of view, extend our own contact base. Everyone knows ‘it's not what you know, it's who you know', so, the onus is on you to make sure you know more people!

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