How do you network and expand your professional contacts in a remote environment?

For me this task is critical, in effect, you are identifying who will benefit from being part of your community. But, here's the trick, you have to define criteria which can be searched for. ie. For Scottish Business Network in the beginning we wanted to identify Scots across the world but that's not a searchable term on Linkedin however University is hence that was the starting point. Familiarise yourself with the way Social Media platforms tag individuals and how their advanced search function operates.

In a remote work environment, expanding your professional network and building relationships relies on adapting and utilizing soft skills effectively. Patience, active listening, and empathy are key to fostering connections despite physical distance. Simplify communication, be open to diverse perspectives, and leverage technology for virtual meetings and networking events. Remember, remote networking is about building trust and rapport through meaningful online interactions. From a tactical perspective, I advise you not give in to gimmicks like bots and AI to make it look like you are a real person when it is a bot. Insincerity and gimmicks are wearing thin on people. Do your homework. Read people's posts and respond genuinely.

It may seem simple, but the easier you can make it to schedule 1-1 calls, the better. Many virtual networking events encourage participants to book calls with one another so I recommend creating a specific booking link such as in Calendly for these "virtual coffees." Just pop your link in the chat and encourage people to continue the conversation.

Building rapport for me is all about ensuring your mission will be one that your contact wishes to support and that your "ask" of them is something they can help with. These simple two steps are actually extremely difficult to get right and the best approach I found was trial and error. You need to be brave, and accept some knockback but learn from the experience and continually optimise the process. Here's a tip - you need to get into the mind set of your target connection, eg. how does a senior exec like to be approached? The best way to do this is to reach out to friends, connections, alumni, colleagues etc and ask them how they like to be approached. Call, email, DM, WhatsApp ps. and always be polite!

Really want to stand out from the crowd? Send a voice message or a loom video intro. People love to see and hear others and few actually use this approach. So if you do, you’ll see great results.

Building rapport with connections is not about hounding them it's about allowing them to engage with your content. In my experience, the best approach is not to contact them too often and only when you have a specific ask, eg. to attend an event, to make an introduction of value to them, to answer a question. Use platforms such as Linkedin to remain on their radar. Post daily, if relevant tag them occasionally, and engage with their content where relevant. But never use automated tools. We can always spot it and it immediately destroys the credibility you have built up.

Make sure you ring the profile notification bell on your new connection’s profile so that If they create content on LinkedIn, you’ll be notified and can respond. This is an easy way to show support and stay at the forefront of your connections’s mind.

Your goal, particularly as you start out is to be always growing your network. Publishing content, commenting on others articles will provide organic growth but I found that to really accelerate community development you need to get out in front of people. For me once I started speaking at events and inviting audiances to connect with me this opened doors to much larger communities that I could have hoped to get to on my own. Always be leveraging others' networks to build your own. But remember to help these network builders by supporting their own personal mission where you can.

In business I always try and help others with advice and suggestions based on my own knowledge and experiences, so I find asking my own LinkedIn contacts and the wider network about things in new sectors is great way to connect with new people and get good advice !

Being consistent is difficult. The daily aspect of life gets in the way. There are two lessons I've learned here. 1. Build habits. Repeat the same tasks and the same time of day, each day until it becomes a habit like brushing your teeth. In the early days for me, this was simply to publish a Linkedin article every morning. I couldn't keep it up 100% of the time but even today it's a habit I try to keep to. 2. Create a heartbeat in your planning. At Scottish Business Network this became a London event on the third Tuesday of every month. We did this for three years and the results were extraordinary.

Consistency is key, and as mentioned, it is really important to build your network before you need it. If you need to ask someone for help, you will be much more likely to receive a favorable response if you already have an established relationship with each other. “Coke-calling” in a favor with someone you’ve just met it much less likely to be successful. I personally love networking and building community. If you can view it as a joy and a privilege rather than a chore, you will be shocked at your results.

Being proactive also consists offering help. There are countless online platforms where professionals can volunteer their skills – be it for mentoring, consulting for non-profits, or even assisting in virtual events. Offering your expertise on a voluntary basis can introduce you to a new set of contacts who value your contributions and potentially lead to future collaborations or opportunities

At the core of building relationships for me is understanding "why" you are doing it, and what is your call. Simply collecting business cards or amassing email address lists is not enough. You must be precise in your vision, be able to clearly define your mission and importantly be able to get us excited about helping you reach your end destination. This for me is what building communities is all about.

As important as it is to be intentional about who you seek to network with, it’s also important to put out your own bat signal by way of creating content here. You never know who is consuming it and by creating content you are inviting others to feel comfortable reaching out to you.

Think about giving instead of taking. I think a really great way to take the “cringe” out of networking is to think about what you can give, how you can help, instead of what YOU need. So by doing things for other people in your network (making an intro, connecting 2 people, sharing a job opportunity with someone) by doing things for other people- preemptively almost, this will make things so much easier for you - when you actually need to call on your network for something. You have strengthened your ties and people will want to reciprocate your kind deeds.