Top 5 Tips for Building Your Circles

1.  Networking

Attend networking events on a regular basis and join a couple of business associations.  There are many good events every week to choose from in our Region.

Make a habit of arriving early, go up and meet two new people, ask for their story, listen, tell your story and exchange business cards.  Follow-up by connecting on LinkedIn and sending an e-mail or making a phone call to continue the conversation.

2.  Volunteering

Volunteer your time with organizations supporting what you stand for.   These kinds of associations serve a good purpose while the bonus for you is meeting new people to add to your circles.

Making these kind of connections are important in building your cirle of network with others you may not have reached otherwise.   Of course it does not have to always be about business:   build the relationship first and focus on making a difference by volunteering.

3.  Social Media

Embrace social media, learn more about it and find out the many ways you can make connections not just daily but hourly!

So many great tools at our fingertips to reach out and build your audience.   LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Blogging just to name a few.

Be genuine, make it interesting, measure your efforts and adjust your message to suit your audience.  Regardless of what you do professionally and even in your personal life, social media plays a role and compliments everything you do.  Balance it with phone calls and face-to-face discussions. 

4.  Introductions

Ask those around you to introduce you to specific people they may know.  Every single day you have an opportunity to be introduced to someone new.   You can even make your own introduction.

Give it a try and see for yourself.  

5.  Traditional Media

Tell your story and send out press releases from time to time on noteworthy milestones, new product launches, new hirees and so forth.  

The radio, newspaper and magazines are looking for stories to tell.   Get to know the reporters, add them to your press release list, reach out to them and suggest some topics or hot trends in your industry they may want to know more about.

Position yourself with the media as the expert on specific subject matter.   Sometimes when a news story breaks, reporters will contact you!