Art of Networking
Internet Forums Can Make You the Expert
By Beth M. Anderson

Over the last six years, I have gained a reputation for being an expert in networking because of my active participation in the BNI International Yahoo! group (5,000 subscribers, about 20 active participants at any given time). As with anything, the more you give, the more you gain. Let's take a look at how you can be the expert, too.

1. Always remember that anything you post online has a life of its own. It is very easy for someone to forward an email or post to hundreds or even thousands of people. This can work FOR you as well as against you.

2. Before you join a specific online group, ask yourself these questions: What do I hope to achieve by joining the group? Am I there to learn? To share my knowledge? To promote my business? To make connections with other people in my industry? If your main goal is to promote your business, you need to pay greater attention to the way the group works. Most groups frown upon people who join and start screaming "BUY FROM ME." One of the group's guidelines is "You may not use Yahoo! Groups for commercial or advertising purposes." Be very, very careful, or your hard work will be for naught.

3. BNI's strategic alliance partner, ecademy.com, is all about business—you are expected to talk about your business. The best way to get noticed on ecademy is to blog and respond to other blogs. You can connect directly with other members by looking at their profiles and contacting anyone who looks at yours.

4. Prior to joining any group, take a look at your identity on the site. If you are a financial planner looking to join a Yahoo! Group and your ID is Boo-Boo-Kitty or YouMakeMeRich, you should create a new identity. Think about how you will represent yourself, and choose a handle that fits your objectives. Once you join the group, introduce yourself. It's a great way to bring immediate visibility. Look at other introductions and follow the general format used by the group.

5. Whenever you post to an online group, pay attention to the following tips:

• Re-read your post before sending. If you didn't know you, would you understand what you are talking about? Using abbreviations is fine within an industry, but very few people outside of your profession understand the acronyms. When in doubt, spell it out.
• Spell check the document before sending it. Read it for grammar and content. Make sure you are presenting a professional image.
• Bring a positive attitude with you online. Write everything with a smile on your face. It's hard to say negative things while smiling.
• Let your personality shine through. Remember that people do business with people they know, like and trust.
• Include a signature at the end of your message that includes your name, company name, company website and location. Add a quote or tagline to bring a little more personality to your postings.
• Read every post as if you were about to read it in front of a group of your best customers—or best prospects! Would they think more or less of you after they heard it?
• Stay on topic. Most sites have a specific focus, and members don't like it when you post off-topic. Ask a business group how they advertise, not how to get mold out of your bathroom.
• To increase your visibility within the group, ask questions of the other members. Do a search within the posts to see if the question has been answered before, and if not, then ask away. Again, stay on topic and be relevant to the focus of the group.
• When someone asks for input and you have something to share, wait a few hours or a day to see what others answer. This is a great way to see how the members interact. Pay attention to the responses, and don't post the same information. If you don't have something different to add, don't post.
• Rarely is it acceptable to post "I agree!" Most lists have enough traffic, so if you aren't furthering the conversation, keep it to yourself.
• Wikipedia.org defines flaming as "the hostile and insulting interaction between Internet users." If someone flames you, do email them off list and let them know that you don't appreciate their post. Responding publicly on the list only tends to fan the flames, and does not gain you any points. If you take offense when none was meant, and get upset about it, especially publicly, you can ruin yourself within the group by responding in kind.

I invite each of you to join us at the BNI International Yahoo! Group where we talk about all things related to running a successful BNI meeting! See you Online!

Beth M. Anderson is an entrepreneur, a founding partner in OrgTrack.com, and an internationally recognized expert in word-of-mouth referral networking. Beth is an active participant in several online networking communities, and credits her success to the lessons learned through her participation in the world's largest organization of weekly face-to-face meetings, BNI. She is an avid sailor and makes her home in Pepin, Wisconsin. Visit her on the web at www.BethMAnderson.com.