To Mike Fishbein, author of How To Build An Awesome Professional Network, learning to adapt a few basics of inbound marketing to social media is the key to the modern age of networking.

Fishbein wasn’t always a fan of networking; he associated it with sleazy business people, boring events and bad coffee dates. But when he switched professional industries, he dove into networking headfirst to get ahead, and, surprisingly, grew to love it.

Despite his introvert tendencies, Fishbein now utilizes his “inbound networking” technique in his every day marketing business. And he shared his advice during a recent free career webinar sponsored by Bentley University’s Alumni Career Services.

What Is Inbound Networking?

Simply put, inbound networking is an efficient way to network and build relationships online. This type of networking is all about meeting the right people, building your professional reputation, marketing your business, establishing relationships with new contacts, and using self publishing and/or blogging as a networking avenue.
 

Networking for Introverts

Having a hard time mustering up the courage to network? As an introvert, Fishbein can relate.

The first thing is to remind yourself how critically important networking is to meeting your goals. Once you know why it’s important, it’s easier to muster the energy.

Even better, networking digitally takes much of the social anxiety out of networking. Blogging is a great tool for introverts — rather than forcing yourself to attend a big, stuffy event, try putting yourself out there online.

The Sad Truth About Networking

The unavoidable truth is that networking is highly time-consuming. The key is finding a way to maximize your return on investment. This is where inbound networking comes in.

It’s an efficient and effective way to meet new people and form relationships online while also building your brand and establishing your authority in an area of expertise. That’s a lot of bang for your networking buck.

Want more help repositioning yourself? Follow this advice on how to build a personal brand.

The Goals of Inbound Networking

Focus on these three things to succeed in your efforts:
 

1. Know with whom you are trying to connect and where they might be spending their time online.
2. Go where your target connections are, provide value and build rapport.
3. Attract and engage your target connections in order to acquire them as relationships.

The Core Principles of Inbound Networking

Keep these three tenets in mind as you start reaching out:
 

1. Be Helpful
   When your contacts get stronger, you get stronger, too. It’s the law of reciprocity. Introduce contacts when you can, share content produced by your contacts, and shine a spotlight on new business endeavors whenever possible. You never know when your kindness will be repaid.
    
2. Build A Reputation
   Be someone that people want to meet. If no one knows who you are or how great you are, they can’t help you. Be visible, maintain consistent communication, and build relationships over time.
    
3. Know that Relationships > Connections
   A genuine relationship with a contact is paramount. People do business with people they know, like, and trust. Spend the time to build rapport with new contacts and nurture those relationships. Put simply, dig your well before you’re thirsty. Stacks of business cards and meaningless LinkedIn connections won’t help you — honest relationships will.

Inbound Networking = New Relationships + Income

Blogs are the new business cards, says Fishbein — use blogging as a way to start your inbound networking efforts. Let new contacts, potential employers and industry experts get to know you and see your strengths.
 

Here are some tips from Fishbein to get started:
 

• Start With Sentences
  Make a goal to write something every day, even if it’s just a few sentences. That way, you can build up a body of content that can attract connections and bolster your reputation as an expert.
   
• Begin on LinkedIn
  Blogging on LinkedIn is a great resource for beginner bloggers. You don’t need a website or domain name…just start writing.
   
• Provide Professional Updates
  Maintain a blog as a way to let contacts know what you’re doing or what you’re learning. For example, are you going back to school for an MBA? Write about it! Keep those new contacts you’re working so hard to meet abreast on your professional development.
   
• Look for Like-Minded People
  Search for contacts with shared interests via blogging, self-publishing and social media. These areas of commonality can lead to relationships that will help create your next opportunity.
   
• Blog on Other Sites
  Drive traffic to your site by guest blogging on other sites and using hashtags when sharing your content across social platforms — you want as many people as possible to see your content and connect with you.
   
• Answer Questions on Quora
  Quora is a social question-and-answer network. If someone asks or follows a question on Quora, it’s an indication that they want information on that topic, which makes this a great tool to figure out the type of content people want. Browse questions within your topic area and answer the questions with the most followers in a blog post on your own site.
   
• Write a Book
  Eventually, compile all those great blog posts into a book! It will help you make money, show off your expertise, drive traffic to your site and make even more great connections. Using self-publishing services (like Amazon’s), it’s easier than ever to write a book, especially when you have a stack of fantastic blog posts to use. It takes very little time, costs no money, and you can earn up to 70 percent of the royalties.

If you enjoy this type of creativity, learn how be more creative at work.

What Are the Benefits of Inbound Networking?

But does all this effort work? How can inbound networking actually help you network?
 

1. Meeting New People
   Inbound networking allows you to tap into massive audiences on different networks and provide value to those seeking it. You’ll attract great people that you may not otherwise be able to reach.
    
2. Warming Up Your Cold Outreach
   By establishing a thoughtful and well-curated online presence, you position yourself to reach out to relative strangers and make a good impression.
   
   Retweet and share the content of people you respect as a way to establish rapport.
   
   Reach out to an industry leader to see if you can interview them on your blog, rather than asking for a meeting that only benefits you.
    
3. Staying Front of Mind
   Publishing regularly keeps your work in front of the people you worked so hard to meet.
   
   If you’re trying to increase your networking efforts and want more advice, read this article about rethinking how to network.

For more inbound networking tips from Mike Fishbein, listen to the full webinar, “Proven Strategies to Build a Network That Works For You” through Bentley’s Career Services site.



Ellen Foord is a freelance writer living in New Hampshire. A regular contributor for DIY Network, Ellen has been featured on Apartment Therapy, HGTV Magazine, Yahoo, Verily and more.