{"id":1287,"date":"2012-06-25T17:40:42","date_gmt":"2012-06-25T17:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/?p=1287"},"modified":"2026-01-09T16:35:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T21:35:19","slug":"top-5-reasons-to-network-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/iri\/business\/top-5-reasons-to-network-online\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 5 Reasons to Network Online"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Professional online networking plays a vital role in the success of organizations in many industries because it\u00a0changes the way people communicate.\u00a0 Networking changes the way others interact with brands and products they find useful.\u00a0 It also helps to evaluate products previously used.<\/p>\n

Why and how should you influence this trend?<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Users\u00a0trust their network, not vendor\u00a0advertising or\u00a0marketing techniques.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is one of the most accepted changes created by Web 2.0.\u00a0 People rarely trust a company’s marketing message anymore for large purchasing decisions.\u00a0 This is especially true when their company’s name and reputation are on the line.\u00a0 They trust their colleagues, “friends”, and networking affiliates who have successfully used the products in question. \u00a0 The “friends” may be other members of an online community, or they may be strangers who posted product reviews. Your reaction should be “Stop the press, and get into the conversation.”<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Users expect others to talk.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is particularly true for late generation X and early generation Y, better known as\u00a0Millennials.\u00a0 Those climbing to higher positions on the company ladder grew up in a world where interactive, shared media is all they know.\u00a0 When this crowd (who makes up 59% of the workforce) gets online, they expect to interact with each other and not be fed a webpage to read.\u00a0 Since 59% of Millennials are potential decision makers, companies need to interact with them.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0The crowd has the influence.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

People who have a great experience with technology speak much more readily about\u00a0their bad experiences. And since news travel fast, companies have to respond by: 1) listening to\u00a0the problem; 2) joining\u00a0the conversation; and 3) fixing the problem. To maintain professionalism,\u00a0do not\u00a0get defensive or deny the problem. Rather,\u00a0explain why it is that way, and\/or acknowledge the feedback as helpful guidance for product improvements.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 User produced content has more value than you think.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Though it may give journalists, authors, and speakers competition, user content is a good thing.\u00a0\u00a0Encourage your customers to share their expertise and opinions.\u00a0 This can be especially useful if: 1) they use and like your product; 2)\u00a0you want to learn what consumers think of your company and its offerings; and 3)\u00a0you want to learn what customers would like to see from you in the future. Remember, when current users talk, prospective users listen.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 Customers say what they want, so listen.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a Web 2.0 atmosphere, companies get to absorb a wide range of influencers expressing their opinions, needs, and wishes.\u00a0 When a company proactively listens to what their audience is saying, they can innovate faster and more intelligently than their competitors. \u00a0 This will not only put you and your company in the ring leader circle, but will achieve positive word of mouth.<\/p>\n

By way of example,\u00a0this page<\/a> at LinkedIn shows where IRI shares and gains knowledge about data management topics via an interactive online forum. Please connect with us there to join the conversation and share your thoughts!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Professional online networking plays a vital role in the success of organizations in many industries because it\u00a0changes the way people communicate.\u00a0 Networking changes the way others interact with brands and products they find useful.\u00a0 It also helps to evaluate products previously used. Why and how should you influence this trend? 1.\u00a0 Users\u00a0trust their network, not<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,2255],"tags":[714,717,719,713,712,722,724,718,716,721,711,723,720,725],"class_list":["post-1287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-archived-articles","tag-blogger","tag-communicate","tag-evaluate-products","tag-facebook","tag-flickr","tag-friends","tag-influence","tag-interact","tag-linkedin","tag-marketing","tag-online-networking","tag-technology","tag-web-2-0","tag-word-of-mouth"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTop 5 Reasons to Network Online - IRI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover the importance of professional online networking and how it can transform the way people communicate and interact with brands.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/iri\/business\/top-5-reasons-to-network-online\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top 5 Reasons to Network Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover the importance of professional online networking and how it can transform the way people communicate and interact with brands.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/iri\/business\/top-5-reasons-to-network-online\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IRI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-06-25T17:40:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-09T21:35:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/networkingonline.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"475\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"317\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jason Koivu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jason Koivu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/iri\/business\/top-5-reasons-to-network-online\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/iri\/business\/top-5-reasons-to-network-online\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jason Koivu\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c60bc4ff5919427034376979fb2cc8df\"},\"headline\":\"Top 5 Reasons to Network Online\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-06-25T17:40:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-09T21:35:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/iri\/business\/top-5-reasons-to-network-online\/\"},\"wordCount\":492,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/iri\/business\/top-5-reasons-to-network-online\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/networkingonline.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"blogger\",\"communicate\",\"evaluate products\",\"facebook\",\"flickr\",\"friends\",\"influence\",\"interact\",\"linkedin\",\"marketing\",\"online networking\",\"technology\",\"web 2.0\",\"word of mouth\"],\"articleSection\":[\"IRI Business\",\"Archived Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/iri\/business\/top-5-reasons-to-network-online\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/iri\/business\/top-5-reasons-to-network-online\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/iri\/business\/top-5-reasons-to-network-online\/\",\"name\":\"Top 5 Reasons to Network Online - 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