It’s the first step toward building a relationship with prospective buyers, and it’s an opportunity to learn about your prospect’s business and pain points.
But networking isn’t easy!
And one thing is for certain: The future of business will be influenced by various trends and, in turn, the manner in which individuals operate.
These trends may lead to changes in a number of distinct arenas, including how people network and the manner in which they carry out their work.
Within this blog post, we’ll dive into some of the most promising networking trends that you can prepare for and use to your benefit.
What is B2B Networking?
B2B networking is the process of connecting with businesses and professionals in order to build relationships and create opportunities for mutual benefit.
It can involve attending events and conferences, participating in online forums and communities, or simply connecting with others through mutual contacts.
The goal of B2B networking is to build long-term, trust-based relationships that can lead to new business opportunities.
By developing a strong network of connections, businesses can gain access to new markets, find potential partners for joint ventures, and get insights into industry trends.
So let’s get into some trends that you can use to your benefit in the future period.
B2B Networking Trends To Execute In 2023
Even though networking trends in 2022 were mostly related to social media networking and B2B marketplaces, in 2023, all this will be taken a step further.
1. Attend Online Events
One of the biggest trends in B2B networking you should utilize is attending more events more often.
Online events can be anything from live webinars to live chat sessions or even Discord chats.
They are great ways to engage your audience and provide them with an interactive learning experience.
Companies are getting more aggressive about promoting their events and helping attendees connect with each other at an event.
In addition, they’re also finding ways to increase engagement after the event so that attendees can continue networking while they’re away from the event itself.
So don’t just reply to the attending request. Instead, engage with the event host.
Check out their website and social media accounts, read their blog, and follow them on Twitter or Facebook.
You may want to reach out directly via email or social media if something interests you about their company.
This will give you an opportunity to learn more about what they do, which will help when it comes time for introductions at an event.
These can be used as a platform for customer support or feedback from clients, sales opportunities, and so much more.
2. Utilize Team Networking
A team is the most important aspect of any project or business.
Whether it’s a small company or a large corporation, teamwork is essential to its success.
In the professional world, networking is an essential skill anyone can learn and practice.
Nowadays, there are many online remote teams who use social media platforms to share information and collaborate on projects together.
We work alone in our offices and cubicles all day long, thinking that we can do everything ourselves and nothing is wrong with that.
But it is wrong!
Because if we don’t learn how to collaborate with each other — not just within our own companies but also between companies across industries — then we will never be able to compete against the ones that know.
So it’s important to utilize and improve your team networking to reach better results.
And Workspaces enable you exactly that, by:
- Pooling connections for your entire team
- Leveraging your team’s knowledge to accomplish goals faster by using notes and tagging features
- Boosting team productivity with reliable data
3. Use the Power of Social Media
In the past few years, Facebook has dominated group social media conversations.
However, that may be about to change as LinkedIn continues to grow in popularity among professionals.
With more than 875 million members worldwide, LinkedIn has become the top-used B2B networking social media channel according to GreenHat research:
LinkedIn offers free and paid advertising options serving as a great place for managing customer relationships.
It also allows you to use the advanced boolean search and create personalized search results based on your professional interests and connections with other professionals within your network.
This feature can help companies find qualified leads by connecting with people with similar interests or who work at companies they want to do business with.
This makes it easy for young professionals to work with their peers and build relationships that will help them in their careers.
Here are some ways in which you can use social media to network:
- Join LinkedIn groups and interact with other professionals from your niche
- Use groups on Facebook for your niche and connect with them on other social media channels
- Find influencers and business professionals on Twitter and engage with them
- Start creating B2B content with the focus on your specific niche and industry.
- Create a blog and start writing content about your industry and share it through social media channels
- Create LinkedIn carousels and share the value, as LinkedIn carousels perform great, just like they used to perform on Instagram in their prime.
- Document and share your progress and learnings over Twitter, and communicate with your audience since Twitter’s reach works great at the moment.
4. Use Networking Tools To Increase Efficacy
The networking industry has changed dramatically over the past few years.
It’s gone from being a luxury event for business executives to something every marketer needs to do regularly — whether you’re selling software or accounting services.
But if you’re going to do it, you need to make sure that you’re getting the most out of it.
More businesses are turning to tools to scale their networks, save time and money and increase productivity.
These tools make it easy for you to find new contacts who match your interests and connect with them instantly.
You can also use them to schedule meetings or send messages to people who might be interested in what you have to offer.
With all this activity, it’s no surprise that networking is one of the most popular topics at B2B conferences and events.
The question is: How do you do it?
Here are some ideas you can follow to boost your networking activities:
1. Use networking tools to connect with people outside of your network.
2. Use networking tools to reach the right people inside your network and contact them.
3. Use networking tools to reach out to people outside of your network who are connected to people inside your network.
4. Use networking tools to track what happens after you reach out (i.e., follow up).
Pro tip: You can partially automate these tasks, LeadDelta, for example, allows you to connect your workflow apps by using Zapier integration and save time on repetitive tasks.
So here’s what you can do with it:
1. Create follow-up reminders with tags by using LeadDelta + Google Tasks
2. Build your Email campaign with LinkedIn by using LeadDelta + Autoklose
3. Know who you are meeting with by using LeadDelta + Calendly
4. Build sales pipelines with LinkedIn by using LeadDelta + HubSpot
5. Increase your response rate using LeadDelta + Email
6. Keep notes about your connections in your CRM by using LeadDelta + Pipedrive
5. Adopt Digital Business Cards For a Unique Approach
When it comes to in-person networking, business cards are still a great way of getting people you network with to remember you.
But did you know that according to Statistic Brain Research Institute, 79% of people are unwilling to do any business with you if your business cards are poorly designed?
Fortunately, there are new popular digital business cards for networking that help people exchange contact information and connect easier.
What’s great about them is that you can choose the material by your wish, design them however you want, and prepare them for your next networking events to make sure your business card doesn’t end up in the trash.
How Can B2B Networking Benefit You?
1. It can help you build valuable relationships with potential customers and partners
Building relationships is essential in business, and networking gives you a chance to do just that.
By getting to know potential customers and partners, you’ll be better positioned to do business with them down the line.
2. It can help you stay up-to-date on industry trends
When you network with other businesses in your industry, you’ll be able to stay abreast of current trends and developments.
This knowledge can help you make better decisions for your business.
3. It Improves relationships with existing clients
Strong relationships are essential for any business, but they can be especially important in the B2B world.
Networking with others can build stronger relationships with your existing clients, leading to more repeat business and referrals.
4. Allows you to access new markets
Networking can help you reach new markets to which you might not otherwise have access to.
This could open up new opportunities for your business to expand.
5. Helps you build your brand
Going to industry events and networking with people in your field helps you become more recognizable.
You can talk to your peers, share your experiences, give advice, and let them know who you are and what you do.
The more your peers know about you, the easier it will be to get leads and cultivate a good relationship.
Conclusion
Engaging with your LinkedIn network is no longer a problem with the right LinkedIn tools, so choosing the one that best fits your needs is essential.
With a LeadDelta network manager, you’ll be more productive by viewing and organizing your network the way it suits your needs best.
It’s time to stop with overloaded inboxes, feeds, and screaming notifications and rather focus on building relationships.
Download the LeadDelta extension and improve your LinkedIn B2B networking game today.
