Lara McCulloch

Lara McCulloch

On Posted on by Lara McCulloch to Blog Strategy, Business Inspiration, Corporate Branding

be an advocate . put a hand in a hand

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(photo via flickr)

What if I told you that one of the best ways to advance your career and/or your business is to become a connector and an advocate? Let’s come back to that statement in a minute.

First, let’s take a look at world of blogs. The Blogosphere is rife with advocacy. You would think that as vast as the world wide web is that connections would be few and far between. But the opposite is true. Blogs are finely woven together with bloggers knitting introductions through blogrolls, winks, highlights and features. Why? A few things happen when you advocate someone else’s blog. 1) Linking to another blog introduces your blog to them (this is a big advantage if they’ve never seen your blog before), 2) People genuinely want to return the favor, 3) You build your core values in the eyes of your readers by linking to like-minded blogs.

So how does this relate to your business? Simply replace a few words from above:
1) Connecting to another business introduces your business to them (this is a big advantage if they’ve never seen your business before), 2) People genuinely want to return the favor, 3) You build your core values in the eyes of your customers by connecting like-minded businesses.

Whether you own a business or not, you have your own ideals and truths that you live by. One of the most important things you can do is surround yourself with associates, clients and suppliers that share those beliefs. And equally as important is connecting like-minded people. Starting tomorrow, make a business connection. Go through your Rolodex and find two companies that you think should get to know one another. And watch how it will, in turn, expand your own network.

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