In-person networking tends to build deeper trust more quickly. The best approach is a mix of both, depending on your goals and comfort level. Reach out to people you already know — former colleagues, classmates, or online community members.

Christina Newberry has been writing about digital marketing since is instantalks safe the prehistoric days of 2002, when email opt-ins were every marketer’s biggest goal. With a deep understanding of how to connect to online audiences, she shifted her focus to social media and has been contributing to the Hootsuite blog since 2016. Responding quickly to direct messages and comments is a core part of good social customer service. Social listening provides free, real-time market research. It involves scanning social media channels for mentions of your name, products, specific keywords, or anything else you want to scout for.

While several social media platforms offer native scheduling features, Hootsuite Planner is a unified tool for cross-platform collaboration, campaign mapping, and scheduling. Start by understanding what your audience is likely to search for, then create content that clearly answers those questions. Clear brand guidelines lay the groundwork for a consistent, recognizable, and safe social media presence, even if you play with your style and brand voice across platforms. Oversharing can sometimes come across as unprofessional, leading to awkwardness. Staying focused on professional topics helps maintain a clear, respectful boundary between personal and work life.

Soft Skills Examples: The Top Traits Employers Are Searching For

You may have a customer service number and email, but more than half of consumers say they’re more likely to buy from a company that offers customer service through chat. At the same time, audiences are quick to tune out content that feels generic, rushed, or low-quality (otherwise known as AI slop). Collaborative tools like Hootsuite make this easier by building approvals and permissions directly into the publishing process. Having social media design templates makes it easier to move quickly without reinventing the wheel, while still maintaining a cohesive look. Your target audience is the foundation of everything you do on social media. It’s okay to have an opinion but it’s important to focus on being positive and stay professional.

• If you have a LinkedIn profile, ask send a connection request and work toward sustaining contact beyond that initial meeting.
• Thankfully, a chatbot can handle simple questions and reduce your customer service team’s workload by 94%.
• It’s tempting to focus on connecting with senior professionals.
• This list of 19 social media best practices will help you build a stronger strategy, create better content, and drive results you can actually measure in 2026.

Healthcare And Public Health Cybersecurity

Set goals for each metric and regularly assess your progress to optimize your networking strategy over time. Unlike many other business activities, networking success can be challenging to quantify, but it’s important to find ways to measure it. Tracking certain metrics can help you refine your approach over time. Following up is important for nurturing and maintaining relationships, as well as for staying top of mind. It also gives you a great chance to share what’s new with you. You can set up calendar reminders or use your CRM tool to automate follow-ups.

The takeaway isn’t to avoid AI entirely, but to use it with intention. In other words, AI should accelerate your teams, not water down your standards. This is especially important in regulated industries, but it’s just as valuable for everyday publishing. Clear approval workflows help prevent mistakes before they turn into a PR crisis.

Andrei combines academic knowledge with over 10 years of practical experience to help job seekers navigate the challenges of resumes, interviews, and career growth. Through the Novorésumé Career Blog, he offers actionable advice to simplify and ace the job search process. You’re human, which means you probably hope to gain something out of networking—whether it’s a valuable introduction, a helpful resource, or even a job lead. Traditional networking advice will talk about the torture of small talk and how you should do your best to avoid mindlessly chatting about the weather or the event itself.