Social Networking For Joint Venture Partnerships

Building joint venture partnerships through social networking is not a new concept. At the same time it should not be your sole goal when you begin to build social networks. If it is, it will eventually become obvious and could do more harm than good in the long run. However, if you enter into social networking with the right attitude: make connections, build relationships, forge partnerships, then you can enjoy quite a few profitable ventures along the way. The first steps are generally the most difficult though.

1) Join social networks and begin getting to know people who are interested in your niche or complementary niches. This gives you the best opportunity to find someone who will share your passion for what you are promoting. There have been times when former competitors have gotten together to take the market by storm. You do not need to rely on the competition to build a better product or to take over the niche. Sometimes finding someone that offers a supporting product or service is the absolute best way to go and there is no worry about competition within your niche if this is the case. First, you must begin getting to know others in the business and get a feel for who you would or would not be interested in working with in the future. This takes time and energy but is well worth the effort.

2) Guard your words. Be open and friendly but watch what you say and how you say it. Social networking is still largely done in black and white print. It is very difficult to see context, sarcasm, or even tone of voice in print which makes it easy to accidentally offend people who would otherwise have been interested in possible partnerships in the future.

3) Offer constructive commentary and advice within your niche. Let your expertise shine so that those who are looking for partnerships know where your strengths lie. Don't hide behind false modesty and don't boast of knowledge you lack. The first can cost you connections while the second will always find you out in the end.

4) Build connections with marketer or members of your niche that you respect and wish to work with. Start up a conversation. Say hello. Get to know what he or she thinks about the issues that are important to you professionally. It's much easier to approach someone for a possible joint venture if they at least know who you are and they will take you more seriously if they've spoken to you before.

5) Approach with plan in hand. The final thing to remember when using social networking to build joint venture partnerships is that it is best to approach with a well thought out product, plan, or venture in mind. Have something in writing to show that this isn't an off the cuff waste of their time and that you have put some degree of thought and planning into the partnership.

Do these things and you should be well on your way to a profitable joint venture partnership through social networking.