13 Ways To Create Real Connections Virtually

Countless mixers, conferences and industry events have been adjusted or canceled this year. When face-to-face interactions and even handshakes are out of the question, how can you forge and build new connections? With many typical channels fallen by the wayside, leading executives and senior leaders are finding innovative ways to network.

1. Offer Time, Skills Or Expertise As An Opening Touchpoint

A great way to make connections with new people is to offer your time, skill or expertise as a means of connecting. I began to offer my clients complimentary calls to a subset of participants who attended my virtual keynote. The Q&A period is often very limited, so by doing so, I made sure that more people can connect with me so that I could provide further value. - Lital Marom, UNFOLD Media Group

2. Help Others Relate By Bringing Your Authentic Self Online

Be authentic, be clear about your goals and focus on your top platforms. Create social media profiles, content and communications that truly reflect you and your intentions. This helps to attract what you seek and helps you develop meaningful connections, productive interactions and mutually beneficial professional relationships. Business is relationship. Where and how you relate shows who and where you are in life. - Keda Edwards Pierre, True II Soul

3. Don't Overwhelm People With Too Many Virtual Events

Over the last three months, an avalanche of webinars and virtual conferences have generated some fed-up consumers. Also, entrepreneurs are spending their time recovering their businesses. From now on, webinars must be very selective and spaced out over time to succeed in attendance and support. - José Luís González Rodriguez, ActionCOACH

4. Get Creative With Live Digital Experiences That Offer Value

The good news is that currently there's an unending supply of virtual events to attend. Yet, I was close to burnout in the first four to six weeks of COVID, jumping from one event to the next. Think about what you have to give and what you'd like to get. If you're not finding something that appeals to you, create your own event. How about discussing a business topic such as resilience or job searching during an online happy hour? - Susan Sadler, Sadler Communications LLC

5. Work The Virtual Room With A Premium LinkedIn Subscription

When it comes to networking, LinkedIn has long been supplanting many of the mixers and conferences. Working a room has always been slow and inefficient; with a premium LinkedIn subscription professionals can quickly, easily and directly reach high-value networkers. To boost your chances of a response, make sure you're offering something of value to the person you're contacting, as well. - Scott Singer, Insider Career Strategies

6. Join A Professional Association To Mingle And Gain Referrals

Professional associations in medical, accountancy, legal, human resources and many other fields are a great way to network, build your brand and possibly even get referrals. Traditional conferences may be dead in the current climate, but like everyone else, these professional associates are running online webinars and conferences where you can virtually mingle through chats or have conversations in breakout room discussions. - Kevin Kan, Break Out Consulting Asia

7. Use Keywords To Make Social Media Profiles More Visible 

Adjust the language on your profiles in order to attract the audience you'd like to connect with. With networking now taking more of a virtual form, online search traffic has significantly increased as professionals connect with one another. As a function of this, the incorporation of keywords into our profiles will allow us to search and be found for more intentionally targeted networking. - Corey Castillo, Truth & Spears

8. Follow Up With Virtual Contributors To Gain Perspective

I bet you’ve been spending hours in front of a computer. Now, start reaching out to those people on LinkedIn, Facebook Groups or virtual events in which you participated within 24 hours. Focus on those who made a great contribution. Ask them about the source of their perspective. Inquire if you could talk about it more. State why it interests you. And please don’t sell to them from the moment you say hi. - Inga Bielińska, Inga Arianna Bielinska Coaching Consulting Mentoring

9. Invite Past Attendees To A 'Virtual Coffee' Meet-And-Greet

You can use social media to find individuals who attended or followed the previous year's event. These are the ones who would likely be willing to connect. Then, send them an invite to have a "virtual coffee," including the reason why you thought it would be great for the two of you to connect. What's even better? Invite three others and make it a group meet-and-greet. - Karan Rhodes, Shockingly Different Leadership

10. Become Your Own Virtual Business Card After Online Events 

I have met ten times more people in the last three months by attending online seminars, webinars, symposiums and conferences. I focus on their content, connect on LinkedIn with a common purpose and follow up with an email. I often set up an introductory 30-minute web call introduction, too. We meet face-to face, virtually. This is way more efficient than traditional business-card distribution events. - Dana Manciagli, Job Search Master Class

11. Share Support In Groups To Build Genuine Connections Online

Join a virtual community or group, or create a new community yourself, virtually. This has great benefits, as it allows you to connect with people from around the world and share your stories and learnings. To forge these new connections, if you genuinely connect and relay your support to help them grow, you will be deemed a potential networker rather than a spammer. Be real, be honest and be kind online. - Jedidiah Alex Koh, Coaching Changes Lives

12. Include Your Contacts In Something Bigger

Rather than having just another meeting or even one-on-one, find ways for them to participate in activities such as branding and charitable work. My clients interview people for articles and creatively get to know them that way. They are including them in causes for charities and in charitable events, including mask-free, socially distanced cleanups at charitable sites to promote nonprofits. - John M. O'Connor, Career Pro Inc.

13. Meet By Phone On A Virtual 'Walk And Talk'

Invite someone to join you for a virtual “walk and talk." Many of us are burning out on video conferencing and being stuck behind a screen. So, pitch connecting by phone while you each take a walk outside and get a little exercise. The change of scenery and increased blood flow delivering oxygen to your brain will leave you energized and ready to tackle whatever is next. - Chuck Ainsworth, AIIR Consulting & Pilgrimage Professional Development 

This article was first published on Forbes.