People in the diaspora have played a big role in global events over the years. Find out what it means and how to build social networks globally. The African Diaspora is made of voluntary and involuntary travel of Africans and their descendants to various parts of the world during the modern and pre-modern periods.
Diasporas are “migrants or descendants of migrants whose identity and sense of belonging have been shaped by their relocation experience and background.
There is no excuse for not having a social network of people with whom you communicate and gain inspiration in today’s online social media scene.
It is becoming increasingly crucial to building a social network of people from whom you can seek input, particularly if you are an entrepreneur or manage a firm in the African diaspora. Understand that it is critical to keep your network’s connections up to date because people frequently relocate.
Ways to Build Social Network and Net Worth in the Diaspora
There are numerous social media networks that can be used to expand your network of potential business partners or mentors that you may require to get to the next level of success.
On the other hand, there’s always the old-school option of attending seminars or conferences to establish that support network.
1. Participate in Local Conferences and Networking Events
Attending conferences or workshops where individuals interested in similar things as you meet is one approach to building a networking relationship in the diaspora. Find networking events even if it’s for a business you are yet to venture into, attend and meet others.
For example, there are annual Black Hair Expos for people who are interested in all things related to black hair whether natural or synthetic.
These expos and conventions make it easy to begin networking with others who share similar interests, and they help to maintain that relationship by visiting such conventions on an annual basis. There are expos for even lawyers, and professionals. And also associations for skillful personnel like truck drivers and solopreneurs.
2. Having a business card or profile you can easily share to stay in contact.
Handing out business cards to people at these events can be a handy and quick way to trade contacts. Although attending such workshops and conferences may be more difficult for persons living in the diaspora, there are alternative methods to create and grow your network for potential future partnerships.
There are always rooms to stream events online and get to still chit-chat with similar-minded individuals or connect using their social profiles. Social media is currently one of the most popular platforms for network creation. It is an essential tool for keeping your network organized and current.
One of the most popular networks, Facebook, allows you to have both a personal profile and a business page. You can use this function to divide your personal social media network from your commercial and professional networks.
Other social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, are good for building business profiles and networking with other professionals.
This makes navigating your network of persons connected to you in a more business relationship or collaboration easier. For those like myself in the diaspora, social media is critical in connecting with people who live far away.
Social media is a useful tool since it allows you to host a webinar or a “Google Hangout” to share ideas and debate difficulties.
3. Stay In contact with Your Network
People in your network are likely to relocate frequently in the diaspora. This makes networking in the diaspora difficult, because of keeping up with folks and scheduling get-togethers.
Keeping up with people in the diaspora is difficult because people are not always online at the same time owing to time zone differences and other issues.
This is especially difficult when you need to communicate or discuss prospective future cooperation or need immediate confirmation on a commercial contract. An effective strategy to overcome this difficulty is to establish a consistent time or routine for contacting your network online.
The majority of people read their messages after work or first thing in the morning. By sending texts or jumping on a call with your network of people once a week. This makes networking in the diaspora easy.
Overall, having an active social network is essential when living in the diaspora. It can be beneficial to have a network of mentors, potential partners, investors, or related business personnel to communicate with when starting a business.
