Theory: Collaborating With Others - Networking & Co-creation

In terms of online networking, one can highlight the use of social networks to connect with other professionals or entrepreneurs in order to establish solid relationships for the future.

When you are first developing your social enterprise concept and gathering initial feedback, you may find that online networking is less intimidating. Furthermore, digital networking can be a valuable asset for rural social businesses, which frequently face geographical, time, and financial constraints that limit their ability to network in person or attend events.

In addition to attending digital events, social networks play a key role in the development of networking. This is especially true for those social networks specifically designed for professionals, such as LinkedIn, which allows you to connect with professionals interesting for your business.

Other platforms that can be attractive are:

-      Tourism Networking Events

-      100AM

-      Meetup (e.g., Travel Bloggers & Startups Spain (Valencia, España) | Meetup)

-      StartupNation

-      Small Giants Community

-      Facebook Groups - e.g., Responsible Tourism Networking | Facebook

In the specific case of the tourism sector, which has an important weight in the GDP of many European countries, it is common for there to be networking networks or clusters of companies and professionals at local or regional level that come together to defend common interests and enhance the tourist attractiveness of their areas of influence. This type of collaboration can be very enriching for accessing peer-learning opportunities, sources of innovation and offering better customer service.

You can also join different groups in these social media and start interacting. An active group member is bound to receive more invitations to connect from others. In any case, the key to establishing professional relationships in the digital environment is to build a good online presence, remain visible and actively interact with others through: commenting on publications or blog posts, participating in interviews or webinars, publishing one's progress.