With the state of the Internet today, the old adage that it’s not what you know but who you know has never been more relevant. Creating profiles and fan pages on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook will help expand your reach to customers and potential employees, but will it help you expand your business? We’re not talking dollars and cents but rather advancing the business in the latest trends and connecting with businesses in your industry or other local business owners?

While there are plenty of traditional networking events and chamber of commerce meetings they often happen over lunch or during business hours, which we all know are not ideal for everyone. Time is money and many times the heads of these businesses can’t afford to sacrifice it to attend these events.  In the past doing so may have kept you on the outside looking in, however the social aspect of today’s Internet offers many opportunities for you to network among your industry or mingle with others in your local community.

A good starting point is to establish a LinkedIn profile and join groups that tie back to your business. These groups are filled with knowledgeable professionals who are eager to exchange ideas with their peers. You can also do a Facebook search for groups in your field and build your network in the same fashion.  These sites are two of the more common networking sites, but you can also branch out by looking at industry blogs and offering your insight on the forums and comments. Recently the American Express Open Forum offered a piece from John Jantsch that listed some great sites for small business owners to build up their network. Some of the better sites to check out include:

• StartUpNation – a wealth of information focused on startups and very active community
• Small Business Brief – heavy dose of search engine related content but very active small business focus
• Inc magazine – another popular business related magazine with community of entrepreneurs
• PartnerUp – small business focus and big on helping people find answers and connections for the things they need
• Naymz – one of the better sites for those focused on building personal brands – highly indexed in the search engines

Click here for the full list

To ensure that your online identity stays consistent, sign up for all forums with the same user name.  This allows people who see you on various networks and easily recognize you and identify your ideas and tips with your user name.

Have you expanded your network via online forums or social sites? If so, what ones have been the most helpful for you?