This term, used especially in the professional field, has increased in popularity in recent years, achieving a position of honour in the purpose of many events, i.e. the creation of new social networks, etc.

Networking is a practice developed by professionals — whether they work for themselves or for others — that seeks to create and increase a network of contacts. It is not a novel activity, since it has traditionally been very common in business circles, but it has increased in importance as a consequence of digitalisation.

Thus, in addition to the classic events where networking would happen (courses, conferences, conferences, presentations, etc.), virtual spaces have emerged where it can take place. One of the most typical, worldwide, is the social media channel, LinkedIn, which, according to Statista, had more than 770 million users in 2021. The same organisation estimates that in 2025 its users will exceed 1,000 million.

What are the aims of networking?

Among the most important purposes of this practice are the following:

• Getting to know people and organisations: in networking spaces, whether physical or virtual, we can introduce ourselves to other professionals and companies as a start-up, for example. These do not necessarily have to be within our sector; it is also very enriching to learn about the experience, interests or hobbies of those engaged in fields other than ours.
  
  
• Finding a job: whether we are unemployed or looking for a new job opportunity, networking helps us to find vacancies, for example, to work in banking. Many recruiters currently use social media such as LinkedIn to publish their job offers or to search directly for potential candidates.
  
  
• Publicising products and services: this is a good opportunity to talk about our professional activity and the goods or services that are part of it. Unlike other communications, which are targeted at large numbers of people and may go unnoticed due to information saturation, with networking, messages are more focused on recipients, as contact is closer and more personal.
  
  
• Expanding our portfolio of customers or other stakeholders: related to the previous point, achieving closer communication will allow us to better convey our mission, needs, value proposition, etc., to bring ourselves to the attention of different groups such as customers, suppliers, shareholders and investors and stimulate their interest.
  
  
• Understanding the market better: knowing what our competitors are focusing on or what the latest trends are, for example, provides greater market knowledge, giving us more and better-quality information, to make more rational decisions.
  
  
• Discovering business opportunities: meeting and talking to other people, in our sector or in others, allowing us to share best practices and identify the keys to collaboration. All of this results in positive synergies.