B and B blog
Networking 2018 style with Shapr January 12, 2018 12:00
Ok, we admit it... the strapline 'Tinder for LinkedIn' is what drew us in! But Shapr, a super useful networking app, is so much more than just gimmicks.
We've had our business for over 17 years. When we started up, we were young, childless and could work till crazy o'clock 7 days a week. Nowadays getting to networking events at 5 a.m. or schmoozing at a bar late into the night can be tricky. Shapr enables us to network on our own schedule.
It's super easy to set up a profile and get started on Shapr. If you use LinkedIn, you can quickly pull in your picture and bio. You can also upload a picture from your phone. I decided to create a custom Shapr biography to make it ultra effective, as a well crafted bio is your chance to sell yourself. The app uses your interests to make suggested matches more relevant, so it's worth putting some thought into the hashtags you choose. Once you start matching with dream contacts, you can refine tags based on the ones your target matches are using.
It also pays to specify exactly what you are looking for on Shapr. It has pre-set categories you can choose from. Our main focus on Shapr is business development, but we are also interested in potential collaborations and meeting other creatives, so our choices reflect this. You can be very specific so if you just want a co-founder, or a job, you can make this clear. If you just moved to a new town and want to make friends, you can use Shapr to speed up this process.
It's also worth taking time to set up external links, including your LinkedIn profile, and contact details. Potential matches may use this information to decide whether they are interested in meeting you. Existing matches can use this to research you/your company, or to get in touch with you outside the app.
We have been using Shapr since the summer of 2017, and have had countless meetings and calls leading to great connections and opportunities. The Shapr community is full of friendly helpful individuals who want to meet people like you. We recommend Shapr everywhere we go, as it is a fantastic way to meet people in a fun and accessible way. And who knows when that Shapr match might turn into a collaboration, sale or new best friend!