For many successful people, making huge steps in life as far as their career is concerned, always have connections, and most of them attest that it was through making or rather creating professional connections that saw them where they are today.

The interesting part is that these connections don’t just happen overnight. Instead, it takes time and effort and that such connections were likely not handed to them anyhow but instead, worked on them tirelessly.

According to experts, one can only get so far by themselves, the reality is that professional progression and opportunities are driven by the relationships one builds.

Professional networking means deliberately creating and maintaining relationships with others who can help you further your career or personal brand.

How to keep connected

Mazen Halawyi, a business person in Kibagabaga, Kigali says it’s ideal to understand that it requires a significant amount of effort to find common ground, build a reputation and create shared experiences for this to be possible.

He says that despite the effort, one should understand that building connections can offer the most rewarding experiences to your personal growth and professional success at the same time.

"A professional network is vital not only to your career development and professional success, but also creates connections with those in the business area, thus impacting your hustle in different ways,” he says.

Besides, he says that professional networking can also offer you career guidance as well as make you grow as an individual.

Eric Niyitanga, author and CEO of Genius Africa says one way of building a professional network is by developing a habit of participating in a virtual speed networking event.

He believes that this helps one meet hundreds of relevant people in the industry within a short amount of time.

"It maximizes your time by giving you the chance to easily connect with professionals who can offer you real business opportunities. This is also an easy and innovative way to make connections in event rooms, event community and one-on-one meetings,” he says.

What’s more, Mazen says is that this also allows professionals to share their contact information through digital business cards quickly.

On the other hand, Jesse Manzi, an IT specialist says professional networking can also be achieved if one is active on social media. This, he says, means that one is in a position to leverage social media once they register for an event and search for people they want to connect with on different social media platforms.

He says that this will help connect you to people from different calibers depending on what you post or communicate on your social media handle.

"This is an easy, yet enjoyable tool to get to know people, keep in touch, and send private messages to ask how they are doing. As simple as that, then other things can follow into place with time,” he says.

Besides, he adds that this also helps you to maintain that connection with your professional network while keeping it casual. Sending relatable articles that interest others is also a quick way to build your image that will make connections spontaneously.

From studies, it is clear that one can establish more authority online when they increase engagement with their network. One way to do it is to add some takeaways on every article you post to encourage readers to start a conversation.

Also, social media can be a useful tool that connects your industry authority and business opportunities together when done right.