With all the interest lately in Social Networking, I’m finding that a lot of people are confused and overwhelmed with how to make time for this new fangled activity.
To help folks out, I’m recommending some easy 2 minute drills that you can do online to improve your connections with your network.
These ideas assume that you already have a profile on LinkedIn, Facebook, My Space, Biznik, Zoodango, or any of the multitude of other Social Media sites out there on the internet. If you are on more than one of these (and you should be) just pick one to focus on for now. Put 2 minutes on your calendar for each day for a week and then get busy with some of these 2 minute drills.
- Pick one of your “friends” and visit their blog. Read a recent post and then leave them a thoughtful & supportive comment. (No grandstanding and please avoid leaving the lame-ass quote like, “Great Post! Keep writing more like this.”) This helps your friend to know that someone (beside their mother) is actually reading their blog and your friend will appreciate your support of their efforts in the blogosphere. You’ll be on their radar because you put them on yours.
- Seek out business people that you know in your face to face network who are also in your online network. If you have had a great experience with them in a business transaction or through an interaction, leave them a glowing recommendation (LinkedIn) or a compliment (Biznik). Third party testimonials are always a great way to help your friends and to help them build their reputation.
- Go to Google and create a Google alert to track information that one of your friends would find interesting or helpful. Daily, when your alerts arrive in your inbox, check through them and then forward any pertinent info or articles to your networking buddy to let them know that you are thinking of them and have their back, so to speak.
- Think of 2 people that you have met recently and how they might be able to connect up. Then send them both an email of introduction and let them know why you think that they need to know each other. It’s very easy to do. And they will both appreciate that you are thinking about how to help them grow their connections.
If you can make the time each day to devote 2 minutes to Social Networking in this way, you’ll find that pretty soon you can easily do 5 minutes a day. When you get the hang of one Social Network, it will be time to add one more. Start the process all over again. Just pick one thing that you enjoy doing for yourself and your network and you’ll find that people will notice your efforts at making them feel important. And that’s what building relationships is all about. You make yourself memorable by making other people feel noticed and appreciated.