Social Media and Networking
A question I have been asked several times recently is "should I engage in face to face networking or social media?" I don't see any reason why it needs to be an either/or question.
Networking is about building relationships with people you know, like and trust. It's hard to build a relationship with someone you never meet face to face (though it can be done), but social media is one of the easiest ways to maintain a relationship.
Let me give an example. A few weeks ago, I was meeting with a mortgage loan officer who has an interesting way of helping realtors fill their pipeline. Obviously, he wants to meet realtors.
So I started thinking. Who do I know who is a realtor? I have a client who is. Obviously he was the first one to come to mind. There was one who almost became a client last month. That contact was still pretty fresh, so I thought of her. Next I thought of the realtor who used to be in BNI with me. We haven't spoken in a while, but seeing someone every week for more than a year does make an impression. Then later in the day I remembered someone who was briefly a client early this year. We haven't spoken since, but I thought of her because she recently friended me on Facebook.
See how it works? The person I see weekly was obviously first in mind. Someone I saw about a month and a half ago was next. Someone I saw weekly two years ago was next. And the person I only met with a few times might have been forgotten except that we recently had contact through social media.
This is a pretty good example of how you really do need multiple touches to build enough of a relationship that your name is triggered. And a mix of in-person and on-line can be effective to keep and build that relationship.
So how do you "network" through social media? Pretty much the same way you network face to face. Have a clear message. Communicate it effectively. Remember to give as much or more as you receive. Stay in touch with people. And do it consistently. For example:
1. Have a clear message and communicate it effectively.
This can accomplished through Twitter, a blog and/or an e-newsletter. It's one thing to say "I am great at what I do." It's another to show it through becoming a thought leader in your industry or profession. I know when I read a blog post at Hubspot or a tweet by @keithferrazzi that I am going to get some good ideas. And yes, they are very clear about the kinds of business they would like to get in return for giving away knowledge.
2. Give as much or more as you receive
I certainly touched on this in #1. But social media gives you so many more ways to give. You can post an interesting link on your Facebook page. You can retweet an interesting article on Twitter. You can answer questions posed on social media sites, and you can respond to cries for help. One of my ex-clients was looking for a place to fix her bike. She posted the question on Facebook. I responded with a friend who could give her a referral. Think she'll remember me when someone needs my services?
3. Stay in touch with people
Remember my example at the beginning? The people I remembered first were the ones with whom I had the most contact. But the person I am connected to on Facebook also came to mind. Watch the running feeds of your friends. Comment on their lives. Invite them to share in what's happening to you. To be effective as networkers, we need to stay in touch with a lot of people. It's hard to consistently do that in person. Social media can be a real time saver. But don't fall into the trap of only interacting on-line. As human beings, we do need face-to-face or voice contact.
4. Do it consistently
Don't sign up for Twitter and never tweet. And don't set up a Facebook page and leave it blank. If you blog, decided on a schedule and stick to it. It's frustrating to find a really cool blog, start reading and then have the author vanish. We're not going to remember you if you friend us on Facebook and then never use it.
Really, face to face networking and social media follow the same principles. They just implement things a little differently. Someone probably mentored you when you started networking, right? Then find a mentor in social media as well. How? Find some people who seems to know what they are doing. Follow them and watch what they do. Know who my first Twitter mentor was? @BizIncubation. Rabiya is great, and I learned a lot by seeing what she does and copying her.
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