The wonderful and wacky world of online social networking
Lately on Facebook.com, there's been an explosion of new groups for just about everything you can image. Individuals, businesses and organizations set up groups. Group organizers send invitations to their Facebook.com friends - and ask friends to invite their friends. Before you know it, the viral nature of the Internet takes over giving groups the potential to expand rapidly. Group members can post comments or questions and even invite members to special online functions like webinars, teleconferences or actual events at the company's physical location. It's all pretty amazing.
I pay a lot attention to Linkedin.com because it's a social networking site for business professionals - and it's all business. Last Fall, I had a modest 260 contacts. After giving it some effort and joining some open networking groups, I now have almost 3,000 contacts. If you factor in my contact's connections, my actual network swells to 13,592,600. I've connected with leaders from all over the world in every kind of industry imaginable. I've been invited to do Podcasts, seminars and even connections to buy my book and share their comments. I even started a "No-Compromise Leadership" group on Linkedin where people can post their no-compromise stories and discuss the topics. If you're a member of Linkedin, please join my NCL group.
Here are a few no-compromise strategies to social networking:
* Find networks that match your interests: You've got to invest the time in social networking to reap the rewards. Do your research to find the networks with the kind of members you want to connect with. Facebook is very social and just a great place to meet people and stay in touch. Linkedin is where you'll find professionals. Speakersite.com is where speakers network and share.
* You need to work at it: All social network sites allow you to build your personal profile so others can learn about you, your interests and your expertise. Invest the time to build your profile and add content like your bio, professional recommendations of your work, photos and videos. It's easy to identify serious social networkers because their profile pages are rich with information.
* Sharing is where it's at: Joining a social network and building lots of contacts only to "sell" them something is a big no no. The opportunities come from interacting with your contacts and participating in groups. Ask a legitimate question in a group discussion and you'll get plenty of answers. Answer questions to help others and in the process you'll be demonstrating your expertise. That's when someone may ask you about your services or products. Share. Be respectful. Participate.
Lastly, there's the amazing world of Twitter where devotees regularly answer the simple question, "What are you doing now?" You're limited to 140 characters so you've got to keep your answers short. I followed Lance Armstrong for a bit on Twitter and quickly learned just how tenacious and disciplined he is. Lance posted "Tweets" all day long - after training, during a race, when he dropped his kids off for soccer - when he was with Bill Clinton in New York. Twitter is truly a social networking phenomenon.
So, expand your horizons and embrace the world of social networking. While you're at it, you can follow me at http://twitter.com/nducoff.
Pass this email on to your business colleagues, managers and friends.
Neil Ducoff, Strategies founder & CEO
Since my new book, No-Compromise Leadership, was released last October, I've been actively engaged in a number of social networking websites. Why? The answer is simple: It's the new way to meet, connect and reconnect with people, and in the process, discover new opportunities. Most of all, it's fun - there's always the unexpected surprise. Just two weeks ago on Facebook.com, a good friend I grew up and went through high school with reconnected with me. We hadn't seen each other since we went off to college. After connecting, he called me and we spoke for over an hour about old times and our lives over the past 30 years. It was amazing.Lately on Facebook.com, there's been an explosion of new groups for just about everything you can image. Individuals, businesses and organizations set up groups. Group organizers send invitations to their Facebook.com friends - and ask friends to invite their friends. Before you know it, the viral nature of the Internet takes over giving groups the potential to expand rapidly. Group members can post comments or questions and even invite members to special online functions like webinars, teleconferences or actual events at the company's physical location. It's all pretty amazing.
I pay a lot attention to Linkedin.com because it's a social networking site for business professionals - and it's all business. Last Fall, I had a modest 260 contacts. After giving it some effort and joining some open networking groups, I now have almost 3,000 contacts. If you factor in my contact's connections, my actual network swells to 13,592,600. I've connected with leaders from all over the world in every kind of industry imaginable. I've been invited to do Podcasts, seminars and even connections to buy my book and share their comments. I even started a "No-Compromise Leadership" group on Linkedin where people can post their no-compromise stories and discuss the topics. If you're a member of Linkedin, please join my NCL group.
Here are a few no-compromise strategies to social networking:
- Find networks that match your interests: You've got to invest the time in social networking to reap the rewards. Do your research to find the networks with the kind of members you want to connect with. Facebook is very social and just a great place to meet people and stay in touch. Linkedin is where you'll find professionals. Speakersite.com is where speakers network and share.
- You need to work at it: All social network sites allow you to build your personal profile so others can learn about you, your interests and your expertise. Invest the time to build your profile and add content like your bio, professional recommendations of your work, photos and videos. It's easy to identify serious social networkers because their profile pages are rich with information.
- Sharing is where it's at: Joining a social network and building lots of contacts only to "sell" them something is a big no no. The opportunities come from interacting with your contacts and participating in groups. Ask a legitimate question in a group discussion and you'll get plenty of answers. Answer questions to help others and in the process you'll be demonstrating your expertise. That's when someone may ask you about your services or products. Share. Be respectful. Participate.
Lastly, there's the amazing world of Twitter where devotees regularly answer the simple question, "What are you doing now?" You're limited to 140 characters so you've got to keep your answers short. I followed Lance Armstrong for a bit on Twitter and quickly learned just how tenacious and disciplined he is. Lance posted "Tweets" all day long - after training, during a race, when he dropped his kids off for soccer - when he was with Bill Clinton in New York. Twitter is truly a social networking phenomenon.
So, expand your horizons and embrace the world of social networking. While you're at it, you can follow me at http://twitter.com/nducoff.
Pass this email on to your business colleagues, managers and friends.
Neil Ducoff, Strategies founder & CEO and author of No-Compromise Leadership
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