Strategies, tools and tactics to help the people just getting started with Social Networking

This is a question I often get from people who are just getting started with Social Networking. Sometimes they don’t phrase the question this way but rather they communicate this by saying something like: “there are so many of these Social Networks. I can’t keep up with all of them.”

Seth Godin who is one of my favorite business writer and blogger says it perfectly on this post

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The biggest cost in Social Networking is time rather than money. Social Networking takes time. When I talk to newbies about SN, they often state that they don’t have time to do this. And this is an accurate statement. They haven’t allocated time to do this and therefore they don’t have it.

Fact is that we all have the same amount of time. It is a matter of how we choose to allocate the time that determines what we do with our time. The reason I HAVE time for Social Networking is because I have allocated it. That time didn’t exist before. I had to take that time away from something else and put it into Social Networking. That something else for me was mostly watching TV.

Opportunity cost refers to what else could you be doing with that resource. That is a cost that needs to be factored into the equation how much does something cost. It is a hidden cost and yet it is very real.

When I looked at the opportunity cost of TV vs. Social Networking, it was a no-brainer for me to re-allocate that time.

Nowadays, I still have to look at my opportunity cost with Social Networking. In other words, what else could I be investing my time in that would yield I higher ROI than spending my allocated time with Social Networking? Until I find something that yields a higher ROI, then I will continue to allocate Social Networking time.

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Last week an order came if for my Social Networking for Business Profits – In 30 Minutes a Day or Less eBook. I also got an email from the person who purchased it and it turns out he is someone I hadn’t seen or been in touch with in over 20 years. We had met many years ago at a previous company where I used to lead Personal Growth seminars.

The interesting part is how he found me. He was doing a search for a business podcast and he stumbled upon an interview I had done for an Internet Radio station. Based on our previous relationship and his current interest in Social Media, he decided to purchase the eBook.

He then wrote me an email which allowed us to re-established a connection and started a new conversation. Who knows where this new conversation will lead?

This is what Social Networking is all about. Making new connections, sustaining existing or rekindling previous ones. This is a different mindset than looking at the particular ROI of every activity on-line.

Granted, there needs to be an ROI to Social Networking – otherwise it is easy to get carried and take away from doing business. However, determining how to measure the true ROI of Social Networking may be a bit more complicated.

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This excerpt was written by Andy Lopata – a fellow writer from The National Networker (TNNW). It is excellent advise for both newbies and seasoned Social Networkers alike.

It’s very easy to drop your guard when networking online. There tends to be a lot of banter and discussion. It’s also a form of networking that’s very accessible at any time, irrespective of your mood or sobriety.

As someone recently said on Twitter, “It can take 1,000 tweets to build a reputation, and one to ruin it.”

You can click here to subscribe to Andy’s excellent newsletter.

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The world as we know it changing faster and faster and we can barely keep up with it.  The following video shows some of the ways in  which the world is accelerating. It is both very exciting and very scary.

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One of the best – and easiest – ways to build the relationship with someone is to send them a birthday greeting. I have found, that people love being recognized and birthday’s provide an excellent opportunity to do so.

I personally use a service called Send Out Cards that makes it very simple to send a birthday card via snail mail. However, in order to use this service you must have the person’s address. Plus if I were to send a birthday card to every new contact I meet, it would get very expensive.

Enter Plaxo. Plaxo is a site that notifies me of my contact’s birthdays, plus allows me to send an e-card right from their site.  This morning I sent five birthday cards in less than three minutes.  This is a very small investment of time to generate a great return of Social Capital.

Social Networking is all about building relationships. Looking for and finding opportunities to do this will lead to sales.

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I met Brent Haseker through Biznik — a wonderful site where people truly get to know one another — and we have developed a relationship over the past eight months. Our relationship truly embodies what Social Networking is all about.

Brent and I would probably never have met had it not been for Social Networking. He is back East and I’m in CA.  Our connection started after Brent commented on one of my Biznik Articles. I then responded to him and offered him my “relationship continuator” — a fabulous tool to help you identify those people who want to continue a relationship with me. The relationship continuator is  a gift subscription to QuoteActions.

Once again, the regular touch that QuoteActions offered, led Brent to respond to me which in turn caused me to set up a phone appointment. During our phone conversation, we strengthened our relationship and connection.  One of the results of tha was an introduction to someone who ended up becoming a client of mine.

The latest ROI of my relationship with Brent is that he invited me to be a guest in his Brent and Brandi Radio Show.  You can listen to the interview here.  I already got two new highly qualified prospects in my pipeline as a result of that show.

The reason I wanted to share this is because, of the power of Social Networking. It is also to illustrate what Social Networking is and what it isn’t. It is a wonderful vehicle to build relationships. And relationships will lead to business down the road.

What Social Networking is not, is a vehicle to make quick sales. Had I tried to sell something to Brent, our relationship would have ended right after our first interaction. Remember Social Networking is called that for a reason. It is not called Social Selling.  Be sure to remember this often. Failure to do this will lead you to one of the 5 Deadly Mistakes in Social Networking and it is extremely costly.

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I was at a networking event yesterday afternoon, and one of my clients came up to me and gave me some very useful feedback. He said, “Rick, you need to be more ’social’ in your Social Networking activities. Almost everything you blog about, post, etc. is all about business. Good stuff and yet I want to know more about YOU the individual.”

While business is my primary purpose for all of my Social Networking activities, the fact is that I have neglected the Social aspect of them. Paradoxically, my gut tells me that when I start mixing more social elements into the mix, business will probably improve as well.

So here is something about me that you may not know. I’m an avid Fantasy Baseball player and I’m getting ready for my draft tomorrow.  I’ve been playing Fantasy Baseball since 1988 and it is one of my passions. Wish me luck – I’ll definitely need it.

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If you are using Twitter, you have probably seen tweets that contain the “#” symbol followed by something else i.e. #quote. This is called a hashtag and it is a way for you and others to keep tabs on a particular subject. One of the best elements of Twitter is that it allows you to listen to what others are saying about a myriad of topics. So by having a hashtag associated with a topic, you can more easily follow the content related to that topic.

Check out this short video by Mari Smith that explains all about hashtags

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