Networking 2.0 – Five Faster, Easier Ways to Build A Killer Network

July 29, 2009 at 3:58 pm · Filed under Networks + Networking

The following is a guest post by Ivana Taylor, a member of the Small Business Trends Expert Network.

Just about every day I have a conversation with a small business owner who gets over 90% of their business strictly from referrals.  That doesn’t surprise me.  What DOES surprise me is how uncomfortable these individuals are with social media tools.

The most common question small business owners ask is “How will this make me money?”

This is the wrong question.  Social media is not a money-making machine.  Social media is a relationship building machine.

It’s the most amazing networking and referral building machine since the telephone!

If you have a system for selling your products and services, why wouldn’t you have a system for building your network?  Yet, most people don’t.  That’s why I’m going to share five social media tools and show you how to use them in specific ways to turbo-charge your networking.

1. Facebook is one of the fastest growing networking tools among professionals and small business owners.  You can create a fan page or a group around your company or product, then invite your contacts to join.

• Turbo-tip: Use the fan/business pages and groups to ask questions about what’s important to your group or inform them of new product offerings and specials. These pages are interactive and allow for comments and pictures to be posted. So don’t be shy about putting up pictures of people or products and ask for comments. The real value is in the conversation that you have with your group or fans.

2. LinkedIn.  The power of LinkedIn lies in your level of discipline to using this networking tool creatively.   If you haven’t created a group or company page, do it today!  Be sure to make a point of telling all your contacts that you have one.

• Turbo-tip: In addition to listing job titles and companies you’ve worked for – add other “roles” that you’ve played. For example create a title called “Committee Chair” and list the non-profit or Church organization that you led. If you’ve written a book list “Author” as a title and the name of your book as a company. If you’re a “speaker” then say so and list the topic that you speak about. This gives people the opportunity to see you as an expert in a variety of areas.

3. Twitter. So many people use Twitter to “advertise” their product or service.  In reality, Twitter is a powerful tool to increase your sphere of influence.  Twitter allows you to actually build relationships with centers of influence and connect with people who may have appeared to be “too big” or “too out of reach” to connect to.  Chances are pretty good that if you talk to someone via Twitter, they will talk back.  Take that opportunity to build on the relationship.

• Turbo-tip: Use the Twitter Search feature to search on keywords from your industry. For example “real estate investor” will yield all the tweets that use those words in the 140 character message. Take the time to check out those profiles and start a conversation with anyone who is interesting to you.

4.       Blitztime.com. If you really want to take networking virtual and digital, take a look at Blitztime.com.  This is a subscription service that serves as both a networking and an accountability group for its members.  Check out the existing groups and see if any of them are interesting to you.  There are groups of CEOs, social media junkies, and even job searchers.  This is a great solution for networking from your desktop.

5.       QuoteActions. Rick Itzkowich was looking for a way to re-connect with people he had met networking AND he wanted to add some value too.  This is how he came up with QuoteActions.  This is a simple subscription service that will allow you to send the people you meet a daily quote that they can use to improve their business and their life.

• Turbo-Tip: When you meet someone at an event, send them a QuoteAction invitation in an e-mail.  If they subscribe to your quotes, you will appear in their mailbox every day.  It’s a wonderful way to stay in touch and give value.

The last and final Turbo-Tip of them all is not a tip, but a necessity for new businesses, existing businesses that want to grow, or job hunters:  work on your social networking every single day. Using these social media tools will allow you to build a broader network without leaving your desk.

About the Author: Ivana Taylor is CEO of Third Force, a strategic firm that helps small businesses get and keep their ideal customer. She’s the co-author of the book “Excel for Marketing Managers” and proprietor of DIYMarketers, a site for in-house marketers.