7 Habits Of A Highly Effectual Social Network Maven

Social Networking Done Right

All right, there are people who understand this whole social networking thing better than I do. When it comes to building online contacts, I rank as a novice in the eyes of some.

On the other hand, I have figured out how to work a handful of internet tools to my advantage!

I’m not about to give all of my secrets away — you’ll have to read Dosh Dosh blog’s for his latest social media marketing tips. What I will share with you is some quick pointers on how you can build your relationship with other social network pros without turning them off.

The following is my list of 7 tips (or habits) of social networking:

1. Sign up and get a feel for the network: The New York State Lottery uses a tagline, you gotta be in it to win it. The same holds true for socializing online — you need to join several networks in order to reap the benefits. No one wins the lottery without buying a ticket, in the case of social networks your ticket is free. And, unlike the lottery, all users are winners!

2. Do not be a N00B: Everyone has to start somewhere, but if you come across as a newbie, then you’ll likely be ignored. Worse, people will think that you are a pain in the rear quarters. Read up on that network, google a search for related articles, and experiment. Do not expect someone to take you under their wing — they’re too busy working the network.

3. Be consistent: Joining a network and not participating on a regular basis will reduce the chances that your articles will get stumbled, your blog posts read, and your contacts will not consider you a serious player. Although I belong to several networks, StumbleUpon is my favorite, with Sphinn, MyBlogLog, and BlogCatalog in the mix.

4. Ask and you shall receive: If you want an article stumbled, then ask. However, ask only on occasion and be prepared to return the favor when asked. People are busy managing a wide variety of tasks every day — don’t consume their time with wasteful stuff!

5. Ask specifically, do not be greedy: Nothing frosts me more then when someone asks me to stumble their post and then follows up with a secondary request to leave a message on their blog. Sometimes I leave comments with my stumble, sometimes I do not. I will leave a message on a blog if time permits and if I have something worthy to add. Give me one request and I may follow up with a bonus if I am in the mood.

6. Build up your silent network of social network pros: There are a handful of people I contact from time to time to ask for a stumble, a sphinn, or a digg. I will never publicly reveal who my contacts are and I certainly do not want everyone to know that I am good for a stumble (okay, I am!)

7. Give, expecting nothing in return: This is a hard one for some people — stumbling, digging, and leaving comments behind unilaterally. True, I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine is the prevalent theme of social networking, but why not set yourself apart and simply pay it forward for somebody?

How Popular Do You Want To Be?

For some people, dominating a particular social network is their way of measuring their online success. Personally, I am not so much interested in building friends (I’m maxed out on StumbleUpon), rather in sharing stumble juice, the digg effect, sphinning, etc. Operating just below the radar has its advantages, namely you won’t get every Tom, Dick, and Harriet begging for your help.

Social networking is constantly changing so keep up with the changes and you’ll be fine. If too much of your time is being consumed “building relationships online” then maybe it is time to shut down the computer and go out and seek some human contact.

Taking A Second Look At LinkedIn

Last week I published information relating my gaffe pertaining to LinkedIn, the business-oriented social networking site. The mistake I made was doing a mass invite of everyone in my Gmail address book who were identified as also being LinkedIn members. I sent out a generic invite which brought several queries from a handful of invited parties asking me who I was.

Immediately, I realized that I should have taken another approach as what I did was a spam tactic. In addition, there were a few people who received invites who should have never received one — namely, they aren’t the type of people I would want to do business with in the first place. The people who accept your invitations are called “Connections” and are folks you know and trust in business.

98 Connections, Up From 16

82 people did accept my invitations, pushing my Connections up to 98 people in just a few days. Up until last week I hadn’t worked too hard to add people (since joining LinkedIn in August 2007) with just 16 Connections to date.

You May Have Spammed Me First!

Although I would have changed my plan in hindsight, I do realize that everyone I contacted was, indeed, a previous contact whether they remembered me or not. For instance, you got into my Gmail address book because you contacted me at some point. I don’t add people to my Gmail address manually, instead whenever someone contacts me Gmail automatically adds their personal information.

Likely, we crossed paths in one of two ways:

• You sent me an email about your product, business, or some personal matter.

• I’m very active with social media, particularly StumbleUpon and MyBlogLog. Check to see if MattKeegan or MattK is a friend or community member, as those are two most popular screen names that I use.

New Business Opportunities Are Coming Forth

Since last Friday, I have received four inquiries about work from people, including one I immediately as coming through LinkedIn. I am now faced with the “problem” of responding to each request and seeing which ones are a good fit. The timing is perfect for me as I have been looking to add at least two new clients before the new year.

In summation, I would have changed my method of contacting people by weeding out the handful I shouldn’t have contacted and by sending a personal note with each invite. My gaffe is what it is, but I am certainly not complaining about the increased Connections and additional business opportunities coming my way.