“Social media is not a media. The key is to listen, engage, and build relationships.”
— David Alston
How much time do you spend on social networks every day?
How do you use them to build relationships?
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Let’s start with a definition of a social network: “a dedicated website or other application which enables users to communicate with each other by posting information, comments, messages, images, etc.”
We can do many things with our social networks and it is time to take advantage of it. Nowadays, social networks are more and more present in our lives, so why not use them as a tool to develop our network? The technology is improving everyday and it can be beneficial for everyone.
Social networks can be used for personal grounds only: to keep in touch with friends, family, organize personal events… but they can (and probably should) also be used for business purposes: to build new relationships, the primary goal of networking.
“LinkedIn is for the people you know. Facebook is for the people you used to know. Twitter is for people you want to know.”
In this article, we will share how you can use three popular social networks to build relationships and grow your contacts to create more opportunities.
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As of January 2020, LinkedIn registers more than 660 million users in over 200 countries worldwide. And for the interesting fact, LinkedIn has 2 new users registering on the site every second (yes, that’s a lot!).
Will you be next to subscribe?
There are two main reasons you would want to network on LinkedIn.
1. To build more relationships
2. To increase your visibility and credibility
1. To build more relationships
LinkedIn is a network that allows you to discover people from all background.
Thanks to an efficient search feature, you can find pretty much anyone you would be looking for. You can then connect with that person, follow their activity and possibly even meet in person. The main aim of LinkedIn is to connect with someone you are interested in or company you would like to get in touch with and to move the relationship away from LinkedIn using emails or calls.
LinkedIn is very useful for building your relationships, whether personal or professional. So, seize this opportunity!
2. To increase your visibility and credibility
The more connections you build, the more visible you become. Whether you’re looking to promote your business or find your dream job, LinkedIn is the right place.
To increase your chances of finding a job for example and for recruiters to notice you, make sure to be active on the LinkedIn platform. Yes, most recruiters are using this social network and are very active on it. You should at least create a compelling profile (if you need help with that, it’s right over here) and interact with your connections on a daily basis.
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Facebook is one of the oldest social networks: Facebook was created in 2004 while LinkedIn was created in 2002 and Twitter in 2006.
Facebook always aims to improve its functionalities to stay in the game. Even if Facebook is mainly used for personal purposes, it is still useful to look at using it as a support for marketing your business and building relationships.
Some of the Facebook features you can use for networking:
- Build a business page
- Create events, send invitations and interact with the attendees
- Post about the services/products you offer, including photos and videos
- Communicate with your subscribers
- Interact with the community by liking and sharing posts
Your business page reflects your company. If you are going to be present on Facebook, you have to be active and publish or share content regularly.
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Twitter is another social network you can use to build relationships and become more visible. On this platform, you share information in the form of tweets. This allows you to build credibility and appear like an expert.
The second main feature of Twitter is the ability to "follow" several accounts and to be "followed". You can search for someone or for a company and follow them. You will then be able to see their posts and updates. Equally someone following you will see on their feed all your updates.
Interacting with relevant accounts on Twitter allows you to create a ground useful to build relationships.
How can you use Twitter to network?
- Search for a person, company or hashtags you are interested in
- Follow relevant accounts and interact with them
- If there is an interest, move the relationship away from Twitter (you can use the messaging facility for that)
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These three social networks are different from one another but they all have one thing in common: they allow you to develop your connections and build credibility.
It's not about quantity, it's about quality. Spending a little bit of time every day on social networks can really make a difference. Think about your overall strategy and how you can use those to support it.
Last but not least, remember to be professional, be yourself and be true. This is the key to a successful networking strategy and a sustainable network because you will have relationships that are just like you.
“Networking is an investment in your business. It takes time and when done correctly can yield great results for years to come.” — Diane Helbig
We hope you enjoyed this article. If you would like more advices and tips, join us for one of our workshops or book a one to one session today!
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