A great question came through my last survey asking for a TOP 10 LIST for social networking—kind of a check-off list to see if you are doing it right or not. So I created one. Let me know what you think!

 

  1. Set up your profile with information about you as a person! Let your personality shine!
  2. Include work/education/experience as it directly relates to your expertise. ALSO include experience that relates to who you are as a person. Include information about your activities and interests when you are NOT working.
  3. Manage your virtual “noise” level on your profile! Don’t add too many extras and make sure the applications/widgets you do add are reflective of who you are (do you see a common them here?).
  4. Always include a comment in your friend requests/connections.
  5. Make sure your friend request comment explains why you are connecting. Don’t expect to much if your comments reflect a “list building” effort, as social networking is about creating connections based on real relationships (quality) and not quantity.
  6. Use keywords: Your profile should have your keywords sprinkled appropriately if the site is publicly searched. However, even if the profile is not searched publicly, know that people are searching for you and your topic. Make it easy for them to find you!
  7. Update your status regularly (at least 3-5 times/week). If you are not accessing your social networking platforms that often, then use an integrated status update tool such as ping.fm.
  8. Connect with people who you would like if you met them in your neighborhood. THESE are the people who will become your raving fans! Check them out, visit their profiles, google them. Then connect because of what you have in common and mention that to them.
  9. Create your own group and provide valuable information, resource-sharing and content of interest to your members. Interact with the members and be involved.
  10. Use the 90/10 rule for social networking: 90% of the time, you are sharing great resources/content to help your members/fans/friends. This can include blog posts, comments on videos/notes and answering questions. You must also be conversational and answer people when they respond to you. 10% of the time you can share your own resources/opportunities including affiliate relationship opportunities.

 

Let me know what you think of this list. It is fairly general and relevant to most social networking platforms. If you are active on some of the more specific, topical, or content-sharing sites, then this list can be tweeked. But here you go. You asked for it. And here it is!