Social Networking = Good Karma, 10 Ways to Pay It Forward
All the buzz these days is about social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Over the last couple of months, we’ve been happy to see a significant rise in new subscribers and inbound links from Twitter and LinkedIn.
This makes them our number two (Twitter) and ten (LinkedIn) source of referrals. Maybe you—like so many others—are saying, “How do I benefit from social networking?”
In their book LinkedWorking: Generating Success on the World’s Largest Professional Networking Website
What you’ll appreciate in this book are the real world lessons and success stories from ordinary people. While their focus is on using LinkedIn, these 10 tips apply to most social networking sites and even real world networking:
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The Golden Rule of Networking: Give First… Get Second
1. Offer help when it is least expected: Anytime you communicate with someone, offer to help them. A simple, “Is there anything I can do to help you?” can be a powerful engagement.
2. Forward important introductions: If you are the “middle man” and your connection needs help with a legitimate introduction, then pass it along. Doing this is not only an unselfish task, but it continues to build trust with that connection.
3. Make introductions: This unselfish act is a great way to build trust with your connections.
4. Provide useful feedback: When you answer a question or reply to someone’s status update, make sure you provide useful feedback without portraying a salesperson. If you have a product that can help others, answer the question with their best interest in mind, and they will almost always check out your profile for more information.
5. Make new-comers feel welcome: When you see a new person join LinkedIn or even a new person join in one of your groups, send them a note to better connect them to you.
6. Make recommendations: Like giving a referral, a recommendation is one of the biggest compliments someone can receive. Do not wait for someone to ask you for a recommendation. You should take the initiative and write a compelling recommendation for a fellow connection.
7 . Express gratitude: You should always reply with a grateful message when someone offers or provides you with help. This is key in building the relationship and creating trust with your connections. You can also send random messages to people in your network telling them how grateful you are for their relationship, and how much you value their connection. These acts are always a nice gesture, and usually provoke the “boomerang effect” in return.
8. Ask a question: This starts a conversation with a multitude of possibilities. Without asking, nothing will be accomplished.
9. Start a group: This is a great way to become the leader of a niche, and many individuals will reach out to you for guidance. Once you’ve started a group, tell others about it. Certain contacts may be unaware of groups they would be interested in joining, so lead them in the right direction.
10. Reach out to help others: Do what you can to help others reach their goals, and you will ultimately achieve yours along the way.
These are just a few ways to create good Karma or the “boomerang effect” using a social networking site. Not all them will fit your personal style, but try out a few and see what works. Your efforts will be rewarded. If you have any other suggestions, please share them by posting a comment below.
Read more of LinkedWorking: Generating Success on the World’s Largest Professional Networking Website
