Do you have a Social Networking (SN) Strategy?

Are you putting in a lot of time with little ROI for your Social Networking endeavors? The missing ingredient is probably your strategy. Remember, "hope is not a good business plan" certainly applies to Social Networking.

Written Oct 31, 2008, read 522 times since then.

Up until recently I didn’t have a strategy for my Social Networking (SN) activities. I had joined several different SN in the hopes of getting more business. The results of my efforts showed my lack of strategic thinking. I was putting in some effort, and I was getting very little in return. The saying "hope is not a good business plan" certainly applied to my SN tactics.

Fortunately my strategy started evolving. Borrowing from my face-to-face networking experience, I realized that the first thing I needed to change was my attitude. It was necessary for me to move away from "what can I get?" to "what can I give?” The best analogy I've seen is one of a bank account. Any time you do something for someone, you are, in essence, making a deposit into their bank account. And every time you ask for something from someone, you are making a withdrawal. In order to ask others (withdraw), you first must have the money in the account (deposit). Once I began doing this, everything started falling into place.

One of the things I can easily give is useful information and resources. Through my personal growth company, we specialize in helping people and organizations build strong relationships. Over the 20 years I have accumulated a lot of useful information in this area. In addition I have been formally networking for over 10 years. For this reason I can easily “give” or make people feel welcome. I know how daunting it can be when you first attend an event or a meeting and you hardly know anyone. So having someone who is friendly and welcoming is of great help. The great thing about these two activities is that they don't require me to put anything at risk. Keep in mind giving direct referrals will come later during the credibility-trust phase of the process.

With giving information and building relationships in mind, I decided to start writing articles that people would find useful. To date I've done three, and I'm looking to continue doing more. I also started looking to answer questions that members post in the various forums on the different SN sites. This third step may surprise you--I self-appointed myself as a host to a number of social networking sites. I make a consistent effort to welcome and introduce myself to new members. This combination of “what can I give?” items has helped me build my network of people.

Once I started seeing some results from my efforts, I started inviting other people to join the different sites I had joined. I could now speak from experience that the sites were worthwhile. Now I'm giving something to the people I'm inviting while also giving something to my online community. It’s like making two deposits at one time. Now that's leverage!

The next step in the strategy is to build credibility and trust. Credibility and trust are key ingredients to successfully network online and offline. Finding a way to build these elements is essential. Beside writing articles, I’m also building my credibility by offering free teleseminars. This is a wonderful vehicle to showcase what I know and how I can help people. The way I'm building trust is by receiving the endorsement of others. The easiest way to have people recommend me is to find the quality things they do for me and endorse them first. As I do this, more and more people return the favor.

The last step is to build exposure. The Referral Institute® has a model they call VCP which stands for Visibility, Credibility and Profitability. Simply put, people need to know about you and trust you before they will do business with you. I am definitely gaining exposure by leveraging some of the activities I've discussed. For instance, I can post the same article on varied SN sites. I can also list my teleseminar on different sites as well. The same Rick Itzkowich-branded content is now appearing in many places allowing different audiences to get to know me.

To summarize if you are going to take the time to jump on the Social Network bandwagon, do it with a success strategy. In his book Marketing to the Social Web: How Digital Customer Communities Build Your Business, Larry Web encourages all of us to get on board sooner rather then later. I look forward to meeting and greeting you soon!

Learn more about the author, Rick Itzkowich.

Comment on this article

Posted by Jessica Weinas, Los Angeles, California | Nov 04, 2008

Very informative. This is a good roadmap to have before getting started with Social Networking. Thanks
Posted by Eric Nelson, Santa Ana, California | Nov 04, 2008

Rick,

Once again you deliver another wonderful article! Thanks....Your articles continue to give me great ideas, thoughts and real time solutions that I can put into use today!

Thanks, Eric http://knownnewsgoodnews.blogspot.com/
Posted by Ivana Taylor, Medina, Ohio | Nov 04, 2008

I couldn't have said it better myself. I can't stress enough how important it is to have a goal that you want to achieve with your social networking strategy.
Posted by Phil Black, Del Mar, Capistrano Beach, California | Nov 04, 2008

Rick well said. I enjoy your insights as you explore the possibilities of this mode of networking.
Posted by Jean O'Neill, Vallejo , California | Nov 05, 2008

Very encouraging and with clear direction Rick. Thank you for your contribution. Jean ONeill
Posted by John Trivedi, Bothell, Washington | Nov 05, 2008

Rick,

Great article! I always knew what networking could bring to your business and personal life but I never knew the importance of why it is crucial to give more than you receive. I have found myself realizing this happening recently. The more I have offered my help, the more I have become interested in other people and how they are doing, the more they have responded positively to me and my future goals. Your analogies of the bank account hit the dot right on target. Thank you again for such a great article. I will be taking this strategic information, absorbing it deeply into my mind, and using it at my next networking event and all future events as well.

Keep the good information coming my friend!

Regards,

John Trivedi
Posted by Douglas Applewhite, Jacksonville, Florida | Nov 05, 2008

Great article, well written! The bank account analogy made sense; sometimes it takes a spark to make a fire. Great info is hard to come by, keep it coming.

Douglas Applewhite from sunny Jacksonville Florida Checking out!
Posted by Mark Cornish, San Francisco, California | Nov 05, 2008

Great points, very useful. I really like how you give people a roadmap on how to gain social capital, then make it actionable. Becoming a contributing part of a community will definitely increase what you will get out.
Posted by Karen Floyd, Seattle, Washington | Nov 06, 2008

I am never shy to approach others because I am always ready to serve. How can I help. I realized a long time ago unless everyone wins, no one wins. Yeah for social networks.
Posted by Lindon Crow, Capistrano Beach | Nov 06, 2008

Great job bringing context and examples to an idea. The whole idea comes alive with examples and helps illustrate how simple the practice can be. And of course, every reminder we can get about making contributions is GREAT.
Posted by Leif Hansen, Seattle, Washington | Nov 06, 2008

Hi Rick, I'm curious if you use a specific CRM to manage your contacts and if you are track your social networking efforts/results in any specific way (linked to the CRM perhaps).

Thanks for the great first steps of strategy Rick.
-Leif

Need help navigating the social media maze?
Posted by Mark Nicole, Capistrano Beach, California | Nov 06, 2008

Thanks Rick! Many good ideas have come across my plate but without a strategy of how to pursue and execute, many go to waste...although before they go to the grave, they take my time, effort and resources with them. I appreciate the reminder and the suggested strategy you've outlined - makes the path to success look much more navigable.
Posted by Rick Itzkowich, La Jolla, California | Nov 06, 2008

Leif,

I do use a CRM engine called Maximizer to manage and track activity and results. I do this not just for social networking but also for my face-to-face activities as well.

As far as tracking, I'm just developing the metrics to be able to do this.

Thanks for the question.

Warmest Regards,

Rick
Posted by Melissa Crow, Capistrano Beach, California | Nov 07, 2008

Your article just got me a step closer to doing this. Thanks.
Posted by Birgit Witherspoon, San Diego, California | Nov 07, 2008

Rick, thank you for putting out another helpful piece for navigating the SN communities. Your advice is always right on and makes it so much easier for us non-geeks to keep going. I am certain that with your help I will be comfortable on all the sites pretty soon.
Posted by John Huddleston, Seattle & Bellevue, Washington | Nov 08, 2008

Great article Rick. What sites do you suggest to impliment this strategy.

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Posted by Norma Armon, Oakland, California | Nov 08, 2008

I really like your clear, concise, step-by-step approach. And, as we "know" but often "forget", the notion that giving is the best way of getting has been shown to be fruitful in more than social or business website environments. Thanks for the "how-to" - please keep them coming!
Posted by Rick Itzkowich, La Jolla, California | Nov 09, 2008

John, I wrote another article here in Biznik where I talk about several sites I use and how you can use this strategy. In addition to the sites I mention there, you can also use Naymz.com to increase your credibility and Perfect Networker to have another site for online networking.
Posted by Jim Carney, Bellingham, Washington | Nov 09, 2008

These economic times do call for good deposits and "in the right banks". Noted that we could spend time helping (depositing into) others who will be great success stories and certainly great return referrals. Since we rarely know where that next one is coming from it sure does pay to be consistant in our networking!

Virtual Offices at Gateway
Posted by Christine Addison, Bellevue and Mercer Island, Washington | Nov 10, 2008

Hi Rick, Thanks for being a great role model!
Posted by Paul McFadden, Bellevue, Washington | Nov 12, 2008

Thank you. My strategy may be slightly haphazard but I try to consistently spend time online every day. And I think I'm benefitting in a number of ways!
Posted by Betty Jo Waxman, San Rafael, California | Nov 18, 2008

This is so helpful! It is easy to get overwhelmed without a pointed strategy, and it hadn't occurred to me to create one for these activities. Your direction just saved me hours of time and I feel confident will work beautifully. Thank you for having the attitude necessary to be much more than an expert: your willingness to give and share your insights and strategies.