Facebook, the social networking firm, now has a user base on the verge of topping 100 million people; amazingly, this lofty number is driven by a largely North American demographic. If you are waiting for social networking to catch on, you need to know that the train has already left the station!
And there are many other social networks to choose from including LinkedIn, Plaxo, Myspace, DirectMatches, Ryze, Bebo, Friendster, Habbo, Orkut, and Xanga. The reason that you may have not heard of some of these social networks is because they may have originated in Asia or Europe. Nonetheless, they all have millions of users and potential “friends” for you to meet.
In my opinion, Linked In is the most “business friendly” social network with Facebook coming in a close second. If you are not a member of these two sites, I highly recommend you do so now. Using social marketing tools such as Facebook and LinkedIn provide a great way to reach new groups of people. Employers are actively data mining both of these sites for talent. Additionally, entrepreneurs are looking for partners.
For example, I used the term “Angel Investor” in my own Facebook profile and was recently contacted by a start up that was looking for money. The company founder was doing a search with the term angel investor and found me with just the one use of the term. While I did not invest in the firm, I was able to refer them to someone to help them out.
Note to self: Need to update Facebook Profile with new term “Send Money to John Bradley Jackson Now!”
Here a few tips on using social networks.
1. Use your “profile” to introduce yourself to others. Take the opportunity to make friends with people who have similar interests as you.
2. Add valuable content that will be of interest to your visitors. Many of these networks have a blog function which gives you yet another way to build your personal brand.
3. Keeping your profile updated with frequent content will help increase the traffic to your profile.
4. Beware of adding too much personal information which you might regret later. One of my former employees recently included bachelor party photos; while he seemed to be having a great time in the photos, they could be images that he might not want to show a prospective employer.
5. Take some time to visit other profile pages to get a feel how other people brand themselves. This might inspire you to update your profile.
6. Leave comments wherever you can. The more comments you offer (and receive), the more likely it is that your profile will show up in the search engines.
7. Join and participate in as many groups as you can. I anticipate that they will all get acquired and merged anyway.
8. Do not spam users.
9. Update blogs and content on your profile frequently. This will keep it interesting to your visitors and keep them coming back.
Networking is more than handing out business cards at cocktails parties. Social networking on the web is the new thing.
John Bradley Jackson
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