Yes, it really is possible to make real connections, real friendships and real business in social media. I certainly have and you can too.
Here are 7 tips that will help you to make real connections in social media
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1) Clean up your main social media profiles first. Be sure that you focus on the ones on which you are really active. Make sure you have a descriptive bio with a focus on your business, use your real name, have a link to your blog and/or website.
2) Then use good ole Google or the search engine of your choice and search for blogs of people in your niche. You are looking for people with complementary products or services to yours. Those who are also active on social media will have links on their blogs to their social media profiles. So what you should do is to follow them. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. Subscribe to their RSS feed as well and their newsletter if they have one.
3) After you follow them, do a retweet of their content, in the case of twitter, repost in the case of Facebook and/or ‘Like’ the post and Stumble as well.
4) Read their RSS blog feed updates and comment every now and then. Call their attention to the fact that you left a comment on their blog via Twitter or Facebook. Point #3 and this point really starts the interaction and connection process.
5) Stay up to date on their social media posts using your favorite social media tool like SocialOomph.com, hootsuite.com or tweetdeck. Whenever you see them promoting something, do a RT for them and comment where possible and appropriate.
6) Become a connector if you can. I consider myself a connector ‘IRL’ [in real life] so this is easy for me. If you know of someone on your ‘friends’ list who would be interested in an event or article by another of your ‘friends’, tell them about it.
7) Connect IRL There are many ways to do this. The easiest way is to connect on the phone, even on Skype. You can also connect at Tweet-up events, via Meetup groups, group coaching sessions and live seminar events.
I find it really easy to make real connections in social media. For one thing, you start from a place of common interest right off the bat. The common ground is the business interest you share.
So start using social media with a purpose, not just to promote your business but to make real connections. If you make real connections, the business will come as well.
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