Set your goals then start talking

I have a friend who is an admirable party host. When a new person arrives in the room, she scoops them up and delivers them to another guest, spits out three things about each person and leaves them to, invariably, get on like a house on fire. She has great parties as a result, and guests often find the have more to say to each other long after the party ends.

Finding familiar ground in this way with a contact or colleague can also help give depth to a new or emerging business relationship, which can shortcut building a sense of rapport and trust necessary for business. And this is one thing that social media sites can facilitate for you, if you choose well where and how you present yourself.

Before starting, you should have clear goals about what you are trying to achieve online – whether that is looking for a new job, seeking out new clients, selling products, improving your customer service, or countless other reasons you may have. Make sure the strategy is clear, the objectives are realistic and achievable, and refer back to this as you move forwards.

Choosing which networks to join should be based firstly on whether your audience is there, and secondly whether you have something to say which will provoke meaningful conversations. Start by listening on any new site, allowing you to ‘tune in’ to the atmosphere and what people are saying.

Some networks such as LinkedIn are primarily used for business, and whereas on both Facebook and Google+ it is possible to fence off personal and business audiences, others such as Twitter have no such controls, and as a result tend to be more blended with people updating about both personal and business to the same audience.

Being authentic, open and honest on the networks you choose to join will give you a key differentiation point and uniqueness – no-one else can be ‘you’ as a whole, with all that you bring to both your personal and business relationships. If you choose to, you can analyse and separate by careful use of profiles and comments, but it would be unrealistic to think you can keep things exclusive without the strain showing.

And while there are many networks you could choose, it is better to focus your efforts on key ones that will help you achieve your objectives, rather than spread yourself too thin; next time I will look at how you can integrate your efforts into your day without it taking over all of your time.