Social media is a constantly growing marketing platform. With new users joining daily and new marketing angles popping up all the time, there are so many possibilities at your fingertips. The most exciting part is actually connecting with your target customer and making meaningful connections that you might not have had the opportunity to make otherwise.

So with all the changes happening all the time and new possibilities, how can you effectively and continuously grow your network? We’d like to share 4 fundamentals that ring true no matter what network you join and no matter what changes you make.

1st Foundation: Always be yourself and represent your brand.

Actually this means two things. First, stay true to your brand. This means colors, logos, images, all that fun stuff. You want to have a consistent appearance online, this helps people remember and recognize you across multiple platforms.

Second, be yourself. We have a saying that we like to use “Be nice, not personal.” You want your interests and passions to shine through at all times so that new connections can see who you are and get to know you more.

By being nice, you can still keep your private life private. Let’s take an example, if you went to the movies with your kids and during the movie you had a lightbulb moment, use this in your content. People will love it! This creates a point of connection between you and your readers, gives them something to relate to as well…and often times the message you’re teaching comes across much more easily.

To keep your family private, you could say something like “This weekend I wanted to take a break from the busy office with my family and watch a good movie! Lo and behold, during the movie I had a breakthrough. Don’t you think?” like when you relax and let go that the best ideas come to you?” That’s a great intro or blog post, your readers will tune in and want to hear more.

2nd Rationale: Give credit where credit is due.

This is very important. Doesn’t it feel really great when you log into Twitter and see that people have shared one of your blog posts with their audience? Everyone loves to have this feeling! One key to growing your social media presence is sharing helpful content from thought leaders, or others, with your community. By doing so, you will also build your relationship with that person. We share content from our mentors all the time. We also learn a lot from its content! Here are some tips for getting the most out of others’ shared content:

Give them credit:

On Facebook, tag the name of your Facebook page. Your post will appear on their page and your audience will be able to see your post.

On Twitter, @mention them. Your post will now be right in front of the person so they can see you’re recognizing them, and more often than not they’ll recognize you, great exposure!

Leave them a comment:

If you are sharing a good blog with your audience, why not leave a comment on the blog? You can share how you relate to the post or your opinion on the topic. This will also help your visibility with your audience.

3rd Foundation: Always look for new connections.

Social networks are online networks. When you attend networking events in person, you walk around and introduce yourself. You can comment on your business card and ask questions about your business to get the conversation started. The same thing happens online. If you find someone really interesting that you want to start a conversation with, check out their website. Then send them a Tweet or a post on their Facebook page. Start the conversation.

One of the most popular questions we get is “How do I find new people to connect with?” We have created a really effective process to connect our clients with their target market. Let’s look at some things you can do each week to grow your network with valuable connections:

Facebook:

Visit the communities where your target customers “hang out.” Think of thought leaders and networks you can go to and start connecting with people. Join the conversation and share your ideas. Make sure to post from your business page if you have one. This will greatly increase the awareness of your page.

Twitter:

Use tools like Twellow and ManageFlitter to find people in your niche. Another key activity is monitoring who your connections are talking to and verifying those people. Common interests are key to connecting!

4th Foundation: Nurture existing relationships.

Building new relationships is an important piece, but don’t forget about all the people you’re already connected with. Keeping up with people is really important and without a good system this could become a full time job. It’s a very good idea to think long term when growing your network. Here are some ideas to put into practice right now and keep your networks clean. Your schedule will really appreciate these!

Create Facebook lists:

The lists we find most useful are Family, Close Friends, Thought Leaders, and Industry News.

Create Twitter lists:

Here are some ideas for organizing your Twitter followers: Retweeters (people you want to retweet), thought leaders, peers, and inspirers.

We have lists on our personal accounts, and honestly, we’d be on Facebook and Twitter all day if we didn’t. We set aside time on our calendars every day to visit our lists and get involved. We’ve focused engagement time without having to worry about searching through the entire social feed to find exactly what we’re looking for.

By putting these foundations, and some of your own, in place, you’ll be ready to build your networks no matter where you are.

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