There’s a Craft to Online Social Networking

I recently attended a seminar on LinkedIn. Okay, I’m a little late to the party on this one. In fact, I was already in LinkedIn, but I wasn’t making those most of it. I know the benefit of it. You can reach out to a number of people and build your personal brand equity. This sort of networking fits my personality pretty well. I relate to a large number of people, and I certainly like to talk about myself (hey, if I didn’t, I would be marketing myself as a speaker and communicator).

Since joining LinkedIn, I reconnected with people with whom I lost touch. Cool. I like hooking up with old friends. I’m also looking forward to create new contacts, too. It’s a great way to expand your influence. LinkedIn has 17 million people on it, so many of them are bound to pay attention to me. Also, I am always looking for new information, so this should be a good way to research.
I am struck with how important good communication is to the effective use of LinkedIn. The most obvious skill needed: Succinct writing. You want to have just the right amount of detail in your profiles. Not too much, not too little. You also want the paragraphs to be short. Bullets are nice.

There is also the tone. First person is more inviting. But as a video guy, I can see that it’s important to SHOW your value. As some of my speech idols have advised me, don’t tell them, TAKE them. Use web links. Add documents. Make people feel. And it all goes back to staying on message, so keep your goal in mind. It’s a lot like the skills we need in speaking, isn’t it?
But the most important point is that, like speaking, you have to connect. Don’t be buttoned up; participate. Having these sorts of connections can have many so many benefits that you can’t even imagine right now.

I’ll be interested in your thoughts on LinkedIn and other social networking. What works for you? What could be improved? Let those of us on this blog know.