Meditation on Networks

I have a whole week’s worth of posts in my head right now—all about how we can build, influence, and measure our social media friends/followers. Some is actually numbers. But most of it is about... well, influence.

As a presenter, the best part of doing a free-form presentation with a smart, inquisitive audience is that, you come away with as many great thoughts and challenges as you delivered to the audience. Since Thursday’s discussion with 50+ Public Relations Society of America colleagues, my head’s been swirling with thoughts on how to value the connections we make via social media.

Add to that a weekend spent with a close friend who has been in pharmaceutical sales for 10 years. He’s tops in his field... and we talked a lot about how he initiates, nurtures, and maintains relationships with the doctors and medical teams to whom his company’s products make a difference.

I also considered a Twitter thought out a couple months ago that was RTd (re-tweeted) a few thousand times. Initially I thought it was just a throw-away idea, so I was surprised. But the world of peers and followers sometimes helps you see the value of something you missed.

RT @getspine thinks social media tools reveal to the rest of us what talented real-world networkers knew all along.

Real-world networkers. Good salespeople. Fundraisers. Any decent politician. Social climbers. Reporters generally have a large network. I consider myself one... but it’s one of those things that your network would have to vouch for. These are the people we turn to because they know how to build a collection of friends and colleagues they (in most cases) care about and who care back.

The caring... that’s the real part.

The majority only turn to a network when we need something, like a job. Suddenly we start thinking of who is in companies that might have or know of open positions. We call them up and clunkily share our resume.

But the real networkers have nurtured these individuals all along. It’s simple, take them for a cup of coffee or a beer... make a point of stopping and talking to them when you run into them at a party or even the grocery store. You don’t have to be their best friend. You just have to show that they’re worth some of your brain space and attention.

You also keep a mental note of things they’re interested in. Family is always first. But also their field of work—especially projects they speak excitedly about—and special interests within it. Hobbies.

I know a commercial real estate developer who built his business through freakish focus on this. Anyone he met, he would immediately note these elements. Family names/ages. Birthdays if he could get them. Interests both business and personal. He kept a database of these notes. We’re talking 1,000s of entries. He happened also to be a voracious reader. In spare moments he scoured newspapers and magazines, clipping and filing articles that matched the interests in his database. He then spent Monday mornings sending these clips—each with a personal note saying “This made me think of you...” This helped nurture a massive network that kept business coming his way. Lots of referrals. He even tells the story of a client who came his way FIVE YEARS LATER, saying, “This property’s been in my family for decades, but I think in this market it’s time to sell. You seem to be everywhere and you also care about us, so we wanted you to represent us.”

Everywhere? No, just where you are. In your mindspace. Showing I care.

That’s what we (I hope) want to accomplish with social media. It’s going to keep changing. In fact, Steve Rubel just posted an entry I whole-heartedly agree with on the future of social media—give us five years and we won’t think anymore of MySpace or Facebook or LinkedIn or Twitter or YouTube as separate entities. The whole Internet will become our social network. Simplification of the technology will allow us to each cobble together the best social media bits and pieces out there into our own personal pages.

This will include the network-specific management tools. The ones that allow us to gather, manage, and interact with our friends/followers. Our contact lists.

It will also include same form of status update... much like Twitter page or the Facebook home page. Where you can easily check and see what an individual is interested in and shares with the world. Imagine if my real estate broker friend had access to that...

For those who have reconnected with old classmates (the ones you SHOULD have or ALWAYS MEANT TO keep in touch with, but didn’t) via Facebook, think for a moment about how that makes a tiny little change in your life. I have an ongoing presence now of these individuals. I don’t wonder what they’re up to, I actually know. Sometimes I even comment on it.

But that’s the machine. It can give you access. YOU, as the networker. YOU, as the company or organization must put together an effort, and plan... a SYSTEM to help your friends/followers understand that you care. That’s where the value of your efforts will derive from. Having people actively paying attention and read to act is a powerful thing.

To justify your effort, you also need to develop a means of tracking and measuring your influence. (Influence = technical public relations term).

But the key question is, how do you earn that right to call on your network when you need them? Those who know you care... they'll do a lot for you. In fact, if you nurture your network of relationships well, you usually don't even have to call them. They'll call you. To show they care, too.

That’s what I’m thinking about right now.

And, please, send me your comments/questions. I’ll incorporate them into my thoughts.