Why do you need a strong and deep social and professional network?

Last night I presented and discussed Twitter & LinkedIn with Professor Elad Granot’s marketing class at Cleveland State University. We covered a lot of ground in a short period of time. I realized halfway thru the night, that we rarely discuss why you actually want to build out your connections on these networks. Why do you need a lot of connections? Let’s look at this from a few different angles.

1) Your potential on these networks is limited by your number of connections. There is a fine line between finding the right amount of kinetic vs. potential. Too many connections and you will have a hard time getting to know them and listening to them. Too few connections and you will not have access to the resources you need as situations arise. Generally speaking, more connections is a better problem to have. Why? Because these sites are adapting to these problems and letting you filter your information. On FaceBook you can keep lists of friends in categories, on Twitter using Seesmic or Tweetdeck you can create lists to track people, LinkedIn is rolling out a new paid feature for lists as well.

2) Access to information, knowledge is power. As your network grows you will see more information. On LinkedIn your search results improve as you have more 2nd degree connections, on FaceBook you start to see trends and can participate in conversations, on Twitter you need the excess overload of content to discover what is happening right now. You need to be connected to people to see information.

3) Touch your network. How often do you call your connections and/or friends? Practically speaking I contact about 20-35 friends a year as a normal activity. Is that how many people I have known and would like to stay in touch with? No, that number is closer to 400. By staying reasonably active within your networks you can keep your network up to date with your social and professional life. This is why we will have strong bonds in the future with people we do not speak with regularly. We will know each other, it is easy to speak candidly with people you know. Make sure your network knows you. Check  out some of my earlier posts on how to “touch” your network.

4) Ok, I’m connected to everyone I know, now what? Start talking, start listening. Participate in the conversation. As you find people that are interesting, take the conversation offline – to email, phone calls, and coffee. This is where you will find the most success. Some of my most interesting live meetings this year have come from Twitter conversations. LinkedIn should be the first place you search for information before meeting that person for the first time. Invite a FaceBook friend to coffee, try and figure out how you can help them. Transition interesting people and opportunities to the real world. It is a lot easier to talk with someone in the real world when you know them from one of your networks, you have ‘stuff” to talk about.

There is a random side to Twitter and even LinkedIn. People you connect to that you do not have a history of school, work or friendship with. Why should you connect to new people you don’t really know? Because each connection brings you closer to your potential. Each connection is an opportunity to lend your skills and knowledge to someone else. I encourage you to be a bridge builder, a resource. You have developed fantastic skills over the course of your life, share them with your network. Extend your network and more people will benefit from you as an information resource. Be the valuable resource you are.

Remember, social and professional networks online are just an extension of what we have been doing our entire lives, Networking Effectively. Like the old MaBell commercial said, Reach Out and Touch Somebody.