1) Complete your LinkedIn profile.
This should be a 1 hour work session. Fill in the details, make sure your personality and experience shine. This is your “living resume,” make sure you are well represented from your professional experience to your education to your interests. The more information you share in your profile, the easier it will be for people to connect with you. You must have a decent head shot that shows your eyes, an easy to share link to your profile (that should be included on your resume and in the signature line of your email), and your specialties included as keywords. Never ask for a recommendation on LinkedIn, give them weekly until you run out of people to write them for. Giving recommendations on LinkedIn promotes your profile keeping you in front of your network and builds social capital. Write a recommendation for everyone that has worked for you, that you have worked for, that you know professionally or personally. Keep them short, simple and honest, remembering these recommendations build your credibility and communicate how well you write to the reader.

2) Lock down your FaceBook profile.
Yes, your potential employers can look you up on FaceBook and see all of the posts in your newsfeed, if you let them. My rules for FaceBook privacy settings are very simple. Everything should be set to “friends only,” except for Search and Messaging which should be set to “Everybody;” and “Pictures and Videos,” which I encourage you to set to “Friends of Friends.” When you lock down your privacy settings under Account, you do not have to worry about potential employers or school admission teams looking thru your profile. That said, CLEAN IT UP. If you are not comfortable with your mother seeing what is on your FaceBook profile, it should be deleted. You are responsible for what you post and the pictures you are in. If someone posts inappropriate pictures of you, untag yourself and politely ask them to remove the picture. Yes, you must put in your education and employment history on FaceBook. Although FaceBook is your “social network,” it may be your most valuable (especially since it has 500 million users and is growing faster than ever before). Give your friends the chance to know you professionally as well as personally.

3) Tell your network what opportunity you are looking for.
People have to know how they can help you. The worst thing that can happen is people will not respond or they will say no. You must get comfortable telling people what you are looking for and asking them for help with specific goals. Asking to be introduced to specific people or even types of companies is the best way to empower people to help you. You can use the status updates in LinkedIn, FaceBook and Twitter as well as direct email followed by a phone call.

4) Do your research.
Look up companies you are interested in on Google, LinkedIn, FaceBook, Twitter. Do the same thing with people you are meeting or interviewing with. If you are doing your research you will find connections, common ground and areas of focus. How you use this information will play a role in your success. What kind of information will be useful to you? Anything form a shared interest, to a mutual friend, to the alma mater of your potential employer to recent news about the company. You have access to an unlimited power, knowledge. Use it!

5) Expand your connections.
I call this the Rainbow Theory. The connections in your Network make up the rainbow of your life. Each of them is a unique color representing some aspect of you and your relationship. We want a large beautiful rainbow (friends and connections), why? Because at the end of that rainbow is a pot of gold, only you can limit how big that pot of gold is. Expand your connections, friendships and relationships and you increase the potential of that pot of gold. How do you find that pot of gold? See #6.

6) Meet up in public as often as possible.
Social networking is not a competition to see who has the most “friends” or “contacts.” It is the opportunity to get to know people better. You must dig thru your contacts and set up meetings every single week. When you travel, find people in your network and get meetings, breakfast, coffee or drinks with them. Your next opportunity may live in another city yet have a great connection for you. By meeting in public places you will see other people you know, this is not an accident. Follow-up with these people and participate in your community. Remember to stay actively engaged in the process of helping other people with opportunities they are looking for.

7) Be more generous.
Share your skills and time liberally. Volunteer. You can do more good for your reputation and search for opportunity by giving your time and the most valuable skills you have, until you are “running on empty.” People will see the value you bring to the table, you will meet new people in real working situations and you will have positive situations to talk about with potential employers and clients as you look for your next opportunity. You are the most valuable asset you have, the more you share your skills and talent the more valuable of an asset you become to society. Increase your value, be more generous.

1) Don’t stalk.
It is ok to connect with people after you meet them and even engage with “randoms” as long as the interaction is real. Your communication must be authentic or you will do more damage than good to this developing relationship. It is great to connect with people you don’t know on these networks and get to know them better. As a rule of thumb keep the “fat” in your network limited to 10%. If you are going to connect to “randoms,” tell them why you want to connect with them. Give them a reason to accept your connection, then give time to let the relationship develop normally.

2) Don’t be negative.
Social networks are overwhelmingly positive. Note the “like” button, ever wonder why there is not a “dislike” button? Add your voice to the conversation if you have something to share, if it is negative, save the thought for a few hours and re-evaluate whether you should share it. It is too easy to gripe, avoid being a “Debbie Downer.” If it really is negative and you have to go there, create a conversation and enable people to discuss the situation. Don’t talk badly about any place you have ever worked or a current or former boss. Posting on any social network may be taken out of context and/or become part of the “permanent record.” Your next employer may be one of your “friends” on FaceBook or even a “follower” on Twitter. Make the glass half full.

3) Don’t “cross the streams.”
Keep your voice authentic on each network independently. FaceBookers do not get Twitter or post with #hashtags or in #140 #characters. You must keep your voice appropriate for each network. Yes, FaceBook can send out Tweets and your LinkedIn Status can be a Tweeted simultaneously. No, your Tweet that you are at the Bar at 1:30 am should not update your LinkedIn status. These networks can work together efficiently, make sure you understand your settings and whatever you do – “don’t cross the streams.”

4) Don’t post your business on your friend’s wall.
Keep your business private. Business is happening via email, chat, instant message and the phone. You can offend someone pretty easily by attempting to use their wall or post as an advertising ground. If you do promote your self in someone’s post or content, try and keep it light-hearted and always be fully transparent (don’t promote yourself as a source without declaring you are the source).

5) Don’t “set it and forget it.”
Your social networks take time and nurturing. A good rule of thumb is you should spend at least 15 minutes a week on each network you are on. You may need to spend 15 minutes a day or have the time to spend 3 hours a day. You will get out of it what you put in to it. If you don’t put in the time, don’t expect to harvest the rewards.

6) Don’t be somebody else.
Be yourself, it is that simple. If you try and be somebody you are not, it will be awkward and weird. Finding your true voice on these social networks is different for everybody. Start slowly, test the waters. Get comfortable with sharing and post regularly. The more you post the easier it will get. If you don’t have anything good to say, allow yourself to “like” someone’s picture or link and move on to something else.

7) Don’t avoid social networking.
Even if you don’t go to the party, the party is still happening. You are the only limitation in your life. By participating in these networks you control your profile, improve your ability to show up in search on Google and create business opportunities. By nature we are social animals, by nurture we can be effective communicators. Come to the party, we are all waiting for you.

Looking out into 2011, the corporate market is going to change from a “prevent defense” to an “option offense.” Think about your employees as players on your team. Ask yourself, “Does my company empower team players to be successful or are we limiting our own potential for growth?” If your employees are not engaged with your social media presence, then start asking questions now, so you are prepared for success in 2011.

Build More Bridges.

Exporting your LinkedIn contacts

1. Sign in to Linked In.
2. Click on Contacts and scroll down to the bottom – on the right side next to “Sent Invitations” (you can delete these!) is the “Export Connections” button.
3. You can also navigate here by clicking on http://www.linkedin.com/addressBookExport
4. Leave the default format of “Outlook CSV;” or select whatever format fits your need.
5. Type the CAPTCHA word, then click “Export.” Good luck, I always have to type this 3 times.

Save the file to your downloads folder or your desktop for ease of access.

What can you do with this file? The first thing I do is email it to myself so I have at least one back-up not on my computer. You can also edit this file and import it into other social programs or even your rolodex. Get smart, export and back up your LinkedIn contacts easily.

Ok, now that you have Twitter integrated in, what should you avoid? Set your Twitter account to only post to LinkedIn if you have #in the Tweet. Why? Because if you or your company Tweet frequently you create too much noise on LinkedIn. The value of your status updates goes down. I start to ignore your status updates because they are not really relevant. You must have your Twitter account included in your LinkedIn profile, make the tool work effectively for you!

That is a lie. It generally takes about 2 hours to get your profile set-up and learn how to use the network. Once you are set-up you generally need to dedicate another 2 hours to expanding your presence on that network. Now you can start using your time efficiently. Some networks need to be checked daily. For example, I log into LinkedIn every day, but only spend a few minutes checking my newsfeed, looking for long lost connections/friends and replying to emails. Once a week you should spend 5 minutes writing a recommendation. If you want to dive into Questions and Answers, prepare to dedicate 15 minutes per question. I generally don’t advise newbies to invest their time in Questions and Answers. Why? Because they are a great way to establish your knowledge base and credibility, but they take an enormous time commitment most people are not willing to give. The ROI is 8-12 months on answering questions. I’d rather see you writing recommendations on a weekly basis. End conclusion, use your time wisely on LinkedIn and you can do very well with 15 minutes per week.

FaceBook. 15 minutes. Yeah right. FaceBook is way too engaging to limit yourself to 15 minutes. But, if you are maintaining a Fan Page then 15 minutes may be perfect. Check the Wall every day and delete any junk posts as well as respond to posts. Once a week make a post (aim for between 2-5 pm EST) and once a week add some pictures. 15 well spent minutes every week on FaceBook.

Twitter. Oy Vey. The first couple of weeks take hours. You should be making posts, Re-Tweeting and finding niche people to follow, adding the ones who follow you back to Lists. Once you get thru the ramp up period, you can settle back into a 15 minute per week routine. Check your List, Re-Tweet someone who has posted something valuable, Tweet, Follow back your new Followers and Follow a few new people. Week in and week out this is the perfect 15 minute routine.

Blogging. Good luck. The 15 minute rule doesn’t apply here. Good blog posts can take hours, sometimes minutes. You determine the frequency, quality and quantity. Be considerate of your readers and avoid doing what I have done here, share excessively.Sometimes a picture is a brilliant Blog Post and it takes just a few seconds to post. Be that bold.

Niche networks. I participate in a variety of niche networks based on my interests and I encourage you to do the same. You will find the conversation more stimulating and the content more engaging, because you are following your passion. How much time do these networks deserve? The real anser is how much time can you afford. Every network we participate in can take hours of each day. Since you control the flow of information you must prioritize based on work/passion balance. All answers are correct here, but I encourage you to keep the 15 minute rule in mind. Limit the number of networks you participate in to the ones you can afford to commit time to.

Real world networking events. This is a tough one. Meet everybody, but invest your time wisely in getting to know new people. You are the best judge of who you want to meet. When you meet interesting people, take the time to get to know them. It may be the only time you ever get to talk in person. If you are at an event and see someone from your network that you have not met before, introduce yourself and remind them how you know them. A few weeks ago I was at a concert and saw a guy I had connected with on faceBook, but never met in person. I shed that uncomfortable feeling and introduced myself. If I didn’t, I would have felt obligated to delete him from my friend list (basic rule – only stay friends with people you would say hi to if you saw them in a random situation – like the supermarket or a show). Whatever you do, know when to say when and move on from a conversation and meet someone else. Use your time effectively!

In conclusion, the 15 minute rule can apply per day or per week on each network. Explore the networks beyond FaceBook and participate in communities based on your passion/hobby. Share you knowledge, your life and your media; but, respect your time and use your time effectively when networking in the real world and online.

So, how do we balance Quantity vs. Quality as we build out our network? Your strategy should be – Connect to everybody you know, or want to get to know better. 10% of your network should be Phat. people you don’t know, but might be interested in getting to know better. As your connections expand, the Phat factor is going to increase. Make the effort to get to know your connections and your Phat factor will decrease. Each year you should cut some Phat and give your network some room to expand with fresh Phat. You get the idea, make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold.

There are no easy answers to the question of quantity vs. quality. What I can tell you is that nobody can limit the potential of your network like you can. If you add more connections, you create more opportunity or more potential. In the end, you must convert that potential into kinetic. You must put in the time and energy to get to know your network and understand the resources available to you. Apply the Rainbow Theory to your network, build a great big beautiful rainbow and find the pot of gold waiting for you – then share it with everybody you know.

Check your News Feeds Daily! Your local news is LIVE and Real – Live In The Moment!

Currently, I have 738 people in my first degree network on LinkedIn. This is a lot of people for me, but it pales in comparison to my second degree network with over 120,000 people in it. This translates to roughly 162 as the average number of connections my connections have on LinkedIn. We have blown past the magical number of 150 connections. That second degree network is where the highest growth and potential value is. Lately, this has been in my head, “if you don’t ask, you will never know.” Ask for the introduction, tell your network you want to meet people who may be interested in your services, product, company. Take the next step, introduce people in your network to each other, build bridges between people who should know each other.

If you build out a Fan Page on FaceBook using your personal network, you will find somewhere between 100 and 1,000 people who Like your page. If you tap into your second degree network your potential grows ten-fold. How do you do that? Work, work, work. Each of us has a different stopping point. Unlock that stopping point and “the future is wideeeee open.” Here are a few easy ways to tap into your second degree network:

1) eat lunch with people out;

2) create a habit that is inherently social and stick with it (think coffee, exercise class, whatever);

3) connect with people you meet and/or are introduced to – you will get to know them better;

4) participate in the conversation going on – whether it is the weather, your local sports team, politics or what is for lunch today; and

5) Be creative.

**Your second degree network is a pot of gold. Build out your connections and you will find a vibrant rainbow that will lead you to the gold. Find your second degree network.

1) Search your email for connections, be generous with your friendship.

2) Look for your current co-workers, past co-workers, people you went to school with, family and friends – These people make up your core network.

3) Look thru the contacts of your connections and find people you know also, this is Phishing.

4) Join Groups based on your passions, hobbies, profession, location. You will find interesting people to connect with and you can connect with anyone in these groups without an email address.

5) Email lists are the holy grail of connections. Break your lists up into approximately 2,000 people on each list and load them into LinkedIn. See who is on LinkedIn and if you know them, connect to them. This is the easiest and most boring way to find people you know and it works.

How many connections should you have? At least 150. You probably have 500 connections out there if you try. Grow your connection base and LinkedIn search becomes powerful as does your potential to grow revenue for your organization. Build Your Network every single night!