Twitter is a fantastic avenue to connect and form business relationships if you learn how to use it authentically and with the right mindset. I’d like to share with you tips on: how to understand the difference between collecting and connecting mindsets, who to choose to follow on Twitter, and how to connect with the people you admire in a meaningful way.

 

 Connecting vs. Collecting on Twitter [8:36m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Using Twitter is a great way of connecting and building relationships. But it can be overwhelming to know who to follow and how to make meaningful connections with someone that you admire. I’d like to share some tips on how to move past the overwhelm so you can begin using Twitter authentically and meaningfully.

Here’s what I recommend:

1. Choose 10 people to "actively" follow. The 10 can be chosen as people who are:

• Mentors
• People you admire
• Those you’ve recently connected with
• Someone you met at an event
• People in your industry
• Local business owners

2. Use Hoot suite, Tweet Deck or Seesmic to manage this "column of people". These tools allow you to simplify your Twitter viewing experience.

3. Take the time to really follow their links. See what they’re talking about and to whom they’re talking. Follow the links and the people and see where it leads you.

4. If they link to a blog, take the time to read it and if appropriate post on it. Then write the blog owner a tweet saying how much you enjoyed the blog and share what you learned.

5. Look for ways to provide connections and referrals.

6. Keep asking "how can I be of service and provide value?"

7. If you’ve really connected, take it offline. If they’re in your local area arrange to meet for coffee. If they live far away, pick up the phone and give them a call. Don’t hold back – people love it when you find them interesting!

Twitter at its best is about engaging and connecting meaningfully. Especially as entrepreneurs, who often work from home, I can’t overemphasize how important it is to be maximizing these resources as a way to expand your community.

If you’re new to Twitter and need tips to get started, please listen to a free call I hosted called Intro to Twitter.

Social networking is a fantastic avenue to connect and form business relationships. The key to being successful is learning how to use it authentically and to create meaningful connections. The platform I’ve spent the most time on is Twitter so I want to share with you some of the ways I’ve found to really connect through Twitter.

I believe the first step is to go into social networking with the right mindset. I have an upcoming class about the Art of Connection where I explain the difference between connecting and collecting when you’re networking.

Understanding the difference between these two concepts will allow you to enjoy networking – both online and offline. Here’s the difference…

Collecting Mindset:

“What am I going to GET?” and “What’s in it for ME?”

Short-term approach vs. Long-term value of connection

All about quantity (how many friends/followers can you get?)

Perceived as less personal

Focus is often on talking about you.

Connecting Mindset:

Focus is on “What am I going to GIVE?”

Focus on being of service first

All about quality (not quantity)

Long-term value of the relationship and how it will evolve

So the goal on Twitter should be to connect and engage. It’s not about having tons of followers but more importantly having relationships. The problem is it can become OVERWHELMING to do. Please read my next blog for tips on how to choose who to follow and how you can connect with them in an authentic and meaningful way.

It can be overwhelming trying to figure out who to connect with on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Should you friend and/or follow everyone? How can you really use the social networking platform in a truly authentic way?

I gained some valuable insight into this process when I spoke with my friend Amy Miyamoto,  at the Metromom Online Success Telesummit. Amy, who has thousands of friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter, and has developed them into authentic sharing relationship, provided many great tips on how to make meaningful connections.

The first step is to really be clear on who you are. How would you define yourself in one word?

Personally, I’ve always thought of myself as a “connector” but after reading the book “The Go-Giver,” I’ve decided those two words feels much better to me. A “Go-Giver” is someone who’s more concerned with “how can I give” than “what can I get.”  The beauty of choosing your own “word” is that once you sit in the space of your  word, it dictates how you put yourself out there and therefore how you come across to others.

Next, at the heart of authentically showing up in all that you do is recognizing the importance of being known, liked and trusted. People want to see who you really are, which then allows you to attract the right people, whether its mentors, potential joint venture partners or potential clients.

Amy also shared three different kinds of friends and follower to have in the social media landscape:

1. The “Influencers.” These are usually the first ones you look for—the experts in your industry. Ask yourself: Who do you want to learn from? Who are the mentors you want to get involved with? You’ll want to start friending and following those people.
2. “Colleagues.” These are people both in your industry as well as connected with people who are working with your same target market. They are a wonderful source of potential joint venture partnerships.
3. “Potential Clients.” This would include people who might be connected to potential clients. For example, my clients are entrepreneurial moms, so I would also want to look for people who know these moms.

By creating these types of connections you’re building a foundation that opens up many doors of opportunities. Each one is like making a deposit of social capital in your social bank account. If you spend time creating a quality base in the beginning, versus just focusing on numbers for numbers’ sake, you can appreciate that the exponential growth will be quality related.

This is only the beginning when it comes to social networking, To listen to my entire interview with Amy Miyamoto, “How to Leverage the Power of Social Media to Create a Community of Raving Fans and Still Have Time for Your Family and Yourself”, click here. FYI – She shares the one essential component for maximizing your Social Media success that most people are missing.

As a serial entrepreneur, I share in this podcast part 2 of the meaningful lessons I’ve learned since I launched Metromom.com over a year ago. These go beyond learning how to use Twitter or do my own viral video, these are lessons that have a deep impact on who I am and what I want to create for my life as a mom and as an entrepreneur. Here’s the link to the first set of lessons.

 

 Lessons Learned from a Serial Mompreneur - Part 2 [Metromom Podcast] [8:17m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As a serial entrepreneur, I share in this podcast the most meaningful lessons I’ve learned since I launched Metromom.com over a year ago. These go beyond learning how to use Twitter or do my own viral video, these are lessons that have a deep impact on who I am and what I want to create for my life as a mom and as an entrepreneur.

 

 Lessons Learned from a Serial Entrepreneur – Part 1 [Metromom Podcast] [8:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As someone who is a natural “connector,” social networking is something I am incredibly fascinated with. I’ve started dabbling in it. You can check-out my profiles up on Facebook , LinkedIn and Twitter. Please feel free to connect with me on those sites if you use them too!

The internet is always evolving so it’s very important to be up-to-date on what’s available and how it can serve you and your business–especially if you do home-based work online. As a side note, soon I’ll be interviewing an expert on as part of the Metromom Power Call series on how we can use social working to grow our communities in our home-based businesses.

If you’re just getting started I recommend that you create one bio about yourself that works across all of the social networking platforms. It needs to be something that gives a sense of who you are as a woman and a little bit about your business. It shouldn’t be salesy by any means, it should be information that leads someone to say, “I’d like to go the next step and learn more about her.”

One of the key premises of the social networking sites, is the word “social” is a critical part. It is about creating relationships, not just about constantly selling your product. People are very conscious of that. If they haven’t gotten to know you, and you’re already telling them about the wonderful product you offer, they’ll tune you out. Most want you to get to know them first, and then there is a reason for you to be sharing that information with them.

The social networking sites are a vehicle that takes time, like relationships. It’s another way to be out there connecting with people. I’ll be sharing more with you as I learn how best to navigate this world.