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My wife asks all the hard questions!

This morning as I am telling her of my recent explosion in followers on Twitter, she asked “so why do people follow you anyway”

This is not an easy question to answer..

My thoughts on this are the subject of this post, and I think I may be onto something?

Firstly, I believe it has a lot to do with the 140 character format. Winston Churchill once made comment about the difficulty of penning a short speech versus a long speech…the shortness of our tweets forces us to be a little more thoughtful, hence there is often more meaning in the 140 chars.  More importantly though, I believe the 140 char format of Twitter brings out our real personality; and it is the real personality that people are attracted to and like to follow!

Related to this reasoning for the follow, is the simple fact that what someone has to say may just be entertaining, insightful or informative…

Maybe also, there is something here in about vanity “If I follow you, you will follow me, and therefore, I get more followers” - and this is true in some cases I am sure…especially for the so called ‘social media sluts’ who simply crave the largest number of connections with little meaning.

Finally, there is the the basic principle of Social Media…reciprocity and good manners..”you followed me, so I will follow you in return” (which does not always apply in my case - especially when internet marketers follow me).  This is one of the endearing natures of social media and social networking; everyone working together and striving to get along (mostly).

So if anyone asked you why people follow you on Twitter (or anywhere for that matter) how would you answer?

BTW - you can follow me here on Twitter

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Our friend Raz posted a great piece on Social Networking recently, which says a lot about the value of social networking to your Personal Brand:

Social Networking is a social network service focuses on building online communities of people who share interests and/or activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. Most social network services are web based and provide a variety of ways for users to interact, such as e-mail and instant messaging services.

The Institute of Effective Communication, Dec 2008

You should read the whole article.

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What?

But every other personal branding wannabe has been telling me that bloggin’ is the ONLY way to build my personal brand!

Well, it seems we have been lied to!

The team over at Groundswell (a Forrester Research business) completed a survey in Q2 this year that asked a panel to rate the level of trust they have for communication channels; and corporate blogs came a bad last, just behind personal blogs!

This is disturbing for those that put SO much effort into blogging, but like the Groundswellers say “This is not a plea to give up blogging”

These findings do provide some food for thought, for instance;

• should you start a corporate blog in the first place?
• If you do start a blog, who writes on the blog, and who edits it?
• Do you let staff members blog about the company on their personal blogs?
• (Apple and Harley Davidson do not even have a blog)
• How do you instill trust in your content - do yo do more research to substantiate your views?
• Do we need to trust blogs - or are they just for entertainment anyway?
• What do you blog about - is trust relevant?

All subjects worth considering when you next sit down to blog your next post…and even more consideration is needed if you ONLY rely on your blog to build your personal brand.

These findings confirm for me what I have always sensed…your personal brand will benefit more from you getting out and meeting people and telling your story!

 

 

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This is a mindless plug for LinkedIn - but I like it!

What does XOBNI stand for…simple it is INBOX backwards?

And what a great little free application it is!

I stumbled upon this little tool way back in its infancy, and then was referred back to it recently by my good friend Craig White

Effectively, “Xobni is the Outlook plug-in that saves you time finding email conversations, contacts and attachments”

For me it does a great job doing just that, but even more importantly, it does help me reinforce my personal brand through;

• Telling me how often I have contacted someone on mail - therefore reminding me to drop them a line and ’stay in touch’
• It shows me our threaded conversations - therefore making it easier for me to get back in touch or follow up on a recent conversation.
• It shows me shared friends or contacts - and therefore makes it easy for me to arrange introductions and share opportunities etc.
• The senders LinkedIn details are displayed (if they are registered) and makes it easy for me to connect or check more about their profile (and hence their interest from which I can gain a common interest and build rapport).
• Xobni displays a photo of the sender - making it easier for me to ‘get to know’ and remember the individual.
• The application also has a ’schedule time’ and request phone number function which acts as a ‘virtual assistant’ for you.
• I also love the ’statistics’ function where it nominates the people you have mailed the most or responded to the quickest - and then sends them an email to tell them so!

In general, it is a GREAT tool that helps me be much more efficient, helps me stay in touch with key clients and prospects, connect with people, and generally stay in touch and communicate my personal brand to my connections!

I would recommed it to anyone…visit www.xobni.com for a look and free download!

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I don’t usually do this, but after reading a recent email to a colleague about my philosophy on networking, and accepting invitations to connect on LinkedIn, I thought it would be worth sharing my views with my readers, and illicit some responses on your view toward ‘networking’ and using ‘LinkedIn’ for meeting new associates.

Thanks for the feedback…and the million dollar question!

The bottom line is that how and who you choose to accept as a connection on LinkedIn is all about your philosophical view on networking v collecting details!

Many of us are happy going to events and collecting business cards or names..and believe this is networking!  However, networking is ACTUALLY about getting to know people and building relationships…therefore, it takes time, effort and clarity on what it is you have to offer…personally or commercially (this is your Personal Brand!)

You will see from my profile that I am a LION – which stands for LinkedIn Open Networker or Leading International Open Networker.  This effectively means that I will accept an invitation from anyone to join me on LinkedIn.  For me, this is central to my philosophy…life is all about meeting as many people as possible, and then sorting through the chaff to discover those that you truly have a connection with!  I believe if we used LinkedIn or any other online social networking tool to just meet and connect with people we already know – then what is the benefit?.  Why don’t we just agree to catch up for a coffee or a sandwich every few weeks (which we should be doing anyway!).

Like my mentor says “Life is like a box of chocolates…you never know what you will get”

So, the bottom line…who you choose to connect with and how you choose to use LinkedIn is always up to you.  The practices to get the best out of your ‘network’ still apply however – contact them regularly, tell them how you can help them, and ask how they can help you…social networking is ALWAYS about more than just collecting names!  As a vivid example of this – you and I would never have had this conversation, or got the chance to get to know one another a little better without LinkedIn!

I hope this provides some thoughts for you.
In closing, in my situation, I have received 15 invitations to present or work with other people on a project, I have received 4 books to read and review…and have been referred on 6 occasions…all in the last 2 weeks as a result of my Open Network…

So, what are your views…I would really like to hear from you on this subject!

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I think what I love most about social media is the ‘fight’. The fight for positioning and success amongst social media companies, such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn means that they just keep raising the bar! And the biggest winners here are US (you and me).

Well, LinkedIn has recently landed back on the agenda (especially amongst my network), and so I thought it would be a good time to revisit LinkedIn and how to get the best out of it!

Let’s start off slowly with the ‘40 things you must do on LinkedIn to build your Personal Brand’ (This is a collection of tips and techniques I use with clients to develop their Personal Brand).

LinkedIn - what?

1.  LinkedIn is a social network that includes over 25 million professionals from around the world, representing over 150 industries - with a focus on ‘doing business’

2.  LinkedIn started ‘linking the world’ in Dec 2002.  It was founded by former PayPal Executive Vice Presdient, Reid Hoffman.  The current CEO is Dan Nye, and Hoffman remains the Executive Chairman.  LinkedIn is based in Mountain View, California

3.  LinkedIn achieved profitability in March 2006.  On June 17, 2008 - venture capitalists invested US$53m in the business for 5%, giving it a post money valuation of US$1billion.

But Why?

4.  in 2008, your name is no longer private, it is a conversation!  Clients and prospects WILL Google you.  LinkedIn improves your Google ranking significantly!

5.  Raise your profile - when you create a profile on LinkedIn, and connect with others, your name will come up in search, and this will further enhance your ‘brand’  The more connections you have, the more you show up in search!

6. Great for research - LinkedIn is a fantastic tool to guage the health of an industry or organisation.  ‘Search’ by company or industry to get a feel for new staff members, turnover, recruitment activity or redundancies!  It is also a bit of fun to track startups (search for ’startup) and see how they progress!

OK, I am convinced - how?

7.  Well, firstly you need to register

8.  If you are already on LinkedIn, then let’s move on!

Here’s 10 ways to improve your LI profile right away!

9.    Describe your experience and abilities as you would to someone you just met. And write for the screen, in short blocks of copy with visual or textual signposts. Don’t just post up your resume!
10.    Use specific and colourful words and descriptors (consultant is not as colorful as ‘life changing business friend’)
11.    Write your Personal Value Proposition (PVP) under your name. It follows your name in search hit lists. This is a big part of your ‘brand’.
12.    You’ve got 5 seconds to capture a readers attention.  Write a powerful story that captures the essence of who you are and what you do, and use it in the summary section to engage readers. .
13.    Use some humour - and definitely use passion to highlight your skills, abilities and interests.  This makes your profile more personal and interesting!
14.    Use brief stories to say what you have done for your employer or clients…don’t just write out the titles of your past jobs!
15.    Add websites that showcase your abilities or passions. Then edit the default “My Website” label to encourage click-throughs (you get Google page rankings for those, raising your visibility).
16.    Use the ‘answers’ feature in LinkedIn and answer questions to establish your expertise, raise your visibility, and most important, to build social capital with people in your network.
17.    Share some love! Give sincere recommendations to valued connections and seek recommendations in return. (Think quality, not quantity.)
18.    Continue to build your connections. Connections are one of the most important aspects of your brand: your network reflects the quality of your brand.

How can I use LinkedIn to get business - 20 sure fire ways LI will help you sell more!

19.    Spring time clean out - go through your contacts and remove connections you do not  recall, or, send a mail and re-engage those contacts.
20.    Review your profile. Update your picture from 1980! Create a content-rich profile that highlights your PVP.   (There is no Spell Check or grammar capabilities in LinkedIn, so you may want to create your profile in Word and then upload).
21.    Leverage LI with Google News Alerts. Set up a Google Alert on a LI contact in a target company, and gather intelligence to strengthen your approach.
22.    Add your email address to your last name.  This will make it easy for someone to connect to you without directly knowing you.
23.    Promote your profile. LinkedIn provides buttons, HTML codes and e-mail signatures to help promote your presence and drive traffic to your profile.
24.    Update your recommendations and arm your trusted partners and past employers with the appropriate ammunition to illustrate the real strengths you are after.
25.    Update your groups and associations and ensure that you don’t have multiple profiles, as it is sure to create confusion.
26.    Answer relevant questions to establish thought leadership, recommending other experts, and engaging others in productive dialogue.
27.    Scan the ‘Job Ads’ on your home page.  If a company is hiring the types of positions that your solution requires, wouldn’t that be a fair indication that they need your products and services
28.    Play-up your international appeal. If you are headed to London then use LinkedIn search to gain invaluable local, regional and even domestic information.
29.    Identify regional and industry trends. This should highlight for you where you invest in your portfolio of relationships.
30.    Consider Co-Opetition. By identifying, building and nurturing key relationships with other SMEs in this industry, I can easily turn perceived competitors into huge cooperative assets towards delighting a client.
31.    Introduce yourself to people working at companies related to your target prospects.
32.    Link Up with a targeted and tailored introduction, not just a generic “I found you on LinkedIn”
33.    Consider the value of your contacts for others, and refer and introduce them
34.    Pay attention to updates from your network. Network updates are perfect conversation starters.  Don’t ignore any of the above, but leverage them to stay in touch or engage new contacts.
35.    Observe who is viewing your profile. You will gain insights as to where you are getting attention.
36.    Use LinkedIn to notify your contacts by way of a profile update.
37.    Use LinkedIn to understand relationships between people you know and people you want to know.
38.    Connect with your former colleagues.  Tell them what you’re up to and who you’re most interested in meeting, and offer to help them out as well.

What next...

39.  Be persistently consistent.  Keep on top of your network and opportunities, diarise 15 mins each week to update and review.

40.  Do other things! LI and all social networking tools are great supplements to ALL your networking and Personal Branding activity, not a replacement.

PHEW, so, there you go, a large post but I hope there is some value in there for you who use LinkedIn, or who would like to use it more effectively!

Happy networking…and be sure to connect with me here

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I have to thank Dan Thornton for the inspiration for this simple little post..

I met Dan over at Twitter and in between discussing the ethics of Tweeting, I was looking for some blogspiration (inspiration on what to blog about next)…a good video or photo was suggested.

This video captures a whole heap of the concepts I have been speaking about all week with clients and at presentations - Web 2.0 connects us.  Web 2.0 makes developing and projecting your Personal Brand so much more important; enjoy!

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