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How to use social networking productivelyHere are some tips for using social networking productively.
What do you expect to gain from social networking? Why bother with it?
Social networking is very flexible. You can use it for a variety of different purposes. It’s up to you to define what you want from it. There are no right or wrong answers here.
I decided to get into social networking primarily to build a bigger and deeper network of highly compatible friends. The keyword for me is compatible. It’s easy enough to meet people locally, but due to my unorthodox lifestyle, I tend to meet only partial matches when I do that. I don’t do well finding compatible matches among the general population — it’s mostly misses and near misses with too few hits. However, online social networking makes it a lot easier to find people who can make great long-term friends.
From those initial casual friendships, I can also build some very deep intimate connections.
Another reason I got into social networking was to provide more value to people. For example, it only takes seconds for me to post a Twitter/Facebook status update that offers some words of encouragement or that challenges people to reconsider some part of their lives. Time-wise this is a high leverage investment. Some people have told me they’ve started new businesses because of something I wrote about in a status update, and those updates are only 140 characters max.
I’m not particularly interested in using online networking for business reasons, although I know that many people are. I have all the business contacts I can handle, and I really don’t need more of the same. But what sometimes happens is that I end up doing business with a friend from my social network, so some professional benefits can be gained without even trying.
Many people who use social networking primarily for business come across as too fake and phony for my tastes. I can’t really get to know them as individuals because most of their messages appear to be motivated by numbers (more sales, more followers, PR, etc). At this point in my life, that isn’t the type of connection I want to have.
Once you’re clear on what you want, it’s time to come up with a basic social networking strategy that meets your needs.
Here’s a simple rule of thumb: Whatever you want to get, give it.
If you want to make new friends, it helps to be a good friend to others. If you want to drum up business, help other people succeed in business. If you want to experience more growth, help other people grow.
Whatever you share frequently, you’re going to attract more of.
For example, I have hundreds of raw foodists in my social networks because I often share details of my life as a raw foodist. I also have thousands of personal growth enthusiast in my networks because I love to share growth tips and advice. Consequently, my social network makes it very easy for me to connect more closely with raw foodists and growth seekers — exactly the types of people I most enjoy having as friends. Facebook is particularly good for this because of the overlapping nature of social networks.
Since I also like to have fun, I joke around and tease people from time to time. This attracts similar people to my network. Now I have people in my life that are good at identifying and pushing my buttons just as I do for others. I really hate those people sometimes! 
Stay focused on your reasons for social networking. Are you getting what you want out of it? Or are you just wasting time?
Facebook, for example, is cluttered with lots of cutesy apps. Every day I receive requests to install several of them, which I always ignore. Go ahead and play around with them if that’s what you want. Send people virtual donuts for their birthdays. I never bother with that stuff because I find it a waste of time. I didn’t join Facebook just to spend more time on my computer.
Do what works for you, and forget the rest.
I can’t possibly maintain close friendships with thousands of people at the same time; that would be untenable. But it’s also foolish to randomly select people to be close friends with since then I won’t get very compatible matches.
One thing that helped me a lot was to create a communication funnel. It basically looks like this:
Public status updates -> Private email or direct messaging -> Talking by phone -> Meeting in-person -> Ongoing relationship
When you find someone who seems compatible with you on some level, escalate them to the next level in your funnel. Start connecting via private email for starters. If that looks good, move to the phone and have an in-depth conversation. And if that looks good, try to meet in person if you can. If that turns out well, you may be able to establish a long-term friendship or business relationship, depending on what you’re looking for. There are variations on how you can apply this, but overall this is a pretty natural progression that many people use without thinking about it. I do think it helps to be consciously aware of it though since then you can remember to invite a frequent emailer to start connecting by phone, which makes it easier to build a deeper connection. Click image below for The Social Market Network
In a typical week, I might connect via email with a few dozen new people, I might have phone calls with a few new people, and I might meet someone face to face — all people that came from my online social network.
Social networking has been working very well for me, and I’ve made some amazing connections because of it. Consequently, I’m now putting the bulk of my attention on the long-term friendship and intimacy side. I’m more focused on exploring and deepening existing connections rather than trying to cultivate lots of new ones. I’m still open to new connections, but I’m a bit more selective with them because I’m already enjoying so much abundance in this area.
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Overall I think social networking is a great outlet for building conscious relationships with compatible people, especially if you have a lifestyle that’s far from social norms. This pursuit has enhanced my life in so many ways during the past year that I can’t even fathom calling it unproductive...see how inbound marketing cane enahnce yours.
Republished from StevePavlina.com
