74.jpg)
One of my goals for 2009 is to reduce the amount of time I spend on Social Networking websites. The trouble is, when you sign up to a new one, it takes a while to find your way around, you want to read what people are up to, and get to know some new contacts. And then, it’s nice to catch up with people you’ve got to know virtually. Before you know it, it’s lunchtime and you haven’t done any actual work. Oops!
Just as there are people who turn up at every local networking group (usually the free ones – with food!), so the same names keep cropping up on social media sites. I think these people are ‘professional networkers’ and wonder when they find time to do any client work.
After many years of networking AND studying time management, here are my personal tips for 2009:
1. Just join one group at a time. Get to know the members and give them a chance to get to know you. Joining too many groups will add to your daily pressures.
2. Ration the time you spend networking online. Just as you need to limit the number of events you attend each week or month, set yourself a limit of, say, 30 minutes per day to network online. (I use my trusty kitchen timer for this.)
3. Have a networking plan. Know what you want to achieve. If you don’t have a plan, all you’ll do is have some pleasant ‘chats’ that take up valuable time but lead nowhere for your business.
4. Use your least productive time to network online. By this I mean that time when your energy is flagging and you want something ‘easy’ to do.
5. Use some of the automation tools to update your status. I use Twitter to update my blogs, FriendFeed, Facebook, Plaxo and LinkedIn. Once set up, it all happens automatically and makes you look very busy on the social networking scene!
I’m sure we’ll be adding to this list soon. If you have a favourite networking tip, please feel free to share it here.
About Louise
Louise Barnes-Johnston has been working in social media marketing since 2007 after realising that it was a powerful marketing tool which would enable her clients to raise the profile of their businesses on the internet, even when working to a limited budget. Her specialism is in researching social media practices; trying out the most effective online tools and then sharing the best of them with her clients.
