Some tips on how to use social networks

Social media is a great platform to use for building and maintaining a business network However, you can and should approach your business social media activity differently from your personal accounts. Business-related social media accounts are there to help you interact with your network, to generate new leads, and to build your reputation online. These tips will help you keep your social media network spinning in the right direction.

Keep the focus on your work life.
It's fine to mention personal details occasionally – in fact, this can help you build rapport with your followers – but don't get carried away. Naturally, any posts you make should have a professional tone, even if they are about your personal life.

Anything you post online is there forever.
Re-read every post and ask yourself if you want the whole world, including all future friends, customers, employers and co-workers, to someday read what you've just written. If your post passes this check, go ahead and submit it.

Include links to your social media accounts in your email signature line.
That way it's easy for customers and contacts to access your posts and sign up as followers.

Arrange for regular “face time.”
Every week, get in touch with at least five people from your social media networks and suggest you schedule a phone call to talk with them live. The phone gives you a much better chance to get to know your contacts than an exchange of posts can, and it's far more personal.

Keep a fairly close ratio of followers to followed accounts.
Having way more followers than followed makes you look like someone who doesn't like to reciprocate, but having many more followed accounts than followers looks like you don't have anything interesting to say for yourself.

Start out slow with new contacts.
If someone on Linked In accepts your invitation to join your network, don't immediately hit them with requests or sales pitches. Start with a friendly “thank-you” and give the relationship some time to develop first.

Check your profiles regularly and make sure they're up to date.
The first thing a new contact is likely to do is read your profile, and if it's full of outdated information and bad links they probably won't want to add you to their network.

Don't post the same thing on all your social media accounts at the same time.
Many of your followers are probably reading your accounts across multiple social media platforms, so you'll essentially be spamming them every time. Instead, mix up your posts a bit so they'll be rewarded for following you in several different places.

Use Facebook to track birthdays.
Facebook has an optional feature that will email you a weekly list of your friends' upcoming birthdays. Use this to send each of them an ecard or a quick email on the big day.

Don't overdo it.
If you find that you're spending an excessive amount of time reading and posting on social media sites, put yourself on a timer. Social media is a great sales tool but you can't neglect your other sales activities and still expect to succeed.

Don't ignore your contacts' posts.
While many of your posts should be about you, be sure to include mentions of interesting events or updates that your contacts have shared with you. And of course, take the time to respond to your contacts directly when they post something intriguing.