Top 3 Ways to be Invaluable to your Social Network
Before we get started I want to personally thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to learn more about how you can become invaluable to your social network.
One of the topics so widely discussed throughout the social media landscape is about ‘Value' and how important it is in your social media marketing efforts. I couldn't agree more but what I wanted to share with you is my personal opinion on what ‘value' means to me.
First, let me share with you one thing that comes to my mind when we hear about ‘value' and how it's so widely used in today's marketplace.
For example:
Would you like to try our ‘Extra Value' meal today?
When you think ‘extra value meal' what comes to mind?
McDonald's right?
Just for kicks check out their Extra Value Meals...http://ow.ly/ZdA
Ok, no I'm not trying to sell you on eating at McDonald's but I am trying to prove a point. When you think of extra value meals you think of McDonald's right?
Sure we do!
Wouldn't you love to have that same impact with your social network?
Now I don't mean' extra value meal' I mean ‘extra value' when it comes to you and your niche.
Let's say your niche is ‘weight loss for busy people' and you provide an enormous amount of value for busy people who want to lose weight. You build a targeted social network and your focus is on providing great tips, resources, articles, ideas, support, and encouragement to that network.
What happens is your social network eventually becomes a voice for you because you have become such an invaluable person for them in their weight loss efforts. This is when I believe your social network also becomes your promotional network.
That's what you should be aiming for!
The best part is the recommendations are genuine, honest, and positive. There's no better feeling then when you have added value to someone's life and they are excited to share that experience with others.
I can go on and on about how value is created but what's most important is becoming invaluable to your social network.
Again, let me disclose that this is my personal opinion and belief on not only what I focus on to become invaluable to my personal social network but also what I look for in others who become invaluable to me.
So are you ready?
Great!
Here are my ‘Top 3 Ways to be Invaluable to your Social Network' (Part 1 of 3)
Personal Value
Professional Value
Promotional Value
This first note I'm going to cover is ‘Personal Value' and in my opinion it's the most important.
Why?
Because people have to get to know you, like you, and trust you before they ever would want to do business with you.
Now, you have to understand that this rule also applies to someone you want to refer business to you. You can't possibly expect a stranger to send you business and put their name on the line when they don't know you at all.
There are many people that I have built relationships with through social networking that I truly appreciate and would do anything to help them grow their business and it's because they have become invaluable to me.
Now, when I say invaluable I'm not just talking about business I'm also talking about the personal relationships that I have with them too!
Personal Value can be broken down to 3 key areas which are:
*Encouragement
*Friendship
*Partnership
Let's talk about these three areas in more detail ok?
Great!
Encouragement
I believe that encouragement is so important and people could use more of it in their daily lives. Such a simple act of either a word of encouragement or congratulations can make a person feel special, appreciated, and recognized for their achievements. When the opportunity presents itself be that person and most importantly be genuine!
Friendship
Now let me be the first to tell you that simply accepting a friend request or picking up a new follower does not do anything but present the opportunity for you and another person to create a connection. A connection is created when a contact is made either through a direct message, email, wall post and so on. The next step is moving a connection into a conversation and conversations eventually lead to friendships. You become invaluable on a personal level by becoming a great friend.
The stronger the relationships you have with the friends and followers in your social network the greater the opportunities and possibilities will arise from those friendships.
What does friendship mean to you?
What kind of friends do you want to surround yourself with?
What kind of friend do you want to be to others?
These are important questions to ask yourself because social media marketing is in fact a series of social experiences or events that take place on many different platforms. But no matter what platform we're talking about remember that it all boils down to personal relationships.
Partnership
The third area in creating personal value is in partnership. Now, when I say partnership I don't mean it in a legal term but more as a personal partnership between friends. This is when the productive and creative energy just seems to flow between partners (friends), you feed off of each other's ideas, actions and energy and the results are exponentially more than the sum of your personal efforts. A synergistic relationship occurs and it's the foundation for establishing a powerful mastermind.
Creating 'Personal Value' should be the foundation for building your social network. I know that some people may want target their social media marketing efforts strictly on a professional level but in my opinion you miss out on one of the greatest aspects of social media marketing and that's the personal relationships you can build.
The more you realize that most people are tuned into WIFM (What's In It for me) the better you can serve them on many different levels.
When you focus on becoming invaluable on a personal, professional, and promotional level to your social network there is nothing that can stop you!
Stay tuned for becoming invaluable on a ‘Professional' level to your social network!
Remember - Friendship with oneself is all important because without it one cannot be friends with anybody else in the world. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Make it a great day!
Marco
President
National Entrepreneur Club
Marco Carbajo is a business credit specialist and social media marketing trainer. He is author of many credit related articles and is President of the National Entrepreneur Club. An online membership community for entrepreneurs and business owners that makes building business credit and social media marketing Simple to Use, Easy to Understand, Effective for You and Affordable for Everyone.
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