Tag: thank your connection

Forget Me Not – Reconnecting with People Online

The next chapter of our #KeystoKindness series this month covers reconnecting with people online. This is especially true for past clients, colleagues, co-workers, and networks that you might not have thought of in awhile. While social media is all about connecting, having conversations and engagement online, the focus tends to be on making new relationships instead of strengthening those you already have.
The main benefit of reconnection is building on a foundationthat is already established. They already know, and most likely trust, you and what you do. We all get busy and get lost in our own tunnel vision. Taking a moment to remind them that you are around and are thinking of them is a great way to reopen communication channels. From there, both parties are welcome to collaborate, brainstorm or share information.
How to Approach Reconnecting
It may feel awkward to say hello to someone you haven’t thought of in awhile. It doesn’t have to elaborate, opening with something simple works just fine. Try one of these:
“Hey there! I was just thinking of you and wondering how your business was doing?”
“Hello! I’m working on this new project and thought it would be great to get your input on it. I’ve always valued your opinion.”
“I saw this article online and it looked right up your alley. Figured I would share and see how you are doing?”
Where to Reconnect
Sure, you can just shoot people an email or a text to reconnect. There’s nothing wrong with that approach at all. However, consider using your social media platforms instead. For one, everyone is looking for more authentic engagement on his or her online platforms. Besides, a side benefit could be that other people view or even participate in the conversation.
Facebook
Share a link to a website, blog, or article that might be interesting to the person. Like some of their posts. Comment on their shares. Make sure to leave a personal note. Ask them a question to encourage them to respond.  
LinkedIn
The good thing is this site is built for connecting. Go through your connections and send people a message. Leave a recommendation or endorsements. Often they will be grateful for the time you spent and message you expressing gratitude. Perhaps they will even reciprocate on your profile. Spend some time looking at the prompts the website offers for reconnecting – congratulation people on their new jobs, promotions or work anniversaries.
Twitter
Twitter has perfected the art of the short conversation. If you use Twitter, get on there and start retweeting, favoriting, and mentioning people you haven’t spoken to in a while. Find creative ways to spark their interest and build your own engaging conversations.
There are other ways to reconnect as well. Know any bloggers? Go read their latest blog post and post a comment. Engage and interact with people you know on forums, community groups, and websites. Pull up a list of people you network with and send them something valuable or interesting.
Challenge yourself to take some time this week to drop a line with some people you haven’t talked to for a bit. It establishes more presence for you online and you never know what kind of benefits might come from engaging others. Keep expressing gratitude, counting your blessings, and sharing kindness.

This is just one of the ways to #BeAwesome this November. Keep an eye out for more of our #KeystoKindness later this month.

~ Social Media is changing the way people do business.  Don’t get left behind ~ 


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Hollie Clere, of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn,Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+ , YouTube,Pinterest, Instagram  and the tools to manage them. 

Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars.

Utilizing Social Media to enhance Face-to-Face Networking


If you are like me, you have met many people through face-to-face in networking meetings and events.  It is a wonderful resource to be able to meet someone, talk about mutual interests, exchange business cards and . . . then what?   

Do you intentionally connect again in person to dive deeper; talking about each others specialties?   

Do you load their contact information in your contact list or maybe send an email or two talking about the things you do in hopes there is some mutual benefit? 

If you have tried this in the past, chances are the relationship quickly ends after your first email or exchange of business cards.

How can you build on that initial meeting and maintain the business relationship?
First off, the initial meeting doesn’t provide enough time to really dive into all of the skills, services and specialties that your connection has to offer.  Even in 10 minutes, it is difficult to breakdown a list of the reasons why each of the service offerings can be of benefit to someone. Taking the time to really get to know this person and ideally the best way to refer business to them would require many meetings, discussions and examples of how they have helped other clients in the past.
One of the best ways to get familiar with the additional information that should be shared is a mutual exchange of relationship building through social media.  Here are some starter ideas of how to get that conversation in the right direction.
(1)    Connect with that person on LinkedIn
     a.       Connecting on LinkedIn shows your contact that you are interested in continued networking past the business card exchange
     b.      Depending on how they have their profiles configured, if they have their contact information loaded right into their LinkedIn profile, you export your connections into Outlook (for example) and it will populate there for you.  
(2)    Send a personal message thanking them for the connection
     a.       Messages in LinkedIn can be searchable in your Inbox, the same way names / titles / industries / specialties are searchable under People, Company and Group sections of the platform. 
     b.      Include questions they can respond to in your message; such as asking them more about their specialties or some other interest such as personal goals or their favorite book.
(3)    Ask if they connect in other social spaces and send them your social links as well.
     a.       If you are a Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ or LinkedIn Company user, a great way to build followers and pages you are following is by connecting to those you are connected to in your network.  Due to space in most cases, the easiest way for those to be shared mutually is through a personal message.
     b.      Sharing of content in the social profiles provides a great means of communicating your services
Because social media is a great social medium for sharing business experiences, life events, service offerings, relatable story telling and promotions, your new connection will have the opportunity to not only share with you, but will also have the opportunity to learn from your sharing and contribute questions and reciprocal discussions in return.
By taking your business card exchange to a new level utilizing your social media resources, your relationships can continue to grow past the initial meeting and hopefully lead to another face-to-face discussion about other things you are mutually interested in.
It takes commitment, time and care; but then again, any good relationship takes work to maintain.  Give it a try and see if you set the trend in your network with relationship building.

~ Social Media is changing the way people do business.  Don’t get left behind ~ 

Hollie Clere, of The Social Media Advisor is a social media manager, trainer and author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+ , Pinterest and the tools to manage them. Click here for her Social Media Links

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