Harnessing the gains of social networking

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Social networking sites bring people together to talk, share ideas and interests, or make new friends. Social networking gives room for communication and collaboration among hundreds, thousand or even millions of different people located in different parts of the world.

The manner people interact on social networking sites can determine whether social networks are “social capital” or a “social liability” to users in the long run.

“Social capital” refers to the collective value of all social networks (who people know either online or offline) and the benefits that arise from such a web of people.

Based on the foregoing, it is imperative to note that it takes a network to access certain information and opportunities about your field of interest. And building a competitive advantage is sometimes a function of your social networks.

World-class professionals have formed the habit of building networks to help them navigate professional world with ease. No matter how brilliant your strategy is, if you are playing a solo game, you will always lose to those who play as a team. This is the reason athletes need coaches and trainers; children need parents and teachers and politicians need donors and strategists.

As an individual that hopes to succeed professionally, you must always be investing in professional network, to access certain privileges and information. There are people you cannot access physically due to geographical barriers, but online social networks break such limitations.

Relationships matter to your career, regardless of the stage of professional development you are now. Securing a job opportunity every now and then is a function of interaction with ‘information gate-keepers’ (recruiters or hiring managers). Getting a promotion, sometime, depends on whether you have a good rapport with your boss or not. This is not politics; it is just the way humans are wired (people tend to favour those they know).

Relationships matter because the people you spend time with, ultimately, shapes you.

Behavour and belief are contagious – you easily catch the emotional state of your friends, imitate their actions and adopt their values. The fastest way to change yourself is to associate with people who are already the way you want to be. This is being social capital smart!

‘Social relationships’ can mean many things. There are people you know solely in a personal context (close friends and family) and there are those you know on a professional basis – colleagues, industry contacts and customers. Your interaction with your social networks is along these two lines.

In order to fully harness the value of your social networks, the points below are useful:

Build quality social networks and not quantity: Often, many social media users make a mistake of equating a person’s online influence with the number of Twitterfollowers or number of LinkedIn connections. This is false thinking. Number is only a quantity measure not a quality measure. There must be emphasis on the quality of your social network.

Who are you connected to online and what is the quality of your social relationship? Can a timely career opportunity or business link be sent to you without asking for it?

Build value-driven social networks: Building a genuine social relationship with fellow professionals online involves seeing things from the perspective of others and thinking about how you can add value to them first before asking for a value-favour in return. That is, aim to give more value than you ask for on your online social networks. Give value and value will flow back in your direction.

Build top-of-mind social networks: There are better ways to stay in touch with your social networks and not be a pest to them. Social media provides a great platform for staying in touch passively with your social networks. Post useful and thought-leadership-articles often on yourLinkedIn profile; tweet and re-tweet valuable information on Twitter and drop birthday messages on Facebook. These are a few ways to stay in touch.

In closing, if you keep at these, before long quality people will flock in your direction and you will reap great value from social media, thereby increasing your social capital in the long term. Remember, when staying in touch on social media, do not fall into the temptation to ask for a favour too early. This is the golden rule of harnessing value from your social networks.