Business executives and coaches constantly debate on the one asset that is needed to succeed in the business world. Some individuals say that charisma is essential, others note teamwork as indispensable. Still, a third group states that each individual situation calls for different leadership styles.

Above all else, success in the business world depends on your network. You can have charisma, the ability to lead a team, money, and heart but if you don’t have a network of connections that can help your business, you won’t make it very far.

Developing or growing your network is easy, especially with LinkedIn. Let’s take a look at how you can use LinkedIn Groups to form a helpful and formidable group of allies in your niche.

What are LinkedIn Groups?

LinkedIn Groups are communities of people with one particular interest or quality in common. There are a wide range of LinkedIn Groups, including groups for marketers, musicians, evangelists, and comic book fans. Whatever your niche or interest, there is probably a group. If there isn’t, you have the ability to create a group in order to build a community of like-minded individuals.

How do LinkedIn Groups operate?

LinkedIn Groups operate like message boards. Members can post topics, articles, or interesting facts and other members can comment appropriately. It’s a great way to spur on communication and to build rapport with people who are a similar mindset or interest.

LinkedIn recently revamped their Groups section and now users can “Like” other posts and a most popular posts feed displays when you first enter the group, giving it more of a Facebook-ish feel. Some Groups also have sections for job postings and promoting your work, which only increases the usefulness of the group.

How can I use a group to grow my network?

There are three ways that you can use a LinkedIn Group to grow your network. First, you can post various articles and opinionated questions in order to generate responses from others. Once members have responded, continue the conversation and build rapport. There is no point to post threads if you’re not going to respond to the insight other people have given.

Second, respond to postings that other members started. This will show that you are an outgoing person and that you don’t mind sharing your opinion. Just as if you were starting the thread, be sure to respond when someone else comments on your thoughts. Generating conversation builds trust and influence.

Finally, you can use the Members tab to see the members of the group and you can strike up private conversations with individuals. If you are looking for individuals in the Chicago area to meet and brainstorm marketing ideas, you might go through the members of various marketing groups and ask Chicago-based professionals if they would be interested in attending. If you go this route, make sure that you don’t come across as a spammer. No one likes people who spam and are only looking out for themselves.

Once you have found some interesting people, whether its through conversation or the membership list, send them an invitation to join your network. If they find that you would be a beneficial part of their circle, they’ll accept.

There you have it–growing your network through LinkedIn Groups.

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Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by tychay

If you scroll through any social media or marketing how-to website, you’ll most likely find an article about why conversation is important in building relationships.  In fact, we have quite a few of those articles on this website.  It’s true – conversation generates connections and connections lead to great opportunities.  However, conversation only opens a small amount of doors.  And, it can also hurt your push for greatness.

If conversation and connection isn’t the key, what is?

Action.

Without action, our conversations, connections, and attempts at networking are useless.  Yes, conversation is needed to establish rapport but it can’t be the only thing you use to establish your relationships with others.  You don’t have a relationship with the security officer in your building who you happen to greet each morning.  You’ve done nothing to establish a rapport; you’ve only allowed pleasantries to roll off your tongue.  Kindness and smooth talking can only get you so far.  Actions help to build relationships and increase your chances of success.

So, now that you know relationships aren’t built on conversation alone, what can you do to develop the connections you’ve made?

Gratitude

It’s a simple step that individuals often avoid – showing gratitude.  Why?  It makes us feel uncomfortable.  Gratitude requires giving up your selfish interests and doing something for others.  Although it can weird us out, showing gratitude toward others is an instant relationship builder.  Receiving a selfless act of kindness is one of the best feelings and can often compel people to return the favor.

Here’s an example:

Throughout the week, we talk to many people through the Folk Media account.  Whether it’s via @replies or direct messages, we engage in conversation.  It spreads the word about Folk Media but it also allows for us to plant the seeds of relationships in others.  However, we know this isn’t the key to relationships.

Every Friday, we go through the past week of Twitter conversations and we #FollowFriday everyone that has talked with us.  We don’t just list everyone in a single tweet and call it a day.  We take the time to highlight the good aspects of each person – great conversationalist, good website, knowledgeable about social media, etc.  Giving Twitter props is a great way to show gratitude and it helps us get more exposure because most people return the favor.

Yes, it’s simple and doesn’t require much effort but in the end, most actions of gratitude don’t require much on your part.  Show some gratitude and you’ll begin to see your network and relationships grow.

Preemptive Action

It’s a no-brainer but preemptive action is really the best way to start off a relationship.  Not only does it make a great first impression, but it also shows the other person that you’re interested in helping them out and that you want to partner with them.  When people feel like someone cares about them, they begin to think of better ideas, create more informative content, and achieve more.  So, why wouldn’t you meet the needs of another person?

A great way to do this is just by asking “What can I do for you?”  Your new aquiaintance might be hesitant at first but after a few minutes, they will begin talking about how you can help them.  I often put this question to work when I connect with someone I don’t know on LinkedIn.  I send them a personalized introductory message and ask what I can do for them.  Some people respond and others don’t but it’s all about the effort.  The relationships that can be built with preemptive action are amazing.  Put yourself out there and serve another person before you need something from them.  At the end of the day, people are going to remember more what you did for them than what they did for you.

Make a good impression and stick in their mind.  You never know what a simple preemptive action might do to your career, home life, or retirement fund.

Conversation is great and it can lead to some excellent opportunities but it’s only the first step in relationship building.

So many people rely on conversation alone to get them through job changes, family issues, and personal problems.  However, actions have more influence than simple conversation.  Actions can show you really care about the relationship and will help create a network based on trust, not simply words.

I challenge you to take action in one relationship each day this week.  Do something for another person and mean it.  You never know how you will be repaid…

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Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by flaivoloka

A survey was recently conducted by Red Associates, a Denmark-based polling service, that found Facebook users did not “deepen or strengthen their friendships” using the service.  The participants stated that Facebook did not deliver on its promise to “connect and share with the people in your life.”  Instead, more than half of the people surveyed viewed Facebook as a digitized phone book or gossip board.

Frankly, there is a problem with those results.  Although the article doesn’t dive into the details, I have a hunch that a majority of the people surveyed don’t actually try to use Facebook as a tool to strengthen their friendships.  If you don’t put in a little effort, of course it won’t help you develop closer relationships!

I firmly believe that users don’t intend to botch their Facebook experience.  Instead, I think a majority of Facebook users don’t know how to use the social networking service effectively.  They see comments, messages, and fan pages and immediately take a bird’s eye view, as is they were watching the plot of a movie unfold.

The problem isn’t with Facebook and it’s so-called fake promises.  The problem lies within the user and the lack of education on how to connect using Facebook.

So, how do we solve this crisis?  How can users dive deep into the waters of Facebook?  What steps can be taken to reverse this trend?

**Warning: The steps detailed below will require a person to exert some effort.  Building relationships on Facebook, or anywhere for that matter, doesn’t happen automatically.  If you aren’t willing to devote a small amount of time to this process, stop reading.  Otherwise, let’s get rolling.**

The Process:

1. Develop your goals and expectations
2. Reach out and initiate conversation
3. Continue to foster the interactions
4. Repeat steps 2 & 3

To begin transforming Facebook from phone book to relationship builder, you need to set goals and expectations for your experience.  Remember, this is where the problem started last time.  It goes without saying that you want to use Facebook to deepen your interactions with people.  But how?  Saying you will use the site just isn’t enough, especially since that is what landed us in this situation.

When you’re developing your goals and expectations for your Facebook experience, ask these questions:

• How many people do I want to connect with on a daily or weekly basis?
• What tools and resources will I use to do that? (Comments, messages, groups, etc)

Both of the questions listed above will help you center your goals and make them reasonable.

Next, do it.  Connect with five or 10 people a week using comments.  Enter the fan pages you belong to and start discussing different things.  Don’t just sit there with the goals in front of you and wait.  The goals can’t achieve themselves.

Creating a schedule to help you manage your connections (and time) is a great way to jump start your relationship building pursuits.  If you want to connect with 5 people a week, allow yourself time Monday through Friday to connect with one person.  Don’t be an overachiever.  Stick to the schedule.  If you don’t, you’ll create unrealistic expectations for yourself and when you don’t achieve them, you will give up.  Again, stick to the schedule.

After you have started your interactions, it’s critical to keep them going.  Once your friend responds to your comment or message, keep the conversation going until it has naturally reached its course.  Don’t force anything but make sure that you make an impact on your friend.  One or two sentence pleasantries don’t deepen relationships.  The conversation and information after the formalities hold together the friendship.

Finally, when all is said and done, start over.  After week one, start week two.  Move onto weeks three, four, and five.  Don’t stop connecting because once you do, you’ll break your rhythm and won’t be able to regain it.

As I said before, this plan requires effort and without it, no relationships will prosper.  If you’d like to stop using Facebook as a gossip tool and use it as a social networking tool, build relationships.  No formal training is required.  Just put yourself out there, begin conversation, and stick with it.

Here are a few tips to help you along the way:

• Comments and messages make connecting easy.  Use them to your advantage.
• Pick a few friends that share your interests and try connecting with them first.  This will ease you into the process.
• Groups and pages are a great way to connect with other people you don’t know but they can take up a lot of time.

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Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by nkzs

Written By Eric Alpin

No matter how long you have been a part of a social networking website, one of the toughest tasks is actually maintaining your network.  No, I’m not talking about adding and deleting friends, followers, or connections.  I’m referring to staying connected with the people in your social network.

Far too often, we approve a connection or friend and we don’t do anything.  They become just another number to us.  The key to social networking is not having the most friends or followers; it’s about building relationships and maintaining connections.

Maintaining your social network can be quite beneficial.  First, you never know who will need a hand down the road.  When you connect with people, they may come to you with problems questions.  If you choose to help them out, you will demonstrate your relationship is valuable.  Also, you might develop partnerships that could influence your future.  Staying connected with Billy or Sally could lead you to a good friend, business partner, or even mate.

So, how do you stay connected with your social network?

Step 1:  Assess Your Connections

The first step in maintaining your social network is to assess your current connections.  In order to maintain your network, you need to know what connections you already have.  If you have ever fallen into the “tons-of-friends” trap, you might not know who you are connected to.  Take a quick browse through your friends list, followers, or connections.  It might be helpful to write down or type out any key connections you want to maintain.

Step 2:  How You Will Stay Connected

This is probably the hardest step in the process.  Deciding how you will stay connected with a person can be tricky.  There are many things to consider, such as public or private conversation, time, and word choice.  If you don’t mind other people seeing your conversation, or if you will be making casual conversation, a comment or direct tweet probably would suffice.  However, if you’re going to go in-depth about relationships and careers, you might want to stay connected with a private message.  Also, remember that connections take time.  Whether it is just one sentence or 15, it will still take time to formulate and send.

Step 3:  Plan of Attack

After determining how you will stay connected, you will need to develop a plan of attack.  It wouldn’t be a smart idea to take five hours of your day to comment or message each one of your friends or followers.  That could get quite messy.  Develop a manageable plan for maintaining your connections.  For example, if you have 50 people you will connect with, comment or message two of them each day for 25 days.  This will be less stressful for you and less of a load on your networking profile.

Step 4:  Keep Them Up!

The final step in maintaining your network is to keep up with your connections.  Don’t let the people you connect with fall by the wayside.  Don’t worry – it is necessary to comment or direct message someone once a week to maintain the connection.  Maybe you decide once a month or once a quarter is good.  However, do not connect with someone simply because you need something.  This does not make you look good and does not help your relationship.

Keeping up with your connections is a crucial part of social networking.  In fact, it’s the reason why social networking websites were developed.  All in all, maintaining your network will allow for you to build better relationships with your friends, followers, and connections, and you never know how those relationships will play out…

Eric Alpin is a social media enthusiast, blogger, creative genius, and avid reader. Eric enjoys maintaining his website, ericalpin.com, editing and shooting video, reading, hanging out with his friends and girlfriend, and playing sports. Eric works full-time for a telecommunications company in the Baltimore, Md. area and is currently seeking his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook.

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