Are you a small business owner wanting to widen your network, increase your reach and grow your audience? Social media is one of the most cost-effective ways to create relationships with both your customers and fellow like-mined business owners. The social sphere can also be use to find and reach out to people with similar business or industry interests, join groups, form communities or tribes.

Relationships and connections with people in life is a basic human need… its everything. It’s the same with peers in the business world. Connecting with fellow business owners can be both supportive and empowering. Whether you are looking for a potential partner, a prospect, a collaborator, a thought leader or a mentor.

Connecting with other business professionals offline in networking situations is of course invaluable too, but follow up is your currency. Taking the time to follow up with people you met by email or connecting with them on social media, opens a window into each other’s world. Using Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook tc. to comment and congratulate each other on milestones in business bridges a gap. It keeps you in touch with past (as well as current) clients. This will keep you relevant and top of mind for future projects or referrals.

Being a service to others is an important factor in these exchanges and the following 5 tips explains how you can use different social platforms to do so:

5 Ways You Can you Connect With Like-Minded Professionals:

1. Join a Linkedin Group - Most of us our members of various groups that we have joined over the years, but how many of us check in with that group and respond to group discussions regularly? Try picking one or two groups that you want to channel your energy into that will serve a purpose for your business or your chosen industry. Creating fresh content in the form of a blog post on LinkedIn or curating useful content and resources that you have found also builds trust in your expertise.

ProTip: Schedule at least 10 -15 minutes once a week to check in with that group. Contribute to the recent discussions and offer help by sharing useful resource like your favorite business tools or apps.

2. Explore Facebook Groups – You can use the Facebook search bar at the top left corner to find people, places and things but have you tried using it to find where your ideal clients and customers are hanging out? You can find like-minded people who live in a particular area, who like certain interests such as DIY, fashion, foodies that are relevant for your business or market? You need to use your personal profile to do this, but using this search feature will help you find relevant Facebook groups to you and your business. My personal favorite is a working mothers group called The Mama CEO Club run by Megan Flatt. Not only is it a great resource with great tools like productivity hacks, but it is a supportive community for busy moms juggling their own businesses.

ProTips: A good place to start is to search what groups follow your own business page e.g. “groups of people that like Prim’d Marketing”, then competitors or businesses that serve a similar audience. Once you find a group, check recent posts to make sure it’s of interest, hang out for a while to get a lay of the land before introducing yourself. Also ask your peers which Facebook groups they recommend.

4. Discover Google+ Communities – you can also find similar business related communities on Google+, where lots of creative people are offering workshops in the form of Google Hangouts.

5. Find Your Blog Tribes  – Blogging can be an isolating art form. For those who either write their own blog or appreciate the creative process of writing one – the time involved putting something out there can feel a bit one-sided. Good news is you are not alone. There are plenty of blog tribes out there to discover, to connect with people talking about or sharing similar content to your own - both on-line and through blogging events throughout the country. This can lead to finding supportive peers and also guest blog post opportunities, I mentioned this in our blogging series that “it takes a village” to help write quality articles, and offer some content in exchange.

Using social media to connect and network with like-minded professionals by sharing and commenting on each other’s content, creates support and community. It also stretches your reach beyond your own network, by tapping into their social following, which can result into more client or customer enquiries. It has worked for us and it can work for you.

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Jenni here, and I have a confession to make. In the past I haven't always focused on Twitter. As the "creative brain" here at Prim'd Marketing, I placed more emphasis on the visual platforms like Pinterest and Instagram.  But this past spring when we launched Prim'd, I realized I needed to get more serious about Twitter.  I’ve had an account since 2008, but sometimes I felt like a lot of our clients do: like I was shouting into roaring river of tweets, and I’d often ask myself, “Is anyone even listening to me?" 

A couple of months ago I sat down with Sophie, who not only has a huge following herself, but also has built large followings for brands in the past.  We started to sketch out some plans for Twitter, both for my personal account, as well as for our Prim'd Twitter account (since we're now building our following from scratch). 

I was surprised how easily and quickly I started seeing growth once I put our plans into place. But more than that, I was astonished by how much I actually loved Tweeting. I didn't realize how easily Twitter allows you to easily strike up conversations with just about anyone  — and the feeling I got the first time I was re-tweeted by an established expert made me realize how indifferent I'd been to one of the most powerful business tools out there.

So, now that I'm brushing up on my Twitter skills, here a couple of things that I've learned or read along the way that have been helpful:

1. Stop Sub Tweeting

This was a term that I learned a couple of months ago, and it’s something that we see a lot when our clients first start on Twitter. Sub-tweeting is when you find a great article or video, and share it on Twitter, but you don’t credit or mention the author:

The issue with this, is not just about giving acknowledgement those who deserve it, but you’re also limiting your chances of engagement. How is that person supposed to know you like their article if you don’t get their attention in some way? Often times authors will favorite or re-tweet  which can mean lots of new potential followers seeing your post, checking your profile and following you. So, stop sub-tweeting, and start use phrases like "cc" or "via," or "by @twitterhandlename” to boost engagement:

2. Don't Be Shy - Connect

When you first start to build a Twitter following for your business, try to respond to every person who engages with you. If they re-tweet or follow you, direct message (or DM) them and thank them.  At some point in your growth, you will want to analyze and refine your following based on target demographics. But in the beginning stages you're trying to build momentum, so the focus should be on creating the highest number of quality interactions as possible. 

Time Saving Tip:  Participate in #followfriday (or #ff). On Fridays, you can welcome any new followers who have joined you that week by tweeting "#FF" and then tagging their names in your post:

 

3. Follow Users and Tweets Relevant to your Business

Favorite articles and follow users that relate to your area of expertise. For example, my business helps other business owners with social media, blogging and company newsletters. I spent some time looking for people who are marketing experts, or experts in our client's industries. Each week I will retweet or favorite articles that are relevant to my own customers as well as other people who are in my industry. This type of interaction helps build a community of relevant experts and like-minded business owners who can become potential brand partners or customers. 

Time Saving Tip: I use Pocket as a way of storing posts, and schedule them later in my Twitter feed. That allows me to "save up" that time, so I can focus for a couple of hours on a Monday or Tuesday instead of trying to do it sporadically throughout the week. 

 

4. Have a great Twitter Profile

When I come to your page I want to know who you are and how you relate to me and my business. Could you be a potential partner? A resource? A customer? A business that I might be interested in? Have a great description and a profile picture with your logo that tells me you're communicating as a corporate entity, or a great headshot that lets me know that you're an individual tweeting for a business. 

Your profile should have: a great picture of you (if it's a personal account), a description with key topics followers can expect to talk with you about, and a link to your website.

5. Use Twitter as Your Business's "Grand Central Station"

Out of all the social media platforms out there, Twitter's stream by far moves the fastest. Scroll down your feed and you'll see hundreds of tweets, all posted within the last twenty minutes. It's easy to get lost in all of the other things going on. But the upside is that your business can tweet once an hour or even once every half hour without turning people off. We recommend that businesses use Twitter as their "Grand Central station" and include all of the updates, posts, images, or articles that also go through their Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. Add in a couple of relevant hashtags to allow people to discover your tweet or track a campaign, and you'll be maximizing your businesses opportunities to widen your audience and connect with the people you're after. 

What is the hardest part of using Twitter for your business? Any tips you've learned along the way?

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