In business, sometimes you have to say no. The same advice holds true in the world of social networking. If your goal is to develop a top-notch online network, not every person is going to be a valuable contact. Being selective in your response to invitations to connect can make a big difference in the quality of your network and in how others perceive you. You may have mail, but you shouldn’t always answer it.
After you join a social networking site, you’ll invariably start to receive connection requests from people you don’t know. Many of these people may be good contacts; others may not. Knowing whom to respond to—as well as how to respond—can make a big difference in how successful you are in meeting your social networking goals.
Let’s look at two IT managers, both of whom joined a social networking site with the goal of finding new, more lucrative employment opportunities. They both created quality profiles and proceeded to develop a network of contacts. Jessica’s strategy was to amass the largest collection of contacts she could find, hoping to break the site’s “more than 500 contacts” threshold. Her reasoning was that if she had that many contacts, recruiters and employers would deem her successful and employable. Jessica accepted all requests to connect without hesitation. She rarely reviewed the profile of the sender; she just clicked the Accept button and happily added another contact. By following this strategy, however, she ended up with a large number of contacts in totally unrelated professions who could have little impact on her job search. In other words, she connected with a lot of other “name collectors.”
Bart took a totally different strategy. His “less is more” approach made him review every connection request individually. If the request came from someone whose profile was professional, and ideally in his own industry, he would accept. He would answer the requests from the most viable contacts with a personalized response, with the goal of making a true business contact and not just adding another name to his collection. Bart’s professional, but friendly response to these selected requests helped his new contacts remember him favorably.
In the end, Bart’s strategy paid off even though his total number of contacts was just 127. One of the people who received Bart’s personalized response knew of an unadvertised opening for an IT director at his company. He referred Bart to the hiring manager, and Bart was selected for the position. Because Jessica was focused more on collecting names than on developing relationships, she never made direct contact with the person who led Bart to his new position.
Sometimes the problem isn’t selecting which invitations to accept, but how to handle requests from your existing contacts. Although most people keep their requests reasonable and professional, you’re bound to encounter one or two that make you cringe. For example, your social networking contacts could
Ask you for special favors in finding a job—. If someone you don’t really know asks you for a personal recommendation, think twice. You’re not just helping an online contact, you’re putting your own reputation on the line. It’s one thing to pass on basic information to a little-known contact, such as the name of a recruiter or a link to a job posting that could suit him. It’s another to vouch for the credentials of someone you don’t really know, even if that person appears to have a solid background based on his profile.
Ask for free advice or services—. Online contacts often ask each other for advice about their area of expertise, and most people answer routine requests in the spirit of cooperation and collaboration. But some people take this too far, asking others to review detailed documents, provide extensive professional or legal advice, or offer consulting services—for free. Also be wary of contacts who ask for comprehensive proposals requiring you to reveal the details of what you would do and how you would do it—if they were to “hire” you. Many proposal requests are legitimate, but some are veiled solicitations for free advice.
Ask for money—. How to handle this type of request is pretty obvious. Unless it’s a legitimate investment opportunity (very rare), most money-related requests are scams. And unfortunately, most people involved in social networking for any length of time receive a request or two of this nature.
Make a personal request, such as asking personal questions or asking for a date—. Yes, it’s obvious what to do with these requests and yes, it’s unfortunate that they do happen, even on professional, business-oriented social networking sites. Remember that it’s in the social networking site’s best interest to provide a professional environment for its members. Most offer a way to report unprofessional or abusive behavior and often ban offenders. Be sure to report this type of activity.
Keep in mind that the email you receive on social networking sites is a lot like your regular email. There’s the good, the bad, and the ugly. Although common sense dictates the best way to respond—or not—to most mail, you also need to be strategic in a social networking setting. Finding the right balance between acting in the spirit of online cooperation and doing what’s best for you professionally is the key to making the most of your email communications through social networking.