Ten Ways to Get Into the Right Clique for Networking

Do Your Research

Before reaching out to friends of friends, make sure you take the time to learn all you can about them from their profiles. "Look at schools and the different companies they've worked at and see if there are commonalities," says Krista Canfield, publicity manager at LinkedIn. "That way, the email is more personal." And they are more likely to help you or recommend you.

Be Centered

Keeping up to date with all the social networking sites can be pretty time consuming. Ease your burden somewhat by including your company URL in your profile. That way, those who want more information can go there and you don't annoy those in your network with too much business talk.

Reach Out and Ask Someone

One of the best ways to get the conversation going and build a deeper network is posting a question that pertains to your industry. Or use the feedback feature to float a business idea or product. According to Canfield, 93% of questions asked in LinkedIn's Answers section receive responses.

Make the Most of the Relationship

With the social networking Web site that is. For example, LinkedIn lets users create a customized LinkedIn URL. Facebook lets you upload video and allow viewers to comment. Both networking sites can offer you snapshots of people responding to your questions or profile. And both companies have recently added applications specifically aimed at small businesses. LinkedIn's DirectAds allows you to target your advertising, while Facebook partnered with Visa (V) to create the Visa Business Network.

Spend Quality Time

Setting up a profile should not be the end all. Experts advise to keep your content fresh. If you're going to list events on your Facebook profile, update them. If you're going to post pictures, update them. But don't spend every day trolling the sites. According to an ongoing BNI survey, the sweet spot is eight hours a week, says Misner.

Hire a Pro

Still not sure how to keep up with this? Companies like Dotster can do the heavy lifting. Dotster can build a community tab onto your Web site, monitor community activities, even moderate chat rooms, starting at $199 a month. "We also offer portability," says Ross Johnston, vice president of business development. "When you're conducting forums or chats or even putting in classified ads, you don't own that data. The data sits on MySpace's servers. We choose an open source, open social and open ID. On our platform, we can move it to their site."

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