It’s important to establish which social media platforms you’ll focus on so you don’t waste time building social profiles that don’t help you achieve your networking goals.

Your goal needs to align with the social media platform you plan to use. For example, LinkedIn is a great place for finding potential partners, employers, or people with whom to collaborate. It’s not necessarily the place to increase your customer base, or to try to sell.

Remember, it’s okay to be selective. Not every social media platform is right for you and your goals. It’s better to have quality connections on one platform that supports your goals than minimal visibility on a bunch of different platforms.

Step 1 – Choose Your Channels

With so many social media platforms out there, it can be overwhelming to decide which ones are right for you. To start, find out where the people you’d like to network with spend the most time on social media, and make those channels your focus.

To determine which platform is best for you, check out these main social media platforms:

Facebook

With over 2.13 billion followers as of February 2018 (Source), Facebook is the largest and most widely used social media network. What’s great about Facebook is its many different features such as Groups, Messenger, and Live that you can use to network within the platform.

A word of caution: If you plan to use Facebook for professional networking, remember that there is a fine line between personal and professional. Depending on the feature you’re using, your connections have access to everything you post, unless you specify who can see what. You can use features like Friends Lists to categorize your connections so that you’re sharing directly to the appropriate connections. Regardless, it’s wise to maintain a sense of professionalism when posting anything on Facebook.

You should consider using different Facebook features and apps if the people you want to connect with spend a lot of time on Facebook and use it for business, not just personal interaction. In that case, put your efforts into Facebook if your goals are to:

• Find and start building more personal relationships with prospective clients
• Look for new joint venture opportunities
• Connect with experts in your field or in adjacent fields
• Expand your reputation as an expert
• Learn more about your ideal customers’ needs

To take advantage of all the networking opportunities that Facebook has to offer, it takes more than just your personal profile. Here are a few of the most popular features of Facebook that will help you with your professional networking:

Facebook Groups

Join Facebook Groups to build new relationships with people you may not have met any other way. By joining a specific group, you can share your point of view, contribute to discussions, and share helpful information.

If you can’t find the right Facebook Group for your topic of interest, you can easily create your own group. Create a group to engage with potential clients in a group setting or even to elevate your status as a thought leader by sharing your knowledge within a group. One easy way to get people to join your group is by inviting your Facebook friends with similar interests to the group. You can also promote your group by sharing content and giving others a reason to join.

Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger is a messaging app within Facebook that lets you build relationships in real time and respond to people right away. It’s a great way to build connections individually, sending personal messages.

Facebook Live

By using Facebook Live, you can engage with your connections via live streaming. It’s a great tool for reaching out to your connections because you can share information, ask and answer questions, and even receive feedback in real time. It’s also easily accessible from your computer or your mobile devices.

Instagram

One of the biggest benefits to using Instagram for Social Media Networking is that you can take advantage of hashtags. Use hashtags to discover and create meaningful connections. For example, if you’re looking to learn more about your ideal customers’ needs, search common hashtags to see what your clients are “talking” or posting about.

Statistics show that Instagram appeals more to the 18 to 29 age range, though that is changing as older generations get more comfortable with the app.

So if you plan to network with a slightly younger demographic, Instagram is great for these networking goals:

• Find and start building relationships with prospective customers
• Connect with experts in your field or in adjacent fields
• Learn more about your ideal customer’s needs
• Learn about different industries
• Develop affiliate relationships so they will want to promote your products

LinkedIn

When people think of Social Media Networking platforms for business, LinkedIn is what usually comes to mind. LinkedIn is the most common platform in this area since it’s targeted specifically for professionals, unlike Facebook and Instagram. This means that people take LinkedIn a little more seriously, especially when it comes to business.

The biggest benefit to LinkedIn is that it’s perhaps the most genuinely professional platform. You’re less likely to find fake profiles, offensive memes or fake news stories, or people oversharing from their personal lives.

Because there’s less spam, people are more likely to find and promote authentic content. LinkedIn is for professionals with the intent to network, share ideas, have meaningful discussions, and create real connections.

“People are more careful about what they say on LinkedIn, because it’s essentially their default resume,” says M. Scott Havens, global head of digital for Bloomberg Media. “We see a much cleaner conversation that’s supportive, positive and actually useful.” Source

LinkedIn best supports these Social Media Networking goals:

• Look for new joint venture opportunities
• Connect with experts in your field or in adjacent fields
• Expand your reputation as an expert
• Hire and build a team
• Learn about different industries
• Find potential employers/jobs/employees

Twitter

Twitter is a stripped-down version of Facebook that is very powerful when it comes to Social Media Networking. Many people prefer Twitter because it’s so straightforward, so easy to tweet and users don’t have to maintain a full-blown profile like Facebook and Instagram.

A key difference is that Twitter limits the number of characters in a tweet, meaning you have to get to the point fairly quickly – no long form posts like in Facebook.

Twitter is a great networking tool because you can:

• Tweet to promote your business and expand your reputation as an expert
• Share helpful tips that can reach a wide array of followers
• Tweet directly to people you’d like to make connections with
• Follow other companies to learn about different industries
• Follow experts in your field or adjacent fields to stay up-to-date

A few of the features in Twitter that can help you with your professional networking are:

Twitter Lists

Although Twitter Lists are underused, they are extremely valuable for maintaining your relationships with your connections. Your main Twitter feed will end up cluttered with all kinds of random tweets, but Lists give you the ability to focus on the specific people you decide to add.

You can create private lists that let you add certain people to help you keep tabs on what they’re up to on Twitter.

Ideas for lists:

• Influencers in your industry
• Newsmakers to keep up with the latest news
• People you chat with or engage with a lot
• Competitors
• People you’ve met from in-person events
• Coworkers

Retweets

Retweets are a great feature for networking. A retweet is when you share someone else’s original tweet. By retweeting, you endorse another person’s idea or thought.

Remember, anything you endorse or retweet is a direct reflection of you. If it’s not necessarily professional in nature, make sure it is at the very least appropriate.

Pinned Tweets

Pinned Tweets are a great way to highlight what you stand for. You can pin one of your tweets to the top of your profile so whenever anyone views your profile, the first thing they’ll see is your pinned tweet.

Use pinned tweets to link to your original content or just to share content that represents what you are all about. You can change your pinned tweets to increase engagement – try different types of tweets to see what works best for your networking.

Step 2 – Perfect Your Profiles

“How you present yourself is how people first view you. What are you showcasing?” – Mama Zara

First impressions matter. Just like you would dress professionally for a networking event, your social profile needs to be a professional representation of who you are and what you stand for. Think of your profile as an in-depth calling card.

Your profile should reflect your core message and business goals. Anyone who visits your profile should get an immediate sense of who you are, what you do, and the value you offer.

Tips for the Perfect Social Media Profile:

• Keep your profile brief and to the point
• Lead with your expertise and use pinned posts to show off your best content
• Add a professional headshot as your profile picture
• Use the same profile picture across platforms to grow recognition and followers
• Un-tag yourself from unflattering pictures and posts
• Use a simple username that is the same across platforms to make it easy for others to find and tag you
• Include SEO keywords in your profile so you show up in search results, expanding your reach
• Complete every field in your profile (LinkedIn especially loves a complete bio, including samples of your work and videos or slides)
• Use language that is engaging and easy to read
• Link to your other social media platforms and your main website and/or lead magnet page, and ensure all links are working correctly
• Ask a few connections for reviews or endorsements

Remember, for many people your online profile is their first impression of you, so make it a great one and take the time to set up it up completely. For the best results, get your profiles set up properly before reaching out to new connections.