Do you find yourself overwhelmed by all the social networking obligations you now seem to have?
BacN, brethren of SPAM, is the name for all the emails we get from friends and associates asking us to join social networks. They all have our best intentions at heart, of course, they've just finally learned about Gliffy or Prophylactic and want us to know all about it, too. Problem being, we're already trying to keep up with LinkedIn, Facebook, and Naymz as it is.
Where does it all end and how can we get a handle on this?
I propose a personal Web 2.0 strategy that will help you make the decisions on what sites to join and what sites to shy from. A strategy will ensure you're maximizing the power of Web 2.0 without drowning in it. It's easy to start to feel left out, but if you have a winning plan you
can put your head down at night not wondering if you should have posted
that video on Revver, too.
The first step in creating your strategy is to define your goals. Why are you a member of these sites anyway? To meet people? To promote your business?
As an example to get you started, below is a simplified version of my personal Web 2.0 strategy. My goal? To help promote my personal brand while acquiring a network of potential clients (and fans) for my writing and speaking gigs.
Social Networking
LinkedIn - I'm a member of LinkedIn to help meet professionals and acquire important personal testimonials.
Facebook - I don't do too much on Facebook yet, but the power of their reach and the groups feature is worth the price of admission for me long term.
Social Media
YouTube - I post my instructional email videos on YouTube. They are informational and general in nature to help promote my speaking as well as inform people.
Flickr - Haven't fully leveraged Flickr yet, but I will post pictures of my speaking engagements and training seminars to help people see me in action and understand how it looks to do business with me.
Podcasting - My podcasts are more opinionated, rant-type of posts that focus on email and web in general.
Social Bookmarking
Del.icio.us - I use this service for all my favorites. Some I "share" and others not. Some are business and some are personal. I tend not to share the business ones.
Blogging
Typepad - My blog is for thoughtful and useful articles. More helpful and journalistic in nature. Showcases my writing and creates subscribers who could potentially buy my future books and products.
Twitter - Micro-blogging. I use this as a vehicle to gain followers I wouldn't normally get through my blog. I do no promotion through Twitter, I simply post quotes of the day. It's unique for Twitter and feels like a breath of fresh air within this navel-gazing community.
Pulling It All Together
Google Reader - The simplest RSS reader for me to use. I do not subscribe to more than15 blogs at a time and I set aside one morning and one evening each week to read them. I am very discerning and skip any posts that do not relate to me gaining knowledge in my core areas: email, web, client service.
FriendFeed - The granddaddy of all aggregators in my opinion. This is a one-stop shop for feeds. You have to see it to understand its power. Go to www.friendfeed.com.
What's Next?
It's hard to say if I'll join any more social networking sites. I'm also on Naymz, HubPages, and Squidoo to name a few, but it's difficult to find time and a place for these sites in my strategy, though they are all excellent sites in their own right.
For additional reading, check out Chris Brogan's blog at www.chrisbrogan.com. He is dedicated to writing 100 useful social networking blog posts in a row. Worth checking out. Another great blog on this topic is from Scott Monty at www.scottmonty.com.
Come back next week and I'll share the mind map of my Web 2.0 strategy along with how to reach me at all of these sites.
Do you have a strategy? Tell us about it.