Iggy Pintado has put together a great article on The 4 Ps of Online Networking.  Like all who know the space deeply, Pintado has, of course, started with purpose.

So next time you’re in one of those wonderful meetings when the phrase ‘we need to start doing social media’ or ‘we need a (insert web 2.0 tool here)’ crops up – ignore it.  And bring it back to the purpose, issue or problem at hand.

It’s from here that you can select suitable business objectives and from this the correct and most relevant tool can be identified.

Understandably, I push for the adoption of digital both in principle and technology but I’m always mindful of not only the bottom line, but the end user.

A great deal of resources will, and should, be utilised, so it’s best to have a clear and concise outline of the task at hand.  This also adds clarity for the rest of the team, or more to the point, your superiors who may need to sign off on it.

Start collecting the wealth of information from the community by listening. Then take a step back from your own organisation or project and think about your own needs.  Every case is different — social media is not a “one size fits all” model.  Nor should it be.

In summary:

  • Purpose
  • Profile
  • Participation
  • Persistence

These are the steps to successful networking.

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