Top 5 Reasons to Organize Your Social Media Relationships
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You, like most everyone else, have a ton of contacts you’ve met through Twitter, Facebook, your blog, and numerous other Social Media networking sites. And that’s where any information you have regarding those relationships stays… on Twitter, Facebook, etc.
You need to organize and manage those relationships… for your benefit and theirs. So now you're wondering… how beneficial can that really be?
Well here it is (drum roll, please)… the Top 5 Reasons why you need to organize and manage your Social Media relationships:
5) Facebook, Twitter, etc…
With all the contacts you have today, some seriously potential relationships can slip away without you even being aware of it. You need to keep track of your major relationships… at least have the names of your contacts, their Twitter page, Facebook page, and website or blog.
4) Joint Ventures
You have a great idea for an amazing online or offline business venture. What you need is someone else with specific skills to make the idea work and rocket to success. If you’ve organized your Social Media relationships, and have basic information on those contacts, your joint venture partner may be as close as your keyboard.
3) Traffic Generation
You’ve got a blog and a website up. You built it, but nobody came. How do you get people to know about you and get interested in what you have? What’s important, is that the people you tell about your product or service, are the people who would potentially buy it. Do you know what your contacts want? Do you know what they do and what their interests are? Research, record and organize your Social Media relationships. You do not want to bark up the wrong tree with your marketing message.
2) Web Presence
Building a web presence is all about other people spreading the word about you through Twitter, Facebook, blog comments, etc. How do you get people to do that? You have to keep up your relationship with them, keep up to what they’re all about, and spread the word about them. By organizing and managing your Social Media relationships it is actually possible to keep up with them and to stay involved.
And here it is… Number 1: Sales!
People are more likely to buy from people they know, like and trust. How do you get people to know, like and trust you? Keep in touch with them. Put yourself in their world often… and very rarely to sell them something. When they know you and understand what you know… sales are a natural progression. Organize your Social Media relationships so you can easily manage and sustain them.
As you can see it IS beneficial to organize and manage your Social Media relationships. It’s a win-win for you and the other people in the relationships.
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2010-01-12 @ 10:40 pm
Great article guys, makes a lot of sense & yet how many people keep track of this, research the relationship & leverage each opportunity? Hmmmm.
Thanks for posting this up.
2010-01-14 @ 11:59 pm
Great points. Now I’m wondering – HOW? Must be some tool out there to gather up and sort and tag and… Ideas?
2010-01-16 @ 1:46 pm
Lilia,
Our favorite cool tool for this is at http://TheCoolestCouple.com/cooltool1
~Pat & Lorna
uberVU - social comments
2010-01-27 @ 8:18 am
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Friendfeed by Pat & Lorna Shanks: Top 5 Reasons to Organize Your Social Media Relationships: You, like most everyone else, have a ton of contacts you… http://ping.fm/tTVWj…
2010-05-25 @ 8:15 am
Hi there Coolest Couple,
I love all of these reasons to organize your social media relationships. It gave me something to think about. What method do you use for organization? Have you found something that works well for you?
.-= Debbie Stevens´s last blog ..The Picture of Success =-.
2010-05-26 @ 7:02 pm
Debbie,
We use a program called “PersonalBrain”.
To get an idea of what it’s all about, check out => http://ToTheBrain.com
We’ve been using it for over 10 years and we find a very, very useful tool.
Thanks for asking…
~ Pat and Lorna
2010-05-25 @ 9:17 am
Hey What is Up? You guys ROCK! thanks for the awesome advice. I come across tons of blogs (as you know) and some just totally suck to be honest. It’s hard to think of anything positive to say to these people about their sites. Yours is impeccable (and I haven’t used that word “like ever”) … You got me talking like a “cool person” … Thanks so much for this valuable content that I CAN ACTUALLY USE! I can learn a lot from you.
Now on to the question:
How do you recommend going about this organization of contacts? (maybe that can be a followup blog) … ya know, you “thinking spreadsheets”, actually writing stuff down in notebooks or just simple Outlook and Skype OR WHAT?
Thanks guys! God’s blessings are truly best! and I’m going to keep reading.
Curt aka CBiz
2010-05-26 @ 7:17 pm
Hey Curt,
Thanks so much for the kind words, they mean a lot to us.
What we use to organize everything is a program called “PersonalBrain”.
To get a hands-on view of how it works, go to=> https://thecoolestcouple.com/tsamap
And to learn more about the actual software, go to=> http://tothebrain.com
We find it a very, very useful tool and it’s open on our desktop on a continual basis for storing and retrieving data on all our contacts and information.
Thanks so much for the comment… we appreciate you.
~ Pat and Lorna
2010-05-25 @ 11:16 am
Thanks for the suggestions. I have been meeting to do a spreadsheet to organize everything. Guess I will get started.
.-= Karla Bond´s last blog ..Balancing Career and Family =-.
2010-05-26 @ 7:18 pm
Karla,
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment…
Have a look at our reply to Curt’s comment and you will be able to find out how we organize all our social media relationships.
Thanks,
~ Pat and Lorna
2010-05-25 @ 11:41 am
Hey Pat&Lorna,
Great post. I appreciate all that you do. When it all comes down to it we must realize that we are in sales. I feel that most people miss out on this key part of business. Relationships and sales are key!
Make it a great day!
God Bless,
-ed
.-= Edward´s last blog ..Everything You Create Or Acquire Begins In The Form Of Desire… =-.
2010-05-26 @ 7:20 pm
Ed,
Yes, we are always selling something… and it is so much better to reach agreement on a sale from within a relationship built on trust.
Thanks,
~ Pat and Lorna
2010-05-25 @ 11:55 am
Great reasons! I know that I am not going to be able to connect with all my social media connections all the time but my goal is to connect with as many as possible and this can only happen as I manage my connections.
.-= Kevin M.´s last blog ..Why can’t we? =-.
2010-05-26 @ 7:23 pm
Kevin,
Yes, it would be a very daunting task to actually connect one on one with all of the contacts in our social media networks.
However, if we connect through a blog post, tweet, or Facebook post with something that speaks to the people in our networks then we are still connecting… the key is to know what makes the people in our social media networks tick and what they will feel connected to.
Thanks,
~ Pat and Lorna
2010-05-25 @ 12:28 pm
I used to hear a saying go around the ‘net like “You need to stop thinking like a traditional business owner, ‘location, location, location’ and more ‘information, information, information” But if you think about – we are really locating ourselves between people and their needs.
Organizing the list puts us in the right location.
2010-05-26 @ 7:24 pm
Paul,
We couldn’t agree with you more.
Thanks so much,
~ Pat and Lorna
2010-05-25 @ 7:50 pm
Hey Coolest Couple,
Organizing relationships makes a lot of sense. The quantity of friends we meet via the Internet is overwhelming. I’ll look forward to hearing what your organizational skills are.
2010-05-26 @ 7:32 pm
Darlene,
Organizing relationships helps us out immensely.
To see a hands-on example of how we organize our relationships, check out => https://thecoolestcouple.com/tsamap
To learn more about the software, go to => http://tothebrain.com
Thanks,
~ Pat and Lorna
2010-05-25 @ 9:37 pm
I have found that I’ve become much more productive once I started segmenting my friends. That way I know who I want to either continue to build relationships with, start new ones, or just keep in touch with. Organization is important in just about everything we do.
Great stuff guys 🙂
~Angel
.-= Angel Taylor´s last blog ..Social Media Mania 2010 =-.
2010-05-26 @ 7:35 pm
Angel,
Yes, it’s true… you won’t be connecting with all of your contacts on the same level, so sorting them out by the type of relationship you want to have with them is a great idea.
Thanks,
~ Pat and Lorna
2010-05-26 @ 6:55 am
Thanks guys, great post, never thought about organizing my social media contacts but now I will.
Lori
2010-05-26 @ 11:16 am
Hi Pat and Lorna! As you know I am a big fan of “Connecting” so what you’re saying is vital to any business. With that said, I also know I haven’t been so great at keeping my brain power stored in an organized manner the way your amazing ‘Brain” does. This was a great post to build curiosity. 🙂
Thank you!
Kellie
2010-05-26 @ 7:36 pm
Kellie,
Thanks so much for the comment and the follow-up message.
We totally appreciate the feedback you’ve given us.
Thanks,
~ Pat and Lorna
2010-05-26 @ 2:50 pm
Lorna and Pat, man – so simple but never thought of this approach. THANKS!
.-= Tim Somers´s last blog ..Email Marketing By Zip Code Latest eBlast =-.
2010-05-26 @ 7:37 pm
Tim,
Great to hear from you… and you are so welcome.
~ Pat and Lorna
2010-05-26 @ 7:16 pm
Thanks, Guys! You make some very good points that everyone should recognize. Relationships are so key and yes, you need to be organized to make the best attempt at securing a good relationship with those who can help you.
Thanks for sharing your valuable input.
Dave and Dawn
.-= Dave and Dawn Cook´s last blog ..Are You Selling Bologna Juice? =-.
2010-05-26 @ 9:36 pm
Dave and Dawn,
Yes, relationships are key. And we’d like to thank you for the opportunity we’ve had to make some great relationships with the people in TSA.
We must admit… organizing these relationships has been a life-saver for us. We’ve been able to stay connected, reconnect and like you’ve said, securing the mutually beneficial relationships.
Thanks so much for the comment…
~Pat and Lorna
2010-05-26 @ 10:41 pm
Hi Coolest Couple, your post made me think. Of course, organization is a good thing. But I would love to hear more from you about the how and why. I have read all the comments and your answers, but I am still not sure how you organize your contacts. I have also seen the TSAmap, but not sure how that would help me doing business either. As I said I would love to hear more about how to organize it so that it actually helps my business rather than taking my time.
Thanks guys for a thought provoking post, Karin.
.-= social bookmarking´s last blog ..How many blog posts does it take to get unlimited traffic to your website =-.
2010-05-28 @ 8:24 pm
Karin,
Wow… to answer your question thoroughly would take way more than a reply to a comment.
Very short snipet: The Brain helps us see how our contacts are related to us and each other… where we know them from… which in turns lets us know what it is they’re interested in. It helps us to get to know our market.
As far as how to use The Brain… for now, play around with it a bit… get an idea of how it works. The ideas may come on how this could work for you.
Keep posted… we will be putting together some training on The Brain in the future.
Thanks,
~ Pat and Lorna
2010-05-27 @ 8:40 am
Cool post guys, I use http://highrisehq.com/ to track my conversations and details of powerful people i’ve met online. I also schedule follow up’s with them and reminders after a few weeks/ months.
It works well for me and you are definitely right that if you don’t manage your relationships, you can easily forget about people and miss out on something potentially huge 🙂
I know even with the amount of organizing I do on a regular basis, I still miss people out.
.-= Gavin Mountford´s last blog ..Here’s Why I Get Up at 6am Every Morning & Look Forward to my Job! =-.
2010-05-28 @ 8:26 pm
Gavin,
We know exactly how you feel. There are so many people to keep up with and stay connected to that some of them still end up falling thru the cracks.
And oh how we hate missing out on something potentially huge!
Thanks,
~ Pat and Lorna
2010-05-28 @ 3:46 am
You guys are so right and have just given me the kick up the backside I needed to get organized!!
Kindest regards,
Emma 🙂
2010-05-29 @ 12:45 pm
Emma,
Glad we could help motivate you to get organized… just hope it didn’t hurt too much 🙂
Thanks,
~ Pat and Lorna
2010-05-28 @ 6:10 pm
Hi Coolest Couple 🙂 Thanks so much for the tips on getting contacts organized! It can be so overwhelming 🙂 Will definitely check out that software:)
Lori
.-= Lori Tisot´s last blog ..Is Your Twitter Account Protected? =-.
2010-05-29 @ 12:06 pm
Lori,
Yes, it can be overwhelming… and PersonalBrain is a great tool to help out with that.
Let us know what you think of it when you check it out.
Thanks,
~ Pat and Lorna
2010-05-28 @ 6:10 pm
Yes…Yes…Yes! I think you have it right on here. After all…we can have trillions of followers and lose the beauty and the benefit of all of them if we never bother to take the time to organize those connections into some sort of cohesive order.
I appreciate you sharing these five things!
.-= Bruce Backman´s last blog ..Training Video 1 =-.
2010-05-29 @ 12:13 pm
Bruce,
It’s amazing how we can actually start seeing the relationship between other people and how they relate to us a lot more when we have them organized.
Love how you talk about “the beauty” of these relationships. Very cool.
Thanks,
~ Pat and Lorna
2010-05-28 @ 11:46 pm
Your blog is one of the “must-read” because you’re always sharing the coolest and most effective tools! I started my Personal Brain when I read it from one of your earlier posts. With so many connections across so many networks, it’s really a crucial tool.
Fantastic post about the reasons for organizing your social media relationships!
.-= Jennifer Akers´s last blog ..Article Marketing Questions – What is Article Marketing? (Nice to Begin With the Basics) =-.
2010-05-29 @ 12:31 pm
Jennifer,
Thank you so much for your kind words… we truly appreciate you.
It’s great that you’ve started your own Personal Brain, as we know it will go a long way to help you keep organized, with the ability to find whatever it is you want quickly and easily.
Thanks so much for sharing,
~ Pat and Lorna
2010-05-29 @ 2:44 am
Hi Guys,
You’ve highlighted some really important factors when it comes to maintaining social media contacts. I’m a big fan of maintaining the relationships that I create here on the internet, what’s the point in joining up to the numerous social sites if you’re just going to ignore a new friend, colleague or even new prospect? It shouldn’t be a numbers game, it’s about real relationships with real people even if you can’t physically see them.
Cheers, Lynn
.-= Lynn Glaser´s last blog ..Tribe Concept Teaser – Here’s What Can Be Achieved =-.
2010-05-29 @ 12:32 pm
Lynn,
Love what you said, and we couldn’t agree with you more.
Thanks so much for the comment.
~ Pat and Lorna
2010-05-29 @ 8:47 am
Thanks Pat & Lorna, these are really great tips!
The brilliance of social media is in the nurturing of relationships that lead to joint ventures, referrals and business! While I believe in the Ready-Fire-Aim philosophy….meaning just get out there in the game and make the necessary course corrections along the way…. when it comes to social media, the faster you can get your aim lined up the more effective the entire journey will be! Organization, planning and awareness are definitely essential to success here!
.-= Beth Allen´s last blog ..My Adventure Going Unplugged =-.
2010-05-29 @ 12:44 pm
Beth,
So glad you found value in the tips we posted.
We too like the ready-fire-aim way of doing things. Other people will let us know when course corrections are needed… and at least we’re in the game.
Awareness… an important and interesting part of the social media world… never thought of that before, thanks!
~ Pat and Lorna
2010-06-01 @ 1:11 pm
Great post! Social media is a great way to connect with people who we wouldn’t have access to.
Getting a CRM to manage my relationships have been a huge help to remind me to stay in touch.
Thanks!
To Your Genius,
Eiji
.-= Eiji Morishita´s last blog ..Genius Squared May Update =-.
2011-03-06 @ 11:09 pm
Hi Pat and Lorna,
I like the very clear and concise way you list the reasons for why we need to organize our social media relationships.
Keeping track of everyone and everything could get a bit of a job.
That is why I have started to create my database. It probably will need modifying .
Thank you so much.
Yorinda