Bad Twitter advice from Advertising Age

It’s disappointing that David Berkowitz (representing the venerable Advertising Age – i.e., someone who should know better) would tell you, in one breath, that the single most important thing you can do when jumping into Social Media for business is to “establish your goals,” and then in the next breath tell you that the one person you should follow on Twitter  is Shaquille O’Neal.

Now Shaq may indeed be a Twitter super-user, and he might even coin more words than Seth Godin. But recommending him as your one must-follow was a waste of an opportunity to give real, sound advice.

The person you should follow on Twitter, if you’re a business owner and really only have time to follow one, is the person in your industry who has taken the time to become a resource for others. This person:

• Posts a ton of links to relevant reading material
• Re-tweets useful stuff – not fluff
• Engages with those who reply to them
• Follows proportionally to their followers
• Blogs passionately about the industry and links out when appropriate to their own incredible blog

Having established that setting goals is “the most important thing” you can do when getting into social media, I’d say that the second most important thing you should do is make sure you’re not wasting your time by connecting with people who can’t help you meet them.

Special thanks to Action Print!

Would like to take a moment to thank my good friend Dan Hansen at Action Print, an awesome local commercial offset and digital printer who donated production of my new networking cards! I’ll be using these not only to directly network with folks who might be seeking a marketing director for their own company, but also for those who might be able to refer me to interested colleagues.

The cards direct people to this website, and on the back they contain my contact information and ‘elevator pitch.’ The pitch says, “A creative, strategic, internet-savvy marketing professional and multi-tasker with strong communication skills, seeking to lead a dynamic company, association or non-profit organization in effective use of internal and external communication tools.”

Thanks, Dan, for making this investment in a friend’s career!

Five tips for in-person networking

Those who are immersed in online networking might find it hard to remember that there’s also offline networking – you know, meeting actual people at an actual event?

Here are a few tips for making the most of an in-person networking event:

1. Be authentic – don’t adopt some kind of weird, not-the-real-you persona when you attend an in-person event. Just be yourself.

2. Be genuine – when you’re talking to someone, don’t constantly look over their shoulder to see if someone more interesting is approaching. Give your full attention to the person in front of you.

3. Find a legitimate reason to share your contact info – when talking to someone you haven’t met before, don’t assume they want your business card just because it’s a networking event. Think about how you can be of value to them, and offer your card after expressing that potential value.

4. Ask lots of questions – Making small talk can be agonizing, especially when it feels forced. Instead of the usual weather-related stuff, why not ask some leading questions of the person in front of you? What’s new in your industry? How has the recession impacted your business?

5. Become a resource - Write a short “nice to meet you” note to new people you meet and send it via email, and include a link to an online article that’s relevant to something you discussed with them.

Welcome, Blogopolis Blueprint Readers!