What Are Your Social Media Contacts Worth To You?

As an active user on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, I’ve enjoyed watching the number connections, followers, and friends grow. I’m certainly not alone in this: Gathering contacts in these (and other social media) is the subject of numerous blogs, websites, and books, and I know coaches and consultants who help people generate more contacts.

But why? There are lots of people who collect connections, followers, friends (or whatever you want to call them) simply for the sake of having them. Why do you collect these contacts?

Some people I’ve posed the question to give me a stock answer like "I build my list to engage them" or "I’m creating an audience." Others can’t even tell me that much. But when we look at what they’re offering for engagement, or when we think about what they’re doing for their audience, their efforts are less clear. In those cases – in fact, I’d suggest in most cases – people are collecting connections, followers, and friends just for the sake of the number.

Instead, I’d recommend a clear plan to use your contacts to your advantage. Start by communicating with them regularly (through whatever social media you’re connected to them on) but do more. Be intentional. Create a purpose for those relationships.

If you’re a coach, actively review your list of contacts for people who might benefit from your services. Contact them periodically with offers to try out your service. (Don’t spam them, of course; make sure you’re regularly offering them good value before you ask for their business). Also, actively review your list of contacts for people to whom you could refer your clients in circumstances where they might need help beyond your own narrow niche.

If you’re a human resources manager, actively review your list of contacts for people who would be good candidates for jobs. This is probably something you do already. But you can do more: Actively review your contact list for people who might offer good training or even for people who you can connect to your staff as mentors.

If you’re a consultant, review your list of contacts for people who might be clients. But don’t stop there. Look for potential referrals: Ask your contacts if they can refer someone to you. And, depending on what kind of consulting you do, find a small collection of contacts who can act as subject matter experts in areas that your customers are often looking for.

If you’re a brand new entrepreneur just breaking into small business ownership, here is what you should be looking for in your list of contacts: Look for people who can give you positive testimonials; look for people who might help you find potential clients; look for people who might be potential vendors.

Social media contacts are a lot like hockey cards that some readers might have collected when they were kids: Some people collected them just for the sake of having them. They could sit down and count them out and be proud of the number; while others collected them because they were an investment and they cared for them until it was time to cash them in.