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How To Use Social Networking to Build Trust

Guest post by: Robert Whipple

Article Overview: The use of Social Networking sites can increase one's circle of friends and increate the level of trust with existing friends if it is used properly. This article highlights my personal experience with Social Networking thus far.

How To Use Social Networking to Build Trust

Most professionals are involved in the social media revolution in some fashion. For the past couple years, I have been building up my presence on social media concentrating my efforts so far on LinkedIn. I believe every mode of social media has the ability to increase the trust people have in you. The reason is that proper use of the medium shows you care about other people and are a "pay it forward" type of person.

The ability to follow up with people and share stories on topics of interest creates a dialog that was not feasible just a few years ago. That also builds trust. I particularly like the ability to reach total strangers who share a common interest with me. Using the LinkedIn Groups function, it is simple to generate new contacts all over the world in your special niche. This creates a dialog where you can go back and forth on details of your theories and test them with other people.

Suppose you are into UFOs (not literally of course). There are several groups that are populated by people who share that passion. If you want to do some research for a project for school or perhaps for an article you are writing, simply ask for help on some specific detail and you will have a flood of information in minutes.

Of course, any good thing can be used for improper purposes. There are people on social networking sites that are there for illegitimate purposes. One thing I like about the system is that it tends to be self purging. If someone is out there simply to sell his or her services rather than to help others, the community rejects that person or simply ignores him or her. That way you usually find the right kind of people to share your insights with.

My experience is that there is not a week that goes by when I am not delighted to find a new friend in some part of the world who has some great ideas to add to my knowledge base. I am out there constantly giving my perspectives and knowledge so I can be a worthy correspondent as well. That is how the trust is built up. I can count several dozen professional contacts that are in my circle of close friends that I would have never known had it not been for LinkedIn.

Personally, I use the other modes of social networking, such and Facebook, Twitter, and others, less religiously because I choose to concentrate my SN time in the professional and business arenas. I am a subscriber to 6 different forms of SN and use all of them on occasion, but LinkedIn is my daily focus.

One area where SN is still sorting itself out is how organizations react to it. Some of my students have done research projects on this and find that roughly 50% of organizations have truly embraced SN and encourage employees to participate in it, even on company time. The other 50% either ban SN entirely or restrict its use to lunch hours or slack times.

I believe the whole progression of SN is in its infancy, and people or organizations that do not embrace the trend are going to hurt themselves in the end. For example, I know of one company that has a reputation for being progressive, but that has a firm rule of no SN on company time or equipment. I know several really bright young employees who are planning to leave that organization because of their stance on SN.

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Article Tags: Facebook, LinkedIn, organizations, Social Networking, Trust, Twitter



Related Forum Posts
Re: How can a social networking site make serious money? - Hi There, It is quite interesting, that some Social Networking do produce an income. I think testimonials are always a benefit to share. See one below: This Social Network has changed my life! Every night is a Friday night and everyday is a Saturday!! Because of it, I have been able to leave the workforce 10 years early.It has given me back my life. Many of us would like to retire early. I am sure there are many more. The point is of focusing with great determination. The ongoing challenge is to stay focussed and not be sidetracked into a newer scheme or so. Also I have read, during this financial turmoil, more people turn to Social Networking for various reasons.
Marketing 2012 - I am interested in what works for you in 2012, Social Networking, Search Engine traffic, Blogs, Articles, Forums, what? This is a quote from a 2009 Topic "Twitter, Social Networking, What is your Method? From my experience, social networking traffic (Twitter included) also converts at a far lower rate than search engine traffic. Evan Is this still true, or do you use something that gives us better returns and conversions
Re: Marketing 2012 - [quote="drdony":2y0daolc]I am interested in what works for you in 2012, Social Networking, Search Engine traffic, Blogs, Articles, Forums, what? This is a quote from a 2009 Topic "Twitter, Social Networking, What is your Method? From my experience, social networking traffic (Twitter included) also converts at a far lower rate than search engine traffic. Evan Is this still true, or do you use something that gives us better returns and conversions[/quote:2y0daolc] Great question Don! I'll create a video reply!
Re: Tactics for Blog Traffic - some more tips to drive traffic to blog or to promote a blog. Squidoo Lens Creation Hub Pages Creation Social Bookmarking (Digg, Delicious, Stumble, Reddit etc.) Be helpful in forums Social Networking (Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, LinkedIn etc.) syndication blog commenting (other blogs) Guest post
Re: UPDATES: New Campaign! New Layout! New Ideas! - GT - thanks for the FYI - I'm not sure if we'll put a link back. Something to consider though! Trent - the new category is "Social Network and Media" which was put in to compliment the Online Businesses category that currently exists. Overall the new categories are: - Looking For, Networking and Events - Review My... - Social Network and Media - Brags and Rants These came as a result of Ringo doing research on other forums and thinking about what could be improved on ours to give a better experience for everyone. I hope you enjoy them! David, I'm looking forward to reading your Brag / Rant!


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