What role do social media platforms play in how you cultivate relationships that matter to you and your business? Are you seen, heard, and trusted enough by those you’d like to influence? And do the online relationships you’ve created deliver the results you crave?

For many, myself included, connections that begin online regularly blossom and flourish into rich, valuable, and long lasting friendships.

Of course, it makes great sense to think digital when it comes to nurturing business relationships since most of us (i.e. over 90%) are influenced by online searches and conversation when making most every business decision. And whether you first develop relationships offline or online – you simply must pay attention to creating visibility and engaging in conversations in online forums where your target audiences frequently congregate.

That said, there’s a really big catch.

With so many websites (approaching 1.1 billion of them today), myriad social media platforms and tools, and the limited number of hours you have in your day…no one can be everywhere or all things to all people.

If you’re not selective and strategic in how you choose to invest your energy, and effort online, you can spend and waste oodles of your precious time. And, worse still, As Dr. Rachna Jain warned in her 2010 article ‘4 Ways Social Media is Changing your Relationships’ (and it’s still true today)…you must take care not to confuse digital intimacy for true intimacy.

In this world of information overload and more online forums that you can shake a stick at, you simply must pay attention to what your target audiences see, understand, and value about you  – from first impressions and later on.

And if this sounds like a topic that’s important to you, and this one will build on my recent chat with Mark Scully about honing and improving your Digital Communication Strategies…

…you’re sure to enjoy my interview with one of Northern Ireland’s best known social media consultants and a ninja when it comes to LinkedIn marketing, Bill McCartney.

On Creating Meaningful, Valuable, and Long Term Business Relationships

Listen in as we talk about:
• What it takes to cultivate better relationships online for your business
• 3 Steps you can take to boost the chances that you’ll be found and trusted on LinkedIn
• The secret sauce you’ll need to ignite and cultivate relationships with influential people in your space
• Rookie errors you must avoid when networking online
• Why rapid-fire, scattergun tactics are a waste of everyone’s time
• How to extend online conversations into real world relationships and actions
• What you can learn from BNI and Zig Ziglar

Over to You

What have you learned about creating better, long term, and valuable relationships online?

Let me know what you think.

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