7 Key Strategies For Establishing Your Social Graph

I picked this number because is manageable from the perspective of writing this post, not because there is a limit in ways by which to establish your social graph.

My definition of Social Graph is the following:

Our Social Graph is the digital profile of our online relationships and their connectivity.

However on any given Sunday and depending on whether The Dolphins win or loose, I could give you a different version, but today this is it!

Before you start, Google yourself and your Company and take a screenshot of the results. The reason is so that you can compare  before and after.

We are experiencing a blended search environment, whereas before search would mostly point to text, nowadays pics and videos are consistently showing on search results with more frequency. What this means to us is that we now have more ways to produce content that can link to us. This is good, because within reason and with strategy in mind, the more platforms you establish a presence on using a variety of content mediums, the more diverse your personal and your company’s digital ecology becomes.

Just remember this:   the why will always be more important than the how…Why should it be in anyone’s best interest to engage with you?

If you can answer that assertively then continue reading on to the 7 easy steps to establishing your social graph.

1. Set up your Google Profile

   Why?  Because according to Mitch Joel from Twist Image,  “Your brand is not what you say it is, it’s what Google says it is”

   You’ll be amazed at how many well rounded and talented marketers have not only bypassed this step themselves, but have omitted it also for their clients. Earlier this year Google launched “profile results” in an effort to provide better control on how we appear when ppl search us. Here is an excellent tutorial on the process of setting up your profile from SearchEngineLand.com

   With the  new “Profile results” section, your personal information will appear at the bottom of  Google’s search page, when strongly matched to the name based search query.

2. Set up a LinkedIn account

   With over 50 Million users, Linkedin has different demographics than Facebook, Twitter and other social networks. Linkedin dems is older (68% are 35+), wealthier (avg per cap income of 100K+ /year), and better educated (72% are college grads). Networking is an essential process of every commercial endeavor, the literature is endless.

   Linkedin works very efficiently because it does less than Facebook and other Social Networks. Connections are well mananged and easy to use. Zero to no layout control, minimal advertising. Few apps. No multi-media to deal with. I’m working on a post titled  “50 ways to get Linked and get Liked” …stay tuned!

   There are numerous blogs out there with truly awesome tips on LinkedIn. I would start with LinkedIn’s learning center. Another great LinkedIn resource is Lewis Howes, Lewis is the co-author of the LinkedIn success book,  LinkedWorking: Generating success on the Worlds’ Largest Professional Networking Website.  His blog is awesome, but the linkedin section is phenomenal, check it out!

3. Set up a Twitter account
   

   What can I say about Twitter, but it case you haven’t heard or read, I’ve written about it  here, here and here. There’s definitely not a shortage of Twitter e-books, articles, strategies, tactics, etc…

   There are no shortage of Twitter tutorials out there, do you your homework. I personally like The Twitter guide Book for begineers and as a source of reference as well.

   Word of advice on Twitter:  Have a specific strategy and goals before you start, and these should be allign to your business model.

4. Set up a personal Facebook account and Fan page

   With 350 million users, FB it’s no longer the Social Network you should belong to, but more like, you must belong to. Here’s a pretty granular breakdown of Facebook stats you might find interesting. In addition, 8 million people a day join FB fan pages and the average account holder has around 120 friends with an average per capita income of about 88K/year.  Also, I googled Facebook Statitistics and included it here for your perusing. Here’s a solid guide on how to build succesful FaceBook fan pages.

5. Blog through Posterous iniatially (get your feet wet) or you could just build a blog and start populating!

   Posterous is definitely the easiest blogging platform to use out there right now! Video and Pics have never been easier to upload and publish, and you can do it all via email, including your initial registration. I’m a big proponent of suggesting Posterous to friends, clients and colleagues before they make a commitment to blogging. If you can’t make consistent use of this tool then you are probably not ready for a standard blog with its content and technical commitments.

   Here’s an excellent guide from Mashable to get the most out of Posterous

6. Social Bookmarking through Delicious.com

   What can I say about Social Bookmarking? Except I’ll only stop using it when they figure out a better way to organize information and to share that information via bookmarks. Check this video on social bookmarking out and then go get yourself a delicious account!

7. Google Reader and RSS

   If you are anything like me and many others who devour digital content, then Google Reader is one of the most efficient tools available out there. I will not bore you with my bias, here’s a quick video on the why, what and how of Google reader.

   Then you build on this and you build some more…The learning process in Social Networking  never really ends, and experimenting with new platforms is essential. Remember once these accounts are opened then they need to be established, meaning that’s when the work starts.

   And don’t forget… like kids playing in the park, if you are not having fun doing it, then you are missing out on the best part!   Good Luck and I hope to bump into you at the park!