Paul Castain's Blog

Transitioning Your Virtual Relationships

Posted May 26, 2010

At the core of my social media strategy is a firm belief that virtual relationships need to transition to real time. But you’ve heard me say that before, haven’t you?

Today, I want to lay out a very simple way for you to provide more value to your network and position yourself as more than just another “friend” “follower” or “connection”

Introducing  . . . “The Social Networking Mixer”

Here’s how you do it:

1)    Grab yourself a free conference call line on a service like http://freeconferencecall.com I’m not affiliated with them. I like resources that are truly free with no catch.

2)    Identify 5-6 people from your network. I don’t like more than that because it becomes less interactive and at times just really hard not to talk over each other.

3)    Set aside a day and time where you’ll have 60-75 mins.

4)    Consider a real simple agenda like:

10 mins of introductions

40 mins discussing a topic of your choice. Can’t think of one? Consider ripping off the one I provide in the free PDF I’ve put together for you. You’re welcome!

10-25 mins of resource sharing. Note: Resource sharing is when each participant brings (get this) a resource such as the name of a good book, a website, publication, study, statistics, free service etc

I’ve put together a free E-Book with the rest of the steps and more detail.

What are your take aways if you try something like this?

1)    You differentiate right off the bat. Not too many people doing these calls.

2)    You help introduce people who need to know each other. Matchmaking is always cool no matter how you slice it!

3)    You and your participants will learn quite a few things as people share their ideas and resources.

4)    You work both your facilitation and public speaking muscle groups.

5)    You actually connect and build trust.

6)    You foster a spirit of “community”

7)    You get to feel good about doing something good.

So there you have it. A very simple, free strategy you can utilize to build something you need going forward . . . brand equity!

Assignment: Download the E-Book and set up your own Social Networking Mixer.

Invitation: You are cordially invited to start trying new approaches. Don’t abandon the things that have made you successful, just expand your repertoire!

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19 thoughts on “Transitioning Your Virtual Relationships

  1. Hi Paul,

    You hit the nail on the head. Yes we are doing not enough to activate our network into a working and fun community. The collection of contacts seem to be sometimes the sole purpose of the whole thing.

    You say not too many people doing these calls, I say nearly nobody is doing it. So, it is really a great differenciator. Thanks for the inspiration. It will be an interesting experience here in the Far East.

    Take care
    Roy

    BTW, enjoyed your podcast, good to put a voice behind the face.

  2. Hey Paul,
    Amazing how our thinking is tracking along the same path at the same time. I’m exploring the whole concept of Human Networking 2.0 and how all the on-line and off-line communication is the same. It’s all just talking.

    Hope all is well my friend.

  3. @ Roy: You’re right . . . this really isn’t being done. This approach isn’t for everyone but it certainly has made a huge difference for me.

    Thank you for the kind words regarding my new podcast!

    @ Jim: Nice blog post today and you’ve raised some fantastic points all around!

    Thank you both for taking the time to stop by!

    Respectfully,
    Paul Castain

  4. Those of us who still prefer face-to-face contact call this type of thing a MasterMind group where you get together with 4-6 like-minded people and share ideas, etc.

    Paul’s idea of using a conference line expands the MasterMind idea beyond borders if needed.

    One addition I might suggest to Paul’s agenda is to have each member do a brief SOFT report (Successes, Opportunities, Failures, Threats). People come prepared with something that kick-starts the meeting.

  5. I’m definitely doing this- there are a few of us that meet from time to time for coffee to catch up and share value ad stories so we can keep each other fresh on our minds (we all sell to the same market niche) I like this idea for folks that aren’t so high on the radar- thanks Paul!

  6. Paul,

    What a great idea. I never thought of this. I would recommend having people from different geographic areas so the not only does their # of contacts increase but so does their reach.

    Like Roy, nice to put a face with a voice. Hopefully we can meet in person someday.

    Bob Noe

    P.S. Sorry for any typos. I am on my Blackberrry getting my car serviced

  7. Paul,

    This is brilliant for getting people out from behind their keyboards. Without engagement, what’s the purpose of networking?

    I particularly like this concept because of the “top of mind” value it creates for effective referrals. Too many referral opportunities are missed because people aren’t memorable to their network.

    Keep going down this path and you’re likely to facilitate an economic movement.

  8. Paul,
    thank you so much – I am working on a very interesting project and this gave me a great idea how to connect people!

    Best from Toronto,

    Alen Majer

  9. Love it Paul! Great info! Conducted my second teleconference this week and it was fantastic! Brings so much together , in so many ways , on so many levels!

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