In our offline business, our success is primarily dependant on the connections we make. We relocated here 2 years ago and have developed a good client base and network of related professionals – without those connections, we would have never made it here!

Now that I’ve officially started my online business – I’m realizing the importance of social networking!

(Now its just a matter of fitting that into my already over-crammed schedule ;-) )

Thanks for the helpful tips – as always, great info to hang on to and read again! :-)

You say, “There are rumors circulating around the web that you have certain connections to get exposure, links and traffic from social media, and there is some truth to this – they definitely help. But, there is no reason you can’t build connections in these places yourself. You just have to get social.”

Obviously, the same is true away from the computer and internet as well: everyone has the ability to do well in their respective business regardless of who they know today; they simply must be passionate about their product, have a quality service offering, and be willing to get out there in public and share their passion. So, this speaks to the truth of your comment, as the underlying principles are the same. Personal connections, relationships, passion, and exemplary service will win the day.

There’s an untapped power here for many corporations as well — employees and leaders reaching out to their own networks and to customers to engage in conversation on a completely different level. And maybe readers here all know it … but there are many, many corporate communications and marketing folks — especially in B2B — who are just starting to get their minds around the potential.

I really like your post and your outlook on blogging and social media, and I really identify with what you say. I started blogging about eight months ago, just because I was interested in my topic (marketing and branding) and because I felt it was about time for me to start sharing my views with the world, even if at the beginning that meant just a few readers a day.

It’s a lot of work, but in the end the non-monetary rewards more than compensate for it: being linked to by people we admire, receiving recognition from important sites, making new friends, starting interesting conversations, etc. The unintended consequence of all this is that we are slowly but surely building our brands as subscribers and comments pile up, and search engines start paying attention.

Keep up the good work and thanks for all your support.