Online networking today has finally reached a level of maturity that allows people to interact in almost the same fashion that we would in real life.  The problem is that most marketers trying to take advantage of the promotional benefits or social networking are trying to connect with other people using only the mass communication tools of the past. 

Of course there is a need for mass communication tools like advertising, press releases, etc in website promotion—but these methods don’t fit into online social networking.  Every blogger knows the frustration of seeing a page of mass-submitted comments heartlessly advertising Viagra or other amazing Rx products. 

C’mon!  Why did that person ever waste their time!  Getting spam on a blog is even more insulting than getting spam through email or mail.  A blog, like other social networking sites, is personal and in order to get noticed by a person, you’ve got to strike up some personal interaction. 

Just like at a business event you wouldn’t walk up to someone and say. “Buy cheap Viagra now!” and then walk away… those kind of one-sided, thoughtless tactics don’t work online either.  If you want to get noticed by your potential customers and industry peers, the process isn’t much different from doing this in person.

Here are some quick tips for striking up professional-related conversations online. 

1.  Reply to blog posts—regularly.  Make it a point read the blogs on your RSS feed reader every day or at least every week.  When you have something to add to the conversation, don’t be shy—leave a comment!  Challenge yourself not to just passively read blogs, but to think about what these bloggers are saying so that your comments add value to the conversation.  If you’re a regular commenter, the blogger and other regular readers are sure to take notice.

2.  Create profiles on blog social networking sites like MyBlogLog.  This way, when you visit a blog of someone who has MyBlogLog installed on their blog, your image will appear as one of the latest visitors along with a link to your MyBlogLog profile.  Pictures are powerful.  Bloggers and readers both are more likely to visit your profile and consequently your blog if they see a picture.

3.  Discuss the ideas and observations of other bloggers in your blog posts.  When you link to other blogs in your blog posts, a trackback is created.  Through trackbacks, bloggers can see who is talking to them and linking to them. Wouldn’t you be more apt to strike up a conversation with someone who highlighted some of your ideas? 

The key to social networking is to be genuine—just as you would if you were face to face. 

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