Using Social Media to Connect With Other Entrepreneurs

Hey guys,

Business Week has great articles on social media. I believe that in this economy, if you are an entrepreneur, it helps to develop a social media personality. It will help get your name out there and make valuable contacts with others.


Using Social Media to Connect With Other Entrepreneurs
When you first start your business, it can be stressful and lonely. You have taken a huge risk, have given up a steady income and benefits, and are now all by yourself.

Actually, you are not really alone. There are many others around the world who are in exactly the same position as you. Many of those people have not only ventured down the entrepreneurial road but have become successful. Many of them are delighted to share their stories, insight and advice with you. You just need to know how and where to find them.

This is where social media comes into play. Establishing new relationships nowadays is easier than it has ever been because of the steadily increasing access to information, ideas and people.

Web communities that revolve around entrepreneurship, business and programming are flourishing all over the place. Using Facebook, Twitter and various other social media networks makes it very easy for you to learn new information and to stay connected to other entrepreneurs.

Here are some helpful suggestions on how you can easily share your experiences with other entrepreneurs in order to enrich your professional life.

Follow entrepreneurs on Twitter

Twitter currently has a feature called “Lists,” which allows users to create lists of their favorite users. Many Twitter users take advantage of this feature to create lists of top entrepreneurs and startup business founders. That is an excellent first step toward building connections that are of value. Once you have built your lists, you should reach out to those on your list either by Email or by phone.

Connect with communities of entrepreneurs

There are several places on the Internet where entrepreneurs congregate. Discovering these treasured communities will definitely prove to be extremely valuable for you and your business. You can look at PartnerUp, a site that will assist you in finding co-founders and business partners; TheFunded, which concentrates on raising money for your startup company; and Hacker News, which is an online community site that shares useful articles on startups, human nature and development.

Find local events through social media

Although it can be very productive to connect with people online, it isn’t the same as meeting face to face and shaking hands. Social media can really help you by keeping you abreast of events that you would be likely to attend. A good way to start with this is by using a tool like Meetup. There are numerous meetups that may be appropriate for you and your business. Remember that it isn’t enough to attend a meetup once or twice. Attending meetups on a regular basis helps you to build rapport with people who share a common interest. You can also search for Facebook or LinkedIn events to attend.

Simply reach out to people

Remember, social media is a tool that is designed to make it easier for you to connect with other people. You still need to do the relationship building with other entrepreneurs once the connections have been made. You should use social media to find the people and reach out to them. After that, you will need to go to the next step and start more personal contact, which you will build over time.