email print article rss feed share on Close Bookmark and Share This Page Save to Browser Favorites Ask backflip blinklist BlogBookmark Bloglines BlogMarks Blogsvine BuddyMarks BUMPzee! CiteULike co.mments Connotea del.icio.us Digg diigo DotNetKicks DropJack dzone Facebook Fark Faves Feed Me Links Friendsite folkd.com Furl Google Hugg Jamespot Jeqq Kaboodle kirtsy linkaGoGo LinkedIn LinksMarker Ma.gnolia Mister Wong Mixx MySpace MyWeb Netvouz Newsvine oneview OnlyWire PlugIM Propeller Reddit Rojo Segnalo Shoutwire Simpy Slashdot Sphere Sphinn Spurl Squidoo StumbleUpon Technorati ThisNext Twitter Webride Windows Live Worlds Movies Yahoo! Email This to a Friend Copy HTML:  Powered by Bookmarkify™ More » Powered by Bookmarkify™

Heather Townsend is the author of the newly published The Financial Times Guide To Business Networking. In this short article, Heather shares her tips on how to use Twitter to generate more referrals for your BNI chapter.

In my research for The Financial Times Guide to Business Networking, I found that many networkers discount Twitter as a serious networking tool. Actually, if my own experience is anything to go by, it is a very serious and effective networking tool. Similar to many heavy users of Twitter, I find that over 90 percent of my new business comes from a relationship that started on Twitter.

1. Keep in touch with your network

Twitter is a great way to keep in touch with your network between physical meetings. This helps keep your visibility up with the people that matter to you. I make a point of checking all the tweets of the important people in my network on a daily basis. This helps me with conversation starters when I next speak to them. More importantly, it keeps my relationship warm and my visibility high with them.

2. Find new contacts for you and your BNI chapter

Twitter has given me both local and international reach – which I could never have achieved by purely relying on face-to-face networking. I’m always on the lookout for useful contacts for me and my network when on Twitter. For example, one morning I managed to find for my network via Twitter a rare hen breeder, pygmy goat breeder and an alpaca breeder – all before 9:00 a.m. Whenever I have a 1-to-1 with anyone, I normally make 2-3 introductions for them as a result of our conversation – these introductions almost always come from my large network on Twitter.

3. Listen for opportunities for referrals and introductions

Very often on Twitter you will hear someone who you follow ask, “Can you recommend?” (or something similar). Who in your BNI chapter can you recommend?

4. Ask your Twitter followers for help

Remember your Twitter network is part of your network. Don’t be afraid to ask your Twitter followers for introductions for both you and your BNI chapter members.

5. Promote your chapter member’s tweets and blog articles

Your tweets don’t always have to be about you. Use your tweets to share content, e.g. other tweets and blogs, from your BNI chapter members, with your Twitter followers.

Heather Townsend specializes in helping Accountants, Lawyers and HR professionals generate more clients using networking and social media.  She is the author of the Financial Times Guide To Business Networking. For more tips and ideas on how to achieve more success from both online and offline networking visit Heather's Joined Up Networking blog at  http://www.joinedupnetworking.com.

 

More To the Next Level articles