What is a Social Network Contact Worth?

Is There Value In Social Networking Contacts; You Be the Judge!I have been asked many times by new networkers why they should connect with or become friends with people on their Social Networks. Often times the requests they receive are from people they do not know, or those where they have only had minimal contact and therefore do not know well.Depending upon how you handle the new connection will determine if you have any value in your network. There is limited, if any, value if all you do is collect names.Your Network Value Correlates To Your Desired OutcomeWhen requests are received those asking me about networking look at these potential connections and ask what, if any, value might there be to accepting that request? If you are asking this question; the first thing you must look at is your reason for networking.
What is your networking purpose?
Why have you chosen the Social Networking sites where you currently have a presence?
Are you there to only converse with the people you already know?
Do you see networking as means to an end? Where your intent is to get whatever you can from your network?
If you do not have a strong understanding of why you are networking or your objectives and attitudes are truly to only communicate with those you know; you have a very limited definition of networking. That is not necessarily bad; it is just that the benefits are equally as limited.The Value You Receive From Social Networking Will Correlate Directly To the Effort You Put InThe strength and value of your network is dependent upon the effort you put into building your network. Do not think that building your network is an easy process; because it is not. Sure you can simply add connections when someone makes a request; but that is not building your network, that is simply adding numbers and there are a lot of people like that.A functioning network is based upon you knowing the members and the members knowing you. When you add a new person to your network, all you have is added is a name. When you reach out to this new contact and start learning about the person this is when you have a connection. A functioning network is also one where the members are helping each other.On the other hand if your goal is to build a network to increase your chances for employment or to build your business, then your approach must be totally different. You need to be connecting!Unless you have a solid reason for not connecting, you need to connect. You can always unfriend or break the connection if that is warranted. However, if you turn someone down, you may never receive another opportunity to connect and you may have missed a great connection.Every Network Connection Is Important Because You Never Know Which One Will Lead You To Your Next OpportunityI was listening to Brian Tracy’s program on networking and he made an important point about networking. You never know where you will find your next opportunity and when you do not connect with someone you reduce your chances of finding that next opportunity. Connections are critical to expanding your sphere of influence and your brand. You cannot afford to “not connect”!2009 IBM and MIT StudyIBM and MIT worked together in 2009 to study the benefits of Social Networking in the business world. What they learned after tracking countless emails, text messages, and other communications was that each network connection was worth $948 in increased productivity through collaboration. Whether the contact was inside or outside of the organization, network connections proved valuable in improving the quality of decisions.Grab every opportunity to influence others. Do not let networking connections pass you by.