Do you ever look at people on Instagram who seem to be forever surrounded by famous and intriguing people? Or, perhaps you catch a glimpse of them on the news, shaking hands with influential CEOs or simply boasting about the wonderful people in their lives. But, you wonder, how did they get there? How did they make all these important connexions? The answer is simple: they followed the right people and grew their network.
But, if you’re reading this, chances are you don’t know where to start. After all, networking can seem like a daunting task, especially if you don’t have an impressive network to begin with. Well, don’t worry – I’m here to help. In this blog post, I’ll share my tips on how to follow the right people and grow your network the right way, so that you can achieve the kind of success you’re after.
Quick Summary of Key Points
You can follow people, places, and topics on Google+ by clicking the “Follow” button that appears when you view their profile or post. Additionally, you can use the search bar to find what you are looking for and use the “Follow” button to follow them.
What Does it Mean to Follow?
Commonly associated with social media, “following” is an important step in growing professional networks. In its simplest form, following someone means adding them to your network and subscribing to their content or updates. However, the idea of following can become more complex when considering the variety of ways that people interact with each other online.
The term “following” implies a sense of commitment. It implies that you are interested in receiving updates from that account and engaging with the content they share (whether it be by liking, commenting, or sharing). On the flipside, it also means that you are giving up some data privacy as you allow certain accounts access to read your posts, comments, and other activities online.
Following someone can have both positive and negative implications for professionals. On one hand, it can be a great way to stay up-to-date on industry news, gain insights into topics related to one’s profession, and expand your network. On the other hand, too much following can lead to information overload or distraction away from one’s primary line of work or goals. Therefore, it is important to thoughtfully consider who you follow as well as how many accounts you follow.
This idea of conscious decision-making regarding the people and content we choose to follow speaks directly to the benefits of following people. Therefore, let us move on and discuss what these benefits may be.
Next section: What are the Benefits of Following?
What are the Benefits of Following?
When it comes to expanding your professional network, following people can be an effective strategy with many benefits. Some of these include learning from more experienced professionals, gaining access to content that would otherwise not be available, and building a larger online presence.
The first major advantage of following other professionals is that you can learn from their successes and mistakes, giving you fresh insights into the industry. By taking what they have learned, you will be able to better inform your own strategies and grow in ways that would not be possible without them. This will help you to stay ahead of the game in terms of industry knowledge and emerging trends.
The second benefit relates to exclusive content. Following leaders in the industry may provide access to resources and materials which wouldn’t normally be made public. Not only can this help you increase your skillset, but it can also give you an edge when it comes to competing in the job market or making your mark within a certain field.
Finally, a large part of networking involves having a strong online presence. Following other professionals is one way of increasing your visibility as well as giving your profile credibility since people take notice when respected figures are ‘following’ each other on social media platforms or commenting each other’s work.
Having said that, there are some drawbacks associated with following too many people, one such being that it can become difficult to keep up with everything in one’s newsfeed and this could lead to missed opportunities or lost connexions. Additionally, if one is constantly busy trying to keep up with others’ activities rather than building their own network and profile, there is a risk for followers themselves to get less attention than those who are leading the conversations.
Ultimately, it all boils down to following the right people with purpose and understanding the balance between learning from others’ expertise and growing your own networks. Now that we have looked at some of the key benefits associated with following people on social media platforms and beyond, let’s discuss how to follow with purpose in the next section.
Top Points to Remember
Following other professionals on social media and beyond can be an effective strategy to expand your professional network with many potential benefits. It can help you learn from more experienced professionals, gain access to exclusive content, and increase your visibility by giving your profile credibility. However, it is important to keep up with everything in one’s news feed, as well as balance learning from others and growing your own networks in order to make sure that you are getting the right kind of attention.
How to Follow with Purpose
When growing your network and following the right people, it is important to do so with purpose. This means you should think carefully before each connexion, ask yourself how this contact can add value to your network, and review potential contacts in the same way someone may look for a job candidate.
A great way to start is by identifying your own goals and abilities, as well as noting what makes you unique or valuable to others. These same questions can be asked when researching potential contacts. What do they bring to the table? Does their background align with your goals? Will they add variety or amplify your skill sets? Taking time to thoughtfully evaluate each new connexion will maintain the quality of your network — and could even lead to unexpected collaborations.
Alternatively, some argue there is a benefit in adding diverse contacts without deliberate effort. They maintain that connecting with those outside of one’s comfort zone adds depth – albeit slowly – and can eventually improve the overall quality in terms of access and range of experiences. Following people based on an individual’s interest rather than “value” is also advocated for its entertainment value, which could be beneficial depending on an individual’s specific goals.
Regardless of which approach you use, managing each connexion is also key. Setting boundaries such as expectations for communication cadence may help clear up any misunderstandings later on about commitment levels. Taking the time to nurture relationships that are already established can also help set conditions for further connexions down the line, not only through established colleagues but also through their own networks.
Keeping these considerations in mind serves as a good foundation before learning from examples. The next section will discuss how using successful people as a model can complement effective networking actions and tactics.
Learn From Examples
Learning from examples is a great way to grow your network and connect with the right people. By “examples”, we mean successful professionals or influencers in your industry – understanding their stories, experiences, and perspectives can give you valuable insights into what it takes to succeed yourself!
First of all, you should try to find someone who resonates with you personally. It could be an entrepreneur that you admire, an influencer with an interesting story, or anyone else whose career path or lifestyle speaks to you. Try looking at industries related to yours and see what people have achieved in them so far.
You can also learn from those that have already been through some of the same challenges as you are facing. People with similar backgrounds often share tips and advice on how they navigated their own journey – reach out to them for insights and take notes about what works for them. Doing this can help you develop a better understanding of yourself and where you want to be.
Of course, since everyone has different circumstances, it’s important not to compare yourself too much. Doing so may encourage unhealthy competition and discourage you from making progress on your own goals. Instead, focus on developing your own unique approach and capitalise on opportunities that are best suited for you.
By studying the successes of others, you can understand the direction you want to take and set yourself up for professional growth. Take note of the trends shaping your industry as well as any common mistakes made by those around you—the lessons learned here can help guide your decisions down the line! With this knowledge in hand, move onto the next stage: finding the direction you want to take for your network growth journey.
- According to Twitter, following someone means that their Tweets and Retweets will show up in your home timeline.
- Following someone does not equate to them automatically following you back, meaning that you can have more followers than people following you.
- As of 2021, over 192 million people globally access Twitter at least once a month.
Finding the Direction You Want to Take
When it comes to growing your network, the most important thing is finding the direction that you want to take. Imagine starting on a long highway without any idea of which way to go – this is how it often feels when first looking to build a larger network.
First, take a moment and really reflect on what your goals are in the long run. Knowing what you ultimately want out of the process will help you choose which types of professionals should be part of your expanding sphere of influence. For example, if your goal involves launching a new business venture, a few people from the local chambers of commerce or an industry association could come in handy when gathering advice and support. Consider which professions would benefit you and give those professionals your attention.
Second, work hard to establish yourself as an important node within your chosen networks. The more valuable members view you as being, the more likely they are to nurture their relationship with you. This can be achieved by joining groups such as LinkedIn or crafting thought-provoking blog posts that attract visitors who will hopefully become part of your inner circle. Marketing yourself as an influencer amongst like-minded individuals can produce favourable results if managed correctly.
Finally, make sure to express appreciation to those around you who provide invaluable insight or advice along the way. Showing gratitude through words or deeds reinforces relationships between members of any network and helps ensure future success for everyone involved.
With careful consideration about the direction you want to take and deliberate steps taken towards achieving your goals, following the right people and growing your network can be accomplished faster than you might imagine. Now it’s time to move onto defining these goals so that action can begin towards making them happen.
Defining Your Goals
When it comes to growing your network, it is important that you first define the goals you wish to achieve. Doing so from the outset will ensure that you focus on the right people and take the necessary steps to reach your objectives. This is because having clear goals will guide your decisions and help inform who to follow and how to best increase your network.
For instance, if your goal is to increase your professional connexions for career opportunities, then following people in similar lines of work or within organisations that interest you may be beneficial. On the other hand, if expanding your network with like-minded individuals from a similar background is more of a priority, then focusing on finding social gatherings or platforms populated by those groups can provide an additional avenue for growth.
So when defining your goals, consider the type of people you’d want in your network and what steps would need to be taken in order to get there. It’s also possible to have multiple objectives; such as connecting with new industries or expanding into various cities and countries. In this case, it is important to set realistic expectations and prioritise which objectives are most feasible within a given timeframe. Once these targets have been established, then you can begin strategizing how best to keep track of them and follow the right people to grow your network.
Having a comprehensive understanding of what success looks like for growing your network is key for tracking progress along the way. By exhibiting clear goals at the start of this journey, there will be a more effective approach towards increasing your network in accordance with what matters most. To learn more about how best to take actionable steps when reaching out to the right people, read on for our section on ‘The Followers’.
The Followers
When it comes to building a network, growing an online presence and becoming part of an influential community, the importance of cultivating followers cannot be understated. This can be done by following the right people who have similar interests and engaging with them.
The benefits of having followers is that it provides a platform for users to grow their content in front of a larger audience and create meaningful interactions between users. With more followers, users are able to reach more people with what they are promoting and connect with like-minded individuals. Additionally, followers also lead to increased opportunities as more exposure brings attention from potential employers, investors or business partners, allowing one to optimise their profiles in order to display their best talent or skill set.
On the other hand, blindly chasing after followers can be unproductive. It is important to remember that the quality of the followers often counts more than quantity, so the focus should be on following individuals who are genuinely interested in connecting with people rather than those seeking media fame or who are following thousands of users without any purpose. While significant followings may appeal to some, many potential contacts may be bypassed if there is not enough time given to interact meaningfully within these communities.
In conclusion, it is important to focus on gathering the right kind of followers rather than attempting to get as many followers as possible without taking any specific approach. Therefore, the key is striking a balance between quantity and quality when it comes to followers. With this in mind, we can now move onto the next step which involves building a community around your profile.
Building a Community
Building a strong and positive community is essential for successfully growing a professional network. It involves creating relationships with like-minded individuals, engaging in conversation and collaboration, connecting with potential business partners, and developing trust amongst peers.
There are two approaches to take when building a community. The first is taking an “inside-out” approach. This involves starting from within, such as reinforcing connexions within an individual’s current network and expanding those connexions organically. People should prioritise their relationships with those closest to them before branching out and networking with strangers.
The alternative approach is to follow an “outside-in” strategy. This involves finding high profile people outside of your current network that you can engage with and learn from. Building relationships with these individuals can open doors to other influential contacts who can eventually become part of your professional circle.
Given that there are pros and cons associated with each option, it is important to choose the right strategy that suits your own network needs and goals. To do this effectively requires careful research into the relevant people in the industries of interest and the ability to select the right people to follow. With that said, it is also vital to stay true to yourself when building a presence in any online community or industry – don’t be afraid to assert yourself but also remember go respect everyone’s perspectives and opinions at all times.
With consideration for both approaches towards building a strong community, advice and tips for following the right people is necessary for networking growth. In the next section we will explore this further.
Advice and Tips for Following
Following the right people is one of the most important steps to growing your network. It’s important to be mindful and selective when considering who you follow. Here are some advice and tips that can help you build an effective and successful network by following the right people.
First, take a look at what sort of accounts you already follow as well as those that your own followers enjoy. This can give you good insight into what content resonates with them and what type of people they want to connect with. Following accounts that your followers enjoy is a great way to form deeper relationships with them and to find new opportunities for collaboration.
Second, consider carefully who you follow so that it reflects your own professional interests. Keep in mind the type of content you would like displayed on your profile and choose to follow individuals and organisations that fit with that style. That way, potential connexions can get a sense for who you are and how you view yourself within the industry.
Third, carefully review profiles before deciding to follow someone back. Viewing their posts will give you a better idea of what kind of conversation they engage in and if it fits into your network’s purpose. Make sure to pay attention to if they post any spam or irrelevant content that might negatively impact their follower count or even damage their reputation.
While it’s important to be careful when deciding whom to follow, it’s also important not to miss out on valuable connexions just because they don’t seem relevant at first glance. Analysing account profiles beyond just the surface level will help identify key principles behind the postings which often reveal greater potential for collaboration opportunities and building meaningful connexions across all industries.
Now, let’s move on and examine how understanding the process and its results can further benefit our networking strategy.
Understanding the Process and Its Results
The process of following the right people and growing your network can be complex but it isn’t impossible. It’s important to understand the process, its purpose and results, to maximise your success with this strategy.
First, it’s essential to research the type of people you should follow before actively pursuing connexions. Know who your target audience is, the types of professionals who may be interested in the products or services you offer, or who may have knowledge or resources of use to you. Once you’ve established this baseline of understanding, consider creating a list of contacts that match these criteria and plan out how you will grow your network with them.
Connecting and interacting with contacts through social media platforms is an important part of the process as well. Make sure you introduce yourself in an appropriate manner for each platform and engage regularly with those in your network. Pay attention to how often you post content, the type of material that appeals to followers and what kind of comments or responses typically receive the most engagement from others online.
These steps are necessary steps to achieve a successful long-term networking relationships. Such measures help form a mutually beneficial connexion among both parties and can lead to collective growth opportunities, new connexions, or even business agreements or partnerships.
However, there’s also a potential downside to focusing exclusively on obtaining new contacts without considering their value in terms of mutual benefit. It’s possible that one may end up wasting their time fostering meaningless contacts, leading to nothing but disappointment further down the road when no meaningful result emergences from those connexions in the future.
With this in mind, it’s best to ensure that each contact made contributes something valuable back by taking stock periodically as part of your networking process evaluation – this way you’ll be able to decide if someone should stay on your list of contacts or not. Such proactive steps will enable better results in terms of quality rather than quantity relationships with others in your network.
Common Questions and Explanations
What are the benefits of following someone or something on Google?
Following someone or something on Google can bring a number of benefits for users. Firstly, following someone or something can help keep users up to date with current trends and news related to their interests. By following relevant accounts, users can stay informed about issues that they care about and learn more about them. Additionally, following certain accounts may grant users access to exclusive content and resources that they wouldn’t be able to access otherwise. This can help users get ahead by knowing what’s happening in the world around them before anyone else.
Moreover, by following relevant people or entities it is easier to build relationships online with likeminded individuals and organisations. Through these connexions users can quickly increase their network and boost their reach. This opens up new possibilities such as getting inspiration from others in their field, forming mutually beneficial partnerships, increasing visibility for their own work, and more.
In conclusion, following people or entities on Google has many advantages including staying informed about current trends and topics, gaining access to exclusive content, expanding one’s network, and more. Incorporating this practise into one’s everyday life can lead to immense growth opportunities offline as well.
What is the difference between following someone or something and subscribing to them?
Following someone or something on social media is different from subscribing to them. Following someone on social media allows you to get an insight into what they are posting, without having every post show up in your newsfeed. Subscribing to them means that every new post or update they make will be automatically shown in your newsfeed so you don’t miss anything.
Following someone or something is often free and requires no long-term commitment, while subscribing may require a recurring fee or at least some type of agreement. For example, subscribing to a newsletter may require an email address to receive the update each week, whereas following the same newsletter on a social network does not usually require this extra step.
Subscribing also allows for a higher level of engagement with the content than just following does because it brings the content directly to the viewer instead of requiring them to actively seek it out. This can help increase awareness and understanding of the things being posted by the person or entity being subscribed to.
Ultimately, following someone or something can provide a basic overview of what is being posted, while subscribing increases engagement and helps keep viewers updated on new information regularly.
In what ways can I follow people and things on Google?
Following people and things on Google is easy — all you need to do is use the search engine to locate them. You can start by searching for their name, business name, or topic of interest. Once you’ve identified someone or something you want to follow, there are several different ways to connect with them.
The first way is to add them as a contact in Google Contacts. This allows you to easily search for their name in Gmail when sending a message, event invite, or any other communication.
Another method is to use a service like Google Feeds or Google Collections to keep track of new content related to the person or topic you’re following. All you need to do is enter their name or subject into the search bar and click the ‘Follow’ button at the top of the results page. Whenever new content is published related to that person or topic, it will be displayed in your Google Feeds list.
Finally, if your goal is to engage with the person directly and build a relationship, using Google Plus can help facilitate that process. Simply type their name into the search bar and choose ‘Connect’ when their profile appears in the results. Depending on how they’ve set up their account, you may also be able to comment on their posts and add them directly into your Circles for easy access.
No matter what your networking goals are, following people and things on Google can be a great way to grow your network and increase your visibility online.
