Building a Global Audience Part II

Thanks so much for following along in this series. Last week we talked about one of the best tools to reach out to your audience: blogging. The second part of going global is to increase your audience through Social Media and Networking. Staying in front of your audience in different ways allows you to grow your audience while building trust and relationships with like-minded people in your niche.

Social Media & Networking

Many of us use social media and networking tools for fun and to keep up with our friends and family. But, how can we utilize these tools to grow our business?

1. Finding and building relationships with Strategic Partners- Try doing a search for other people that have similar interests as you. They may be in the same field, or complimentary fields. Get to know them online and find ways that you could benefit each other by connecting for calls, interviews, guest posts, or referring your audience to them. Building online relationships is KEY to expanding your reach, and by showing up in different areas, you continue to build trust and be seen as the expert in your field.

2. Creating opportunities to share information with your niche- Be someone useful. Don’t just let your audience know that you are having Starbucks. Position yourself as a resource. Post links to interesting articles, pose questions, create discussions and point out other professionals that have great stuff to say. I like to recommend other useful links and track their success rate through su.pr. This way, I can see what my audience is most interested in and continue to point them in the right direction.

3. Building transparency creates more trust- Part of allowing your audience in to personal sites like facebook is that you open up the fact that you are a real person, Just Like Them. I like to keep things funny online and people connect with humor. Don’t be afraid to let people into your personal network. I still post all my party photos and ridiculous links. It just adds to your likability factor! One thing that I would recommend AGAINST is spamming your facebook friends. I add links for my blog posts, but do not create a new group every five minutes or tag people in notes. People will start to hate you if you spam their personal life, so keep it simple and fun, and they will keep coming back for more!

4. Reaching out and involve others in your life- Invite others into your world. Get them interested in groups, forums, or even activities and destinations you will be going to. One of my favorite nomads meets up with people on his travels. I had a great opportunity to hang out and interview Chris Guillebeau, from The Art of Nonconformity, just because he made himself available. I try to make a point of letting people know where I am going to be so I can meet them in person. By posting my status on facebook and twitter social networking can turn into real life meetings!

So, after all of this, I have one remaining question for you….

How can you reach out more to your audience and get them involved?

So far we’ve gotten you up, running, and setting up a Global Audience… So, what’s next? After you get familiar with using your online tools, you will need to get organized and streamline your activities a bit. Keep an eye out for the next post: Global Tips, Tricks & Downloads.

Questions? Comments? Leave them below!

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