There are many approaches to networking and social networking, but none as fun and effective as this one.  I’ve found a lot of success making real connections and growing community around my blog at the same time. 

There is opportunity in every single person who you follow or who follows you on Twitter.  Gary Vaynerchuk would call this “Hustle 2.0″.  Even with hundreds of thousands of followers Gary still hustles to meet and truly connect with every single person he comes in contact with.  He knows that his next big opportunity could come through one of these people and that just one person could mean a serious tipping point in his career. 

I followed Gary’s advice and started to go one by one through my list of followers.  What I found was that most of these people were just like me–trying to build a brand in the crazy world of social media.  Connecting with them is easy!

1. One by one, check out the links in their Twitter Profile
2. Because most blogs are small–creating a noticeable comment is not hard.  Think back to your early days of blogging–how thrilled were you when people cared enough to comment?! 
3. Tell them you found their blog through Twitter.  This does 2 things–attracts attention to you on Twitter AND gives them valuable insight on how people are finding their blog.
4. Attach your URL to your name (not in your comment–that’s spam)–most of these small time bloggers will take the time to check out your blog and sometimes leave reciprocal comments.  These people want to know more about their readers!
5. Sign your name to your comment and leave your twitter username (I don’t link it). 

-Matt
@ZaggedEdge

This makes things more personal within the community and gives them a chance to see who you are on Twitter.  Since you told them you found their blog through Twitter, they’ll probably start to follow you–and you’ll have made a real friend on Twitter.

     6.  If these people are nice enough to send reciprocal comments be sure to email and thank them.  Give them feedback on their blog and tell them you’d love to connect with them on other social media platforms (links are okay here). 

     7.  If you find something on one of these blogs that you find incredibly useful/interesting, tweet about it! “checking out @waynesutton’s iPhone blog. really cool”

     8.  Let people know you’ve checked out their blog by sending them a direct message “d mikelangford checked out your blog–here is some brief feedback”

    9.  If you mention someone in a post–send them a direct message.  People like to know about their press!

   10.  Be real.  Don’t overdue it and force false relationships or campaign for friends.  If people want to make a genuine connection they will–if not, there’s plenty more people out there.  You don’t have use all 10 steps with every person–you don’t want to overwhelm or bait your new connection. 

The world of social media is a transparent one–opening to others is the best thing you can do whether you’re a fortune 500 company or an individual building your personal brand.  At the other end of every computer is a real person, often times, just like you, maybe even watching SportsCenter like I am.

Addendum: Great post by @guykawasaki on How to use Twitter as a Tool