I initially encountered Thom through mutual connections on  Twitter and then ran into him several times at SXSW Interactive 2009. He is the only business development-type person I have ever encountered that seems to understand online social networks and uses them incredibly effectively. In preparation for the interview I read his book Some Assembly Required, and it really changed the way I look at networking.

The entire interview is worth a watch if you have half an hour, but if you don’t, be sure to catch Thom’s segment on Social Media Strategy (8:14) and The Art of Follow Up (16:40).

Without further adieu, here is an index of what the video includes:

• 0:16 Thom’s Introduction
• 0:36 Thom’s Inspirations
  • Harvey McKay: How to Swim with the Sharks without Being Eaten Alive
• 1:35 Thom’s Philosophy of Giving Back
  • This philosophy really permeates all areas of his advice and is worth listening to
  • “You can have anything you want in this world if you help other people get what they want” – Zig Ziglar
  • Ask people you meet what their biggest challenge is and try to help if you can
  • You don’t have to be rich to be a philanthropist
• 8:14 Thom’s Social Media Strategy
  • 9:38 LinkedIn
  • 10:33 Which is the best social network?
    • “If you just jump in and start splashing around you will drown, and not find anyone there to help y0u, but if you really have a philosophy of how to use it that matches up with how other people use it you are going to find a lot of opportunity”
  • 11:24 Thom’s Linking Philosophy for LinkedIn and Facebook
  • 13:46 How Thom Uses Twitter
• 16:40 The Art of Follow Up
  • Seek people out where there could be a mutually beneficial relationship
  • You don’t have to follow up with everyone in order to be a good networker. Only for people where you feel there might be the possibility of a real relationship, follow up
  • Hand written notes are not “old school”
  • Strategize your follow up differently for every single person you meet
• 19:43 Mentors and Peer Groups
  • Thom got a great value out of his peer group of ten years
• 21:36 Marketing Yourself
  • “If you are going to network and build a brand, it is about consistency”
• 22:57 Advice for Startups
  • Look for networking groups: ask you vendors, advisers, competitors
  • Don’t be afraid of networking where your competitors network
  • Go where the people are
  • If you don’t find what you are looking for, form your own group
  • If you provide value, people will come
• 24:58 Thom on Self Reliance
  • Believe in yourself and you will do well
  • Think about where your path will take you
  • All opportunities come from people
  • Networking is an important topic for strategy

How do you increase your networking velocity?

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