A poster on a message board asks for interview advice and receives fifteen suggestions within minutes. Another shares news of her baby and how her maternity leave is going, and she receives congratulatory messages within minutes and more the next day. Someone else tells about impending layoffs at his company, and within minutes receives messages of support and encouragement.

The three examples are from strangers who have formed a community based on a common bond: they are all part of the same Internet message board. There are hundreds of posters on the board, which is viewed by 25,000 people a day. There is a deep bond there, which is shocking to many Generation X'ers and Baby Boomers.

People do develop, form, and maintain bonds via the Internet. In this impersonal work world, it is possible to form bonds and bridges with people without meeting them face-to-face. It is possible to bond with employees who work at different locations, with clients and their different divisions, with industry leaders--all without a personal conversation.

Would forming deep connections with employees and customers help your company?

Rather than resist, fear, or doubt the use of building bridges, learn how to use the systems (social media) out there to make you, and your organization, more productive and profitable.

The following suggestions can help:

Be selective.

There is no need to join every media outlet there is, and then ask the same people to connect, friend, or follow you on each. Join the ones which will help you most and use them appropriately. For example, you might have family and friends on Facebook, business associates on LinkedIn, and a blog especially for clients. Someone who uses all five or so versions of LinkedIn then asks to be connected on everyone is annoying.

Be active.

Update blogs two, three, or four times a month. Twitter daily. Tweet news of blog updates. Update profiles to reflect changes in work, interests, or contact information. Participate in discussions. The discussions form the community, so join in. Avoid being the in-your-face salesperson in the discussions. Repeatedly posting about your company's value-added service is annoying and probably working against those who invade the groups.

Be useful.

Offer advice, when asked for it. Answering discussion questions helps the members of the community and shows your expertise. Share your expertise and give of yourself. For example, offering a free job search target & tracking system has led to revenue for Kelly Tyler Training Services. The system was given free, as promised, then companies wanted additional copies. Revenue is the direct result of using social media well, which means no annoying, constantly repeating sales pitches.

Be humble.

Several sites invite members to post status updates. Pause to consider what that means to readers and post carefully. For example, an entrepreneur twitters about his every move: "I'm starting the day with CNN..." a few hours later, "I'm getting ready for a lunch meeting"..."I'm back from lunch. Ate too much and am tired."

No one cares about his every move. Not to be rude, but the same can be said for any of us. A sales rep who travels for work posts status updates on Linked In about his travels, and they are dull! "Leaving for Mankato...ate at the airport...traveling for work is hard." Blah! Blah! Blah! Share news but make it interesting and useful.

Social media haters are wasting their time. A forty-something executive recently bragged at a meeting about his insufficient technical skills. "When I need something done, someone else does it. When I need to speak with someone, I call them on the phone, the old-fashioned way," he said in front of his open-mouthed peers.

An old-fashioned attitude may be preventing the executive from building bridges with employees who work around the world or with clients who do. As a leader of a high-energy agency, the executive should be seen as more updated, more modern. He may need to be more visible in his industry, unless he is comfortable being viewed as irrelevant. If he wants to build relationships in today's world, he needs to be more socially savvy with regard to social media.



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