Are you networking strategies producing the results you want? If not, incorporate the Social Web into more of your plan.

It’s new and hot. The Social Web. Sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Slashdot, Digg, YouTube. . . the list gets longer and longer with each passing day. The balloon of convergence grows bigger and flies higher. The time when it is no longer important which network you are using is ready to be ushered in. However, proper management of whatever network you choose will soon validate the difference your company’s value. With the opening of previously exclusive systems, interacting systems will soon find that their merge into one. Soon which network is better will no longer be a question needing an answer. Rather the question will be limited to which value proposition to use and how to use it to reach your business or personal goals. You will have in your own hands the power to build your own kingdom of networks, relationships, information, knowledge and ultimately your value.

Technology has already placed in your hands the tools you will need, and the relationships that you build using these tools will give value to your company. The relationship economy is a reality now. You need to step up and face the challenge. The methods of yesterday no longer apply like they did previously, instead you need to adapt and grab the opportunity to maximize your value.

I have a few suggestions on how you can decide and plan for your chosen social network. Use them to evaluate whether you can stay on with your present networking strategies, improve on them or whether you need to totally trash them and work on a new plan.

Choose the social networks that you want to work alongside with the ones you are using now. Work towards building your relationship capital. Of course you don’t the selection randomly. You need to look for the networks which echo your own interests and values. Which one matches or complements your own choice of personalities and content. Choose the one which will give the best relationship capital for your company.

Look for the networks that will help you geo-target your audience and prospective clients, be it according to industry or topic. What’s that… you want to just work a network locally or regionally (geo-targeting)? Will the Social Web still help you? Without a doubt. Take for instance, if you used Twitter, since small businesses rely on local customers, it would imperative that they find and connect with local Twitter users. I recommend using these sites to do that:

Twitter Advanced Search http://search.twitter.com/advanced
Nearby Tweets http://nearbytweets.com/
ChirpCity http://chirpcity.com/
Tweepz http://tweepz.com/
Monitter http://monitter.com
Twitter yellow pages http://twellow.com
Scoopler http://scoopler.com

One important recommendation: manage your “stream.” When you first start to follow more and more people, you’ll notice the “stream” fills up quickly. Use Twitter search function to follow your own company/name mentions, and use tools like Tweet Deck to help you filter out the noise. This helps you focus on the most relevant users.

I read one great idea: since you’re ultimately trying to connect with complete strangers, before randomly follow anyone locally, take a creative approach and make your most recent tweet says something like “I’m looking for other Chicagoland folks to follow on Twitter.” That way, when they see I’m following them and check out my profile, the message explains the reasoning why a total stranger is suddenly following them. You’ll find it’s much easier to take the next step in networking, in person meeting, if others can just “check you out first” on Twitter, or where ever

Know the rules of the networks you will choose. What are their standards for connections? Do they employ RSS feeds? Picture…video’s? Does it offer a wide array of social media?

If you haven’t decided on the image you want to project and the brand you plan to use as your image, you had better start on it. If you’re using one now, ask if it will build your value proposition on your desired level – locally, regionally or globally.

You can now use multi-media tools to enhance your company’s value. Choose which network channels will help you reach your targeted audience.

And to sum it up, always keep your goal in mind and work your way towards it using all the tools that are now available, tools which will link you to the whole world.