How to improve the quality of your network

Networking is part of the entrepreneurial DNA. But simply accumulating 30,000 connections on LinkedIn or thousands of followers on other social media platforms is a waste of your time. Instead, you should be:

1. Identifying and developing a higher quality network
2. Managing your networks
3. Using analytics to measure whether you are hitting your goals

Ways to do this are:

1. Build your personal brand and business model canvas

1. Define your goals and objectives
2. Be discriminating about accepting an invitation to connect
3. Prune your contact list on a regular basis
4. Focus on the 20% of your contacts that will add 80% of the value
5. Make it a habit to engage your higher value contacts with content and private messages
6. Block and report suspicious invitations to connect
7. Introduce high value connections to other high value connections. Use the most appropriate way to communicate i.e. email, Slack, text or on LinkedIn chat.
8. Respond to appropriate invitations using LinkedIn premium (or accumulated credits) without connecting
9. Ignore requests from those who don't take the time to create a professional profile or indicate why they want to connect, other than "we have many similar connections", don't reveal their names, are obviously trying to sell you something or send you a file to open that might be infected.

10. Create content that attracts followers, not necessarily connections, e.g. a newsletter.

11. Don't make these social influencer mistakes

12. Give things to connections: congratulations, articles that might interest them, connections to help meet their needs, even a joke or two. Always agree to help their children.

More ideas:

• Expand the diversity of your network
• Start a "mealtime networking" plan. Never eat alone.
• Plan to attend at least two conferences in the next year
• Start a creative community
• Invite an outsider
• Cross-train with experts

LinkedIn introduced a new feature that enables you to manage your connection requests with ease and grow your following more rapidly. When LinkedIn users send an invitation to connect with members that have enabled Creator Mode, they will now automatically begin following those?members.

A substantial proportion of social media contacts are gawkers, who simply follow or scan content. 4-5% are talkers who periodically comment on content. 1% are walkers who are go givers instead of go getters.

Use these ideas to focus on managing the quality of your network, not the quantity, and make better use of your time by taking a three week vacation or reading more.

Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA is the President and CEO of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs