In all reality, my Stars are not your Stars. How do you choose your stars?

In all reality, my Stars are not your Stars. I look up to people who not only care about being a role model, mentor, and teacher, but those who truly care about their community. They’re the people that say Happy Birthday to you on the social streams, not because they feel social pressure to do so, but because they’ve had meaningful conversations with you before online and in person. For me, they are the people you see to the left.

Why Care About Connecting with Them?

If you think about the people in your personal and professional life, they’re people that enrich your life as you help enrich theirs. When they need help, you can be supportive, as much as your time and schedule permit. When you need help, they reciprocate in kind. We read about the 12:1 rule, promoting others more than yourself, yet hardly anyone comes close to that ratio from my observation. One thing is certain, if you ever need support for one of your initiatives, you’ll have more success if you’ve been consistently supportive of those in your network.

Think of it as creating your own BNI (Business Networking International, one of the largest Business Networking organizations worldwide) by surrounding yourself with talented professionals from all walks of life. We already do this, but how often do we sit down and examine our key connectors, business associates, strongest advocates, and strategic partners to determine if there is a type of professional missing from our core group? Reviewing­ your list of all-stars, does anyone fit the bill or could you get a referral from someone in this group to fill in the gaps?

Best Practices for Connecting to your All-Stars

Generating interest in what you have to say publically can help you connect to those that may develop into positive relationships for you. Taking it a step further, there are some specific actions you can take that have been proven to be very effective.
Consume the content from your all-stars
Choose your communication and interactions wisely Dazzle and over deliver as often as possible. Be yourself, not a groupie Earn their trust

Consume content from your All-Stars

Most likely the people that you follow create content worthy of your time whether it’s a blog, video, podcast, etc. If you want to stay on top of your game and informed of the latest trends, tools, and technology there is no better place to start than the content created by your all-stars. It can be beneficial to you to respond, when applicable, with something that may help further the conversation. This requires well crafted communication that will catch their eye.

Choose you communication and interactions wisely

Not every tweet requires a response. Just because you’re looking to get noticed doesn’t mean you need to always be heard. Pick opportunities that will provide you a fighting chance to stand out from the masses. A good example of this would be off hours, that is, when the stream isn’t overloaded with posts. When reviewing site traffic, midday on a Wednesday may not be quite as good as Saturday morning. When you do have success connecting with your desired all-star, take note. What do you think caused them to engage with you and what day/time did it occur? It may sound silly, but as you chart out your little successes, I’m betting you’ll start seeing trends.

Dazzle and over deliver as often as possible

Have you ever spent time with someone who impresses you with their knowledge or ability to tell a story? Everyone wants to be around them and spend time with them because they’re fun and interesting. Do you think Chris Brogan or Scott Stratten have trouble finding a lunch partner when out of town? I’m not suggesting you try and act like them, since copying someone’s personal style never works. Modeling your online behavior after someone you admire is a different story.

Is there something you do that dazzles people? If not, are you willing to put the effort in to eventually be a stand-out in your area of interest or expertise? There will come many opportunities to go above and beyond. Whenever possible, do more than what is expected. The saying, “under promise and over deliver” is something to keep in the back of your mind at all times.

Be yourself, not a groupie

Seems obvious enough, yet how many times do we see people act out of character in hopes of getting noticed? It’s happening right now, people pushing the envelope with their messaging because their less-than-exciting content isn’t selling. Being a fan boy of someone popular is not a big deal, we all have our favorites. The thing to remember is we’re not talking about rock stars, (unless of course your all-stars are comprised of actual rock stars) so groupies need not apply.

Earn their trust

Are you reliable, meaning can we expect to see and hear from you on a frequent basis or will it always be a guess as to when you’ll pop up? All-stars see a flash in the pan every day, for them to start trusting you, you’ll need to prove your staying power for months on end, not just days or weeks. Is your message consistent or are you a different character each day? Do you have success stories you can point to as yours or are you hoping one will happen by chance?

Like many of my posts, I ask several more questions than provide answers. My intent is to provoke thoughtful consideration in regard to the topics I cover. Think about how you answered the questions as you read through the blog. If you’re already connecting with the people that you want, give yourself a pat on the back. For those still trying to get the ear of an all-star, consider the suggestions above as your roadmap to success.

Thanks to David Benjamin for this article.

View my web Site: http://www.ednamuse.com for more information on my new novel: "Connected To The Stars"