I first heard the phrase "build your tribe" from my colleague and client Elon Bomani, who is a self-made millionaire. Ever since, it has stuck with me.
Building your tribe really just means to increase your following - such as your Facebook fans and friends, your Twitter followers, your blog subscribers, and those who are loyal to your brand in any other way.
These people make up your network, your personal community, your coalition, and your very own federation. If managed correctly, they will support you, they will buy what you're selling, and they will refer you to other people. Therefore, having a tribe is very essential to your company.
The key, however, is not to just connect with as many random people that you don't even know. Instead, you want to skillfully utilize social media and other avenues to actually meet, network, and stay connected with people that are relevant to what you do. It doesn't matter how many people are in your tribe. Quality and relevance are much more important than quantity.
While this may sound difficult at first, it's actually a fairly simple thing to do and there are many ways to do it.
Here are just 3 ways to effectively build your tribe: 1) Use Twellow.com This web site is a great tool that allows you to search Twitter profiles based on specific keywords. Use this to find people in your industry that would be great partners or potential clients.
2) Conduct Keyword Searches on Facebook Facebook, which by the way is the biggest social media platform in the world, allows you to search for user profiles - not just by name, but also with keywords. You can do this on their web site, and even more efficiently through their free mobile apps on iPhone and Droid. Again, find people that you feel would best respond to what you do.
3) Write and Distribute Columns Writing and distributing high-quality columns to media outlets is a great way to catch people's attention. It's also a great way to brand yourself with the media because they love to receive and publish free quality content. Utilize this strategy at least once a month, and be sure to include your web site (which should have some type of blog or newsletter signup), your Facebook fan page, and your Twitter account at the bottom of the column in the tagline. This will allow others to easily join your tribe.
