How to Build Relationships

There has been a lot written on how to build relationships with friends in your industry and keep up with your network. I won’t go deep into this too much. I try to keep up with my ever growing network of people I know, and like, through social networks. Twitter & Facebook are my preferred ways to go here. However I just made a little pledge I will be more focussed on my family,  work and my projects. So how to keep track of my search friends..? Better than keeping up online, is meeting in person. Even if it’s just for a couple of minutes to chat. Get some face time in!

It’s The Small Things

So, when I heard from Bas Van Den Beld, founder of State of Search, was coming to San Francisco to attend and be on a panel at Search Engine Strategies (SESSF), I didn’t hesitate. I fired up Facebook and sent a message to Bas:

Me: “Hey Bas, I see you are coming to San Francisco for SES. Want me to pick you up from the airport?”

Bas: “Wow, I don’t say no to such an offer!“

So today, I picked up Bas, and got more 1:1 face time catching up with him while driving from SFO to his hotel, than I would be able to while he would be bussy at the search conference, and where a lot of people would be listening to our conversations. Although Bas and I can always switch back to speaking Dutch, although I have to say, it’s like I have trouble explaining myself when we talk search in my mother tongue.

This is how I like to build my relationships. More personal, better conversations and deeper understanding what the future will bring. Building relationships through Face-2-Face meetings builds a stronger network than through Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. These are tools which can be used to check in with your network, but do not build any of the relationships.

PH-BFH KLM Asia – City of HongKong

And while I was early, it gave me the opportunity to shoot some pictures of the KL605 landing at SFO. (click on the picture for the large size)

Looking forward to the rest of the week, catching up with people in town for SES. Personally, I’m not going to the conference, as I’m too busy with some projects at work, and my own. However, I will make time for some face time with my favorite search friends!