Webster defines “social” in this manner:

Main Entry: ¹so·cial

1 : involving allies or confederates <the SocialWar between the Athenians and their allies>
2 a : marked by or passed in pleasant companionship with one’s friends or associates<leads a very full social life> b : sociable c : of, relating to, or designed for sociability <a social club>
3 : of or relating to human society, the interaction of the individual and the group, or the welfare of human beings as members of society <social institutions>
4 a : tending to form cooperative and interdependent relationships with others of one’s kind : gregarious b : living and breeding in more or less organized communities <social insects> c of a plant : tending to grow in groups or masses so as to form a pure stand
5 a : of, relating to, or based on rank or status in a particular society <a member of our social set> b : of, relating to, or characteristic of the upper classes c :formal
6 : being such in social situations <a social drinker>

In every single definition of the word, more than one person is involved.  So when it comes to your social networking, is there more than one person involved?

Yes, you may have more than one person in your network, but are you interacting with them?

Are you engaging them in conversation?

Are you reaching out to them to get to know them?

Moreover, do you even know who the majority of your followers are or do you follow every one you can with the hopes that they will follow you back?  And do you follow every one who follows you?

I ask these questions of you, because you should be asking them of yourself.  Social networking should not be a billboard for you to simply talk about yourself, your product, or your business.

Can you do these things? Absolutely!  I’m not saying that you shouldn’t.  But it’s not the only thing that you should be talking about.

I get slightly hot under the collar when I see someone who has 52,000 followers, yet only follows 121 people.

It annoys me to look at their stream and see links to their business and products, but no interaction with other people.

The reality of it is, engaging people, whether it be on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or any other social media outlet is about getting involved.

I know that social media takes time to manage.  Even with just 300+ followers, I have to find ways to make it all work.  But, my goal is to respond to everyone who reaches out to me.  I attempt to learn more about each of my new followers.  I also retweet and share comments from others to help them spread the word.

If you’re not interacting with your followers, please consider doing so.  You’ll find that your true network will grow, true relationships will form, and your business will flourish much faster.