techhints 
A couple of days back, I received a direct message on Twitter from someone I had just begun to follow, asking me how they could help support my business. This person clearly understood the time-old principle that makes the business networking world go round, that in giving, they would surely receive reciprocal favours, in return, over time. I published an article just over a week ago, which listed several ideas for helping out social network buddies, but this message made me think again, and I came up with some new suggestions, so here they are:
Follow Friday
On Twitter, there is an established activity known as #Follow Friday, whereby, tweeting on Fridays, Tweeters can recommend a buddy as a great person to follow on Twitter. This is a fine way of making your buddy more popular on the network, and they will, no doubt, be extremely grateful.
Blog Subscription
Many of those popularizing their business on Twitter write a blog, providing valuable information to their targeted audience. By subscribing to their blog, you will be demonstrating your support, helping to grow their readership numbers, and hopefully accumulating some useful information that is relevant to you, as well.
Test driving your Buddy’s Product or Service.
Offering to test drive your buddy’s product or service is a great way to be of benefit to them, especially if you subsequently give constructive online feedback that will, in effect, constitute free publicity.
Attending their online or offline events
Your social media buddies may hold offline or online events. Online events might take the form of radio shows, tweetathons, virtual exhibitions, etc, etc. Taking part and positively contributing will help to ensure the success of their ventures.
Featuring them on your blog
If you have a blog yourself, writing an article related to your buddy is a great way of showcasing their product or service. You could also support them in publishing a guest article. Promotion of the article might then be via Twitter, Facebook, or other Social networks.
Submitting one of their articles to Delicious or another social bookmarking site
This is a great way to be one of those helping them, over time, to get a higher page ranking, which will enable them to get better listings on Google and consequently more traffic.c
Entering comments on their Blog
If they have a blog, contributing on a regular basis to the comments section constructively can prove invaluable to them, as demonstrating high levels of reader participation will make the blog more popular.
Introducing your networking buddy to a contact who might be of use to them
It is always very satisfying to link up those you meet online with others who might be in a position to collaborate beneficially with them. Why not try it yourself and see?
Conclusion
Well, that’s it for now. Reassured that your business can only benefit, over time, if you build up a small but significant tribe, wisely chosen fellow online networkers who understand the concept that helping others build their businesses can only impact their entrepreneurial ventures.
