Blasting News to Your Network

Take a moment to reach out to your network when you have good news, valuable tips to share, and invitations to industry events.  If you are fortunate to have a large network, it can be impractical to contact each person individually.  To save time, you need to blast your network, yet still make a personal connection, so they don’t feel spammed. When is it alright to tweet and when do you need to go old-school with email?  Follow these straightforward tips for blasting news to your network.
LinkedIn Feed
Like me, you probably have many contacts that you only know through their LinkedIn posts.  They become a familiar face and earn a reputation as a resource or expert in a certain field. Posts on LinkedIn, industry forums, and blogs are another way to blast news to your network.  This forum is suitable for industry-related announcements, news, and reports from recent studies.
Email Blast
If you have a special event or big news to share and you want a more personal way to connect, an email is ideal.  You can customize the message using a system, such as Constant Contact so that each person is greeted personally.  You can break your network into categories so you can customize the message for each category of your network.  Examples of news to blast by email include events that you are hosting, news about a new job or relocation, or good news about a new publication, venture, or product launch.
Twitter
Dropping a quick tweet is the most efficient way to alert your followers about a great article, video, or upcoming event.  Use this method when you are passing along news that does not relate to you. This is your “FYI” messenger.  Twitter is also a secondary communication tool as part of your multi-faceted outreach.  For example, if you are hosting a major event,  you may invite your network in a more personal way, but use Twitter is part of your social media drumbeat to generate buzz.
Text Blast
Oh, the dreaded group text. Only group text when all of the parties know each other, and the text is regarding a shared event or situation. Group texts will share the cell phone numbers of all recipients. That opens them up to receiving unwelcome texts.
Facebook, Evite & Instagram
Our social life intersects with our professional life.  We may host an annual BBQ and want to include close contacts from our business network.  Or, we are so proud of the new deck we just built that we must share a photo. What about the video of your child throwing the final pitch in the championship game? These are all great examples personal news that we may want to share.  Examples like these are best shared using Facebook, Evite, and Instagram.  Of course, remember to post everything with discretion.  Also, consider carefully which of your professional contacts that you invite into your personal network.
Keep in touch with your network.  Use one of more of the above methods to share news with your colleagues and strengthen your connection with them.  Different ways of communicating will allow you to stay in touch with your network in a meaningful and effective way.