It should come as no surprise that there are many benefits to keeping in touch. After all, we, humans, are social beings.

It's kind of like keeping in touch with your friends. You do it because you care about what's new in their lives. You also do it to share your news and accomplishments. Not to mention making plans.

Of course, your clients and colleagues might not care all that much about the happenings in your life. And I bet you don't meet your clients for a pint on a friday night (please, please tell me you don't).

So how in the world can you keep in touch with your clients and colleagues and why should you do it?

Point of Contact

There's this awesome, nifty place where people talk about themselves all day long. That place is social networking. They actually give you reasons to chit chat with them!

Note: Stalking is bad, and I'm by no means advocating annoying the bejeezus out of people, but more about this later on.

I always encourage my business contacts to "friend" me on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter. Having a point of contact aside from email and phone is great. You get to learn more about each other, and maybe even like each other a bit more.

Best of all, it's pretty effortless. You'll be checking your social networking accounts regularly anyways, so it's not like you have to set time aside to write a long-winded email or phone conversation.

So go forth, "like" that new photo album your client has posted, comment on the new blog post a colleague has written.

Don't be creepy

Coming back to the note above. You ought to have some rules about the social networking you do with your clients and colleagues, because it's quite different from what you've been doing with your friends. Worst of all, you might just alienate, offend, or annoy a client if you don't have any rules and that's just bad for business. Not what's we're trying to accomplish.

So let's get to it:

1. I generally keep social networking for after I'm done with a project. That is, if this is the first job you're doing for someone, do try to keep your interactions to the job at hand. The chit-chatting can wait until you've completed the project.
2. Don't go crazy commenting on every single thing someone posts. That is very, very creepy. It will, surely, make people feel like you're watching their every move. At the very least it will make you look like a brown-nosing crazy. Not good. Not what we're trying to accomplish at all.
3. Be genuine and personable! You're going to make meaningful connections only if you are honest. If you happen to be into sports cars and your client posts a link to a brand you're a fan of - that's your chance to connect and let your personality shine. If your colleague is really interested in Thai culture and you have to Google it to make conversation - that's not doing either one of you any favors. People can generally tell when someone is sucking up to them. There are those who thrive on that kind of flattery, but most people will be annoyed.
4. Don't get too personal. Check yourself before making comments that might be crude, offensive or plain TMI. Try to put yourself in your clients' / colleagues' shoes. Would you feel uncomfortable if someone said to you, what you are about to say to them? In short, be tactful.
5. If you're a rambunctious person it might be a good idea to keep a separate profile for business, and a separate one for your "off the clock" life. Your business will thank you for it.

The benefit

So why would you bother with all this? Well it's really very simple. Keeping in touch, and being genuine with you business contacts not only reminds them that you exist, it also creates an amiable atmosphere.

You stand to gain quite a bit from your colleagues, professional advice or encouragement to name just a few things. Which, let's face it, are never a bad things to have more of.

Both, your clients and colleagues will feel good about referring projects to you. Think about it, if your friend needs to get her kitchen renovated and you have worked with two reno companies - one was personable, the other rude, both did the same quality of work - which one would you refer her to?

In the end, you're getting more business, having a lovely time online, and maybe even learning something along the way!

What do you think?

Do you have anything you'd like to add to the points I made in this article? Do you disagree with any points? Don't be shy, let me know what you think! And as usual, spread the word.