Why Greeting New Members is Good for Business

I was just talking with a member who asked how to get more out of using BiggerPockets to build his business, and I made a suggestion that I wanted to share with the rest of you.  Of course, engaging with others is one of the mainstays of successful social networkers.  If you combine that with the need of new people to feel welcome in a community, you've got the perfect formula for success!

Greet New BiggerPockets Members to Quickly Build Your Name and Reputation

This simple activity, repeated a few times a day or week, will help drastically increase your visibility, particularly amongst new members. You will begin to be known as someone who is particularly helpful to others, and if you play your cards right, you'll be one of the first people that others think of when they are looking for someone/something.

Here's all you need to do:

• Stop by the New Member Introductions forum and scan for people who'se posts have few or no replies.
• READ the introduction post and respond to any questions or requests for help.  Let these folks know that they are welcome in the community and that you're happy to do what you can to assist them (and mean it), and then do just that.  Ask them to reveal more about themselves and take a real interest in their background, goals, etc. Of course, visiting their profile to learn more about them before responding is always helpful.
• Follow those threads that you respond to, and be sure to follow up when the initial poster jumps back on the thread.

You'll see that you quickly gain new colleagues (send colleague requests to those people who interest you), and friends here on BiggerPockets.  You'll also see that you become one of those people's go-to colleagues on the site.  This is tactic that works . . . you just need to commit to doing it (and it only takes a few minutes to welcome several newbies).

When deals and other opportunities come up, you'll be there in their memory.

Of course, beyond just helping yourself, you'll be building good karma here on BiggerPockets, and some influence to go with it!