You don’t need to read a book about social media to know that you should always thank someone for his time after a meeting. Showing your appreciation via social media is a great way to add value back to your contact. Consider offering your info source a Twitter recommendation (assuming he has a Twitter account). After the meeting, tweet a message like this to your followers:
Just met with @infosource and was super impressed with his knowledge about the future of Agile Project Metrics. Thanks for the chat!
Because you used his @twitter username, he’ll see that you thanked him. And because you tweeted about him to your followers, you help him open up his network even more. This is a great way to return the favor of the person sharing his or her time with you.
You can also use LinkedIn to show your gratitude. First, check to see whether you’re connected to this person by finding him on LinkedIn through a people search. If you aren’t connected, you can write your thank-you note in the body of your LinkedIn connection request.
This approach ensures you a first-degree connection inside the organization you’re targeting. And you’ll be more likely to have a second-degree connection to a potential hiring manager.