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Social Network Auditors FAQs

Q: Who should become a SNAuditor?

A: Anyone who is presently working with clients, students or employees. As a SNAuditor you will be able to monitor your clients network growth, as well as attach goals and new contacts.

Q: When should I ask my clients to conduct their SNAudit?

A: Right away! It's the first activity they need to do for you to establish whether they are utilizing their network for information. Simply ask your clients to create an account. Once they've entered their contacts, they can export a list as well as print the map of their network. The next time they come in to meet with you, ask them to bring both of these for you to discuss.

Q: What's the first thing I need to do to get my clients to conduct a SNAudit?

A: Talk to your clients about the importance of networking and identifying potential information that can benefit them simply by tapping into their network. You want to make sure they understand that an effective way of reaching their goals is through their contacts. However, few people are able to retrieve the information from their network if they are unaware of what their contacts do.

Directions to Clients:

1. Go to http://www.socialnetworkaudit.com and create an account.
2. Enter as many contacts as they can think of by inputting minimum amount of information required to create a contact.
3. Once they have entered all their contacts, go back and enter any additional information they can to describe the contact.
4. At your next session (or you can direct the client to do this themselves) review the audit to determine the level of awareness the client has for their network.

Note: In order to create maps or conduct audits, more than one contact must be entered into the system.

Q: What are the steps to conducting a SNAudit?

A: To conduct a social network audit, follow these simple steps:

1. Enter your contacts into the system by go to myContacts and follow the instructions.
2. After you entered all the contacts you have, go to myMaps to view your social network.
3. Once you viewed your network map, go to myGoals to create goal(s) and link them to the contacts (if applicable) you just entered in the system.
4. Go to myAudits, name the audit, click 'create audit' and then find the new audit in the list and select.
5. Your now ready to review your network stats. See What numbers should I focus on? for further detail on the numbers.

Note: For a more detailed description and a printable copy click on 7 Steps to Conducting a Social Network Audit.

Q: What should I do with the information once they've conducted their SNAudit?

A: The first thing you will naturally do is look at the number of first degree contacts an individual has. However, this is not necessarily the first area you want to focus on. The number of contacts will increase over the time they spend with you. What you do want to focus on is the detail in which they completed the fields for each contact. Do they know what organization the contact works for? Do they know the specialty of the contact? These are both good starting questions. As they begin to discuss their contacts you will notice quickly that they may not have all the answers. It is these unanswered questions that become the focus of your discussion. Their next activity could be trying to find out as much as possible about the contacts in their network. Get creative and use the individual's network as the topic of discussion each time you meet.

Q: What numbers should I focus on in the SNAudit?

A: Focus on the numbers that make the most sense to your client at the time you're speaking with them. The audit numbers are divided into to the headings:

• Contacts
• Contact Types
• Goals
• Network Maps
• Networking Manager Contacts
• Job Search Manager Contacts

Contacts:
You can start out by looking at the number of contacts your client has and the number of contacts they have indicated as weak or strong ties (refers to the frequency of contact). This will help you determine if they are relying on information from a redundant network (strong ties) or a non-redundant network). You can develop strategies around managing both types of contacts.

You want to also look at the number of contacts tied to organizations. This can be extremely important especially if your client is looking for employment. The more contacts they have tied to an organization they greater access they will have to job related information.

Also, you can examine the number of requests your client is making for external referrals of contacts. This may help you identify the level of networking activity your client is presently doing. In addition, take a look at the actual number of contacts added by external requests. If the ratio between requests for contacts and actual contacts is not proportionate, you may need to explore this further.

Contact Types:
By examining these numbers you will be able to see where your client's contacts are coming from. If you notice that they are only adding new contacts of a particular type, you may need to focus on encouraging them to look elsewhere for new contacts. The purpose of this is to simply direct your clients to different types of information that can occur through a number of different contact types.

Goals:
You have probably already been establishing and encouraging goal setting with your client. With any goal, there is usually a contact who can help them accomplish it. The number of goals set can be automatically generated by your client by entering them into the SNAudit system. In addition, they can connect a goal with a contact. The numbers under the goal section of the audit will allow you to discuss the number of goals attached to contacts, accomplished, still active and abandoned. Your conversation can focus on the status of this important area.

Network Maps:
These numbers indicate the number of customized maps your client has created. You may consider having a discussion on the types of maps created and their purpose in achieving their identified goals.

Networking Manager Contacts:
These statistics are only useful if you are using the Networking Manager with your clients. If you are using the Networking Manager, this will help you to determine the status of your clients relationship building which is geared to specific opportunities.

Job Search Manager Contacts:
These statistics are only useful if you are using the Job Search Manager with your clients and they have a specific goal of employment. If you are using the Job Search Manager, this will help you to determine the status of your clients job search activity and their ability to move through the job search process.

Q: How can I get training on the SNAudit system?

A: If you contact John-Paul Hatala he can arrange to have a webinar with you and your staff. The training is free, all you are responsible for is the cost of the webinar. The length of the webinar is approximately 1 hour. Contact John-Paul for more information.

Q: Where can I get more information on the SNAudit?

A: You can get in touch with us at info@socialnetworkaudit.com to find out more about training and support.

Q: When I click on my default map for the first time, the system asks me to install an SVG viewer, what is an SVG viewer?

A: The SVG Viewer integrates with your Web browser as a plug-in. The Viewer allows you to interact with SVG images and is required to view your social network map. The viewer is automatically installed as a plug-in when you accept the download. For more information, visit http://www.adobe.com/svg/viewer/install/main.html.