Andrew Yu’s “Twoom” Strategy
You’ve been working from home for months. Inviting new contacts for coffee or running into industry influencers at conferences feels like something from the distant past.
In this new reality, you still have to expand your network and make new connections. And you can—even from your couch!
Andrew Yu, former product manager at LinkedIn, developed the right approach.
It’s called the Twoom Strategy: You take a conversation that you’re having on Twitter or any other social network and take it to Zoom.
The underlying belief is that an informal interaction that happens online can lead to a real, meaningful relationship.
What sparked the idea for this strategy was an article Andrew read online, written by a product leader he admired. Instead of just consuming the content and moving on, he took the next step and sent the author a direct message on Twitter. He emphasized what specifically resonated with him in the article and asked for a chat. The product leader said “yes,” and they took the conversation to Zoom.
Andrew had a 30-min 1:1 conversation with an expert inaccessible to most people. The insider insights he received made for a huge ROI.
And it all started with a simple Twitter DM.
However, that’s the exact thing that trips up most people.
Cold messaging someone you don’t know is stressful. Most people never pass that hurdle. How do you write that first message? How do you start the conversation?
Andrew has two tips:
1. Speak to them as if you already know them. There’s no need for an intro or canned pickup line-style opening. That causes friction. Pretend this is already the third time you’re talking to them.
2. Always provide value. This can be as simple as telling the other person what resonated with you in their work. Give them feedback on a recent piece of content. You can even make a small suggestion or add an idea.
Now it’s time to try it out! Pick one person you’d love to speak with and ask them for a Zoom call. You’ll be surprised how many people are happy to chat with you.
Full video here: