Online or In-Person Business Networking?

It is understood by many people that networking is an important part of a successful business. However, there are several different ways in which to network. The question that comes up often is whether online and in-person networking are equally effective and interchangeable. The answer is that a combination of the two will probably work most effectively for the majority of business people.

What’s the best way to use your networking time?

Is in-person networking really necessary?

How do online networking and in-person networking compare?

You have grown your business by networking and talking with other business owners. If yours is an online business, you might have limited yourself to online networking. You are missing a golden opportunity.

Every minute of your day is already accounted for, but you still need to network if your business is to grow.

Online Networking Vs. In-Person Networking

It doesn’t need to be an either/or decision.

Many meaningful and mutually profitable relationships are exclusively online. Many local relationships start online and then move into the real world.

LinkedIn and other social networks are great ways to build your reputation with a large audience. If people live within traveling distance, most will appreciate face-to-face contact in addition to long-distance social media networking.

Most people find that trust comes more easily when they can shake hands with the person with whom they are speaking and when they can read the non-verbal facial and body-language signals that we all send out. Once you have established a physical relationship, it will be easy to maintain it using social media accounts.

MeetUps – Local Business People Who Need You

MeetUp.com encourages individuals to organize MeetUps in their local community.  It is probably a good idea to search for local entrepreneur MeetUps before you think about organizing your own group. You can search using keyword and distance from your home as filters. Most cities will have several Meetups for startup founders and entrepreneurs. Join them all because membership is usually free. Attend meetings for a few months and get to know the people who attend MeetUps.

More people will want to get to know you once they understand that you are a permanent fixture on the startup scene, rather than just a one-night stand.

Most MeetUp groups meet in bars or restaurants in the evenings, and MeetUp frequency varies from weekly to monthly.

How to Use MeetUp Effectively

MeetUp.com has a private message facility, and you can sign up for email reminders. Each group has a page on MeetUp.com that is updated with news of planned meetings and people’s comments. Your objective is to network, so subscribe to all updates and respond in a helpful way whenever you can.

When you arrive at a MeetUp, you will find that people are very friendly. You will often be asked for your business card, so make sure you have some on you at every meeting. If meetings are in hotels or bars, you may be expected to buy food or a drink. Paid MeetUps may include snacks or coffee and often have a guest speaker.

Grow your reputation by approaching each meeting with a “How can I help you?” attitude. It will pay off because people will see your generosity of spirit and think more highly of you. They will remember you as someone they can do business with, and that is the reason you are there after all.

Arrive early to chat with people before the main meeting and expect to chat afterward too.

Your Own MeetUp Group?

Be careful not to step on anyone’s toes. Start a group, by all means, but make sure your group has a unique identity and fills a need that current groups are not already meeting. There are many ways to differentiate your group from others: If other groups meet in the evenings, then you could consider a weekend breakfast MeetUp group or a link with a local charity.

You could run a virtual group using ClickMeeting to run an online meeting. This software lets you run meetings of up to 25 participants. You have two presenters and can rotate the second presenter camera and microphone from one attendee to the next.

You can charge a fee for attendance at your meeting using EventBrite to handle the ticketing, although you will need something special to make this work. Eventbrite only charge for paid events, so you can get MeetUp members accustomed to the interface using EventBrite “tickets” for free meetings.

Most MeetUps on Friday and at weekends are social in nature, so you should consider making your meetings on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. A Monday is a bad idea because everyone is still recovering from the first day of the week back at work again.

Start by arranging your MeetUps every two weeks because weekly meetings are too big a commitment and monthly ones are too far apart to maintain any momentum.

In Summary

Your networking time is limited and you need to invest time in both online and in-person relationship building.

Nobody ever did business after a single tweet from someone they never met. You need to work at any relationship before it bears fruit.

One or two high-quality relationships will be of more use to your business than one thousand perfunctory and superficial social media relationships. How you choose the relationships to develop is the key to successful networking, rather than the means you use to speak with contacts.

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