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I’ve attended three in-person networking events this year and also attended some 1:1 meet-ups with peers (far more than I usually do!), and I've noticed an interesting intersection between online and in-person networking when meeting new people for Sheldon’s white label social media services.

Sarah Cook of comenetworkwithme.co.uk says

“For me the networking magic happens in all the moments you're not expecting it to. In the queue to the loo, sat next to someone you've not met yet in the audience… getting an uber to the crazy shirt party... the list goes on and on. Don't expect networking to be labelled networking, it's everywhere! Enjoy all these little moments of connection, they are MAGIC!”

And she’s not wrong!

Since COVID, we’ve had the option of going out and meeting people in real life again, and this year, the events have felt like they were pre-2020. But that isn’t a reason to think that online networking is redundant now that we can get out and about again! Using both effectively can be a really important part of your social media engagement strategy.

Love it or loath it, social media is still a dominant force in our business life and the lives of many of our ideal client.

But can it actually enhance in-person networking?

Yes, I’ve certainly found that to be the case.

There are three ways in which I’ve seen networking in person and online intersect and work together, all of which can be helpful for you growing your business:

Social Media as a Pre-Networking Tool

If you’re planning to attend an event like I did with Atomicon or Theo Paphitis’s SBS event, you’ll meet lots of new people in a short space of time.

Social media can act as a great research tool before you go. You can use it for all your pre-event prep!

Who do you want to connect with when you’re there?

Often, an event will have an official hashtag, so using that in the lead-up can mean that you find people you’d like to connect with. You can also support all the posts you see using that hashtag to make your name more familiar to the other attendees. And more than that, following the hashtag will mean you begin to see more trends in topics with those going, possibly even finding common pain points that your potential network are dealing with.

Some events will have a dedicated group or a page on platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn. You can look through the member list or search for attendees based on both your businesses. Once you find potential connections, have a look at their profiles. Look for interests, past events attended, or groups they're part of to see if there's common ground for conversation starters.

I’m not suggesting any weird stalking here, but you can be more aware of who is going and work out what types of conversations will be the most effective use of your time, and help you to connect better with those new people you’re going to meet.

At the end of the day, you can’t meet everyone at the event, so who can you make sure you don’t miss while you’re there?

I’m also not saying you necessarily need to DM them all either, but you can start conversations in those online groups knowing that you have common ground.

Social Media to Build Rapport and Nurture Connections

If you’ve been in business for a little while, then there are people you already know through social media. Maybe you’ve chatted a bit in groups, or maybe you feel like you really know some of them!

If you’re going to the same event, then the in-person networking can really solidify that online networking you’ve done.

When I went to SBS in February, I met up with four different people that I knew from ‘meeting’ on social media. I had a wonderful experience meeting all four of them, and deepened the friendships we’d built online.

Even though I had known them all online for a number of years (Scarlet for twelve years!), it changed meeting them in person, and it definitely has meant that I know them much better, and I think they felt they now know me better.

Social Media to Extend the Reach of In-Person Interactions

Often you go to a networking event to get to know new connections, you go, swap your business cards, and then… ?

Social media is a great follow-up tool to connect with the people that you meet. Honestly, the magic really is in the follow-up!

The hard truth is, if you don’t follow up with them, what was the point in doing the networking?

Experience? Maybe.

Practicing your pitch to refine it. Maybe- and this is definitely a really helpful exercise, always be practicing your pitch!!

But I think the majority of attendees are going to make new connections.

But if you only give your business card, you’re leaving it up to them to take action.

And leaving them to take action is risky, there is a chance they won’t. So you need to be the proactive one…

So go ahead and give them your business card (ALL touch points help) but take the action yourself and ask for their card to follow up, and if they don’t have one, you can do what I did last week… you get out your phone and ask them the best social platform to connect with them on, and you follow them right there and then.

If it's appropriate, you can share your photos of the day and tag those businesses to stay connected. You can also DM them all with another intro sharing your excitement for the day.

Then, you need to take it one step further…

You need to add the key people to your CRM so that you actively go back and visit them and actually build on those newly formed relationships.

In Summary

Hayley Andrews Smith from https://www.myriadservices.co.uk/wp/ sums things up well when she said,

“All I do is networking. It's how I get all my biz. Atomicon was great for this in person as this was my first time. I also do BNI and other networks and for me it works well both in finding new clients but also collaborating with others.”

Networking opportunities, whether online or in-person and organised, or chance meet-cutes, the chances to share about your business are everywhere!

Social media, combined with networking, can be a powerful tool to enhance your experience, and you should take a look at how you are using it. Social media, both as a networking tool on its own and strategically used for in-person events is beneficial to be on your radar.

Remember:

Pre-event research: Use social media to find out who's attending events, identify potential connections, and discover common ground for conversation starters.

Building rapport: Strengthen existing online connections by meeting them in person at events. This can deepen friendships and build trust.

Extending reach: Follow up with new connections after events! Use social media to connect, share experiences, and nurture those relationships.

By strategically using social media alongside your in-person networking efforts, you can maximise your connections and get the most out of your networking, in a way that feels like a positive experience for you, but also for those you are meeting.

[The link for Atomicon is an affiliate link- whereby I get a little bit of money for you booking your ticket, at no cost to you- but I loved the conference, so if you would rather Google the conference and avoid the affiliate link, go for it! It's just so worthwhile!!]