Although attending networking groups is still a great route to market for many small to medium sized businesses, more and more companies are employing the power of social media also. This has even created a gap in the marketing with new companies starting up which teach managers and directors from older generations how to use the new online networking platforms which are available. But, why is this new media now so necessary when we used to do so well without it before?
A broader audience
Traditional networking groups are often attended by the same businesses week in week out so once you have finally managed to speak to everyone you attendance is then more about maintaining relationships than actually generating leads, which let’s face it is quite a waste of money.
Social media platforms such as Twitter allow you to speak to people from all over the world, let alone in the same district as you without leaving the comfort of your own home or office.
Less stressful
It doesn’t matter what anyone says, unless you have been networking for years, the thought of going up to a complete stranger and striking up a conversation is still quite a daunting one. However, you do not have to worry about this with social media. Even if you manage to secure the list of attendee twitter addresses from the organiser, there is nothing then stopping you from ‘following’ them dropping them a friendly tweet!
Once the ice has been broken you will then feel much more comfortable speaking to them in person at the next event.
So as you can see there are some things that social media allows us where traditional networking does not, but the best kind of networking is a mix of both online and offline.