With social media being “the place to be” these days, I’m often asked if offline networking is still important.
My reply is “absolutely!”
I’m not an expert in online networking and to be perfectly honest, I still have challenges with it all. I have an assistant who helps me with my social media posts and distribution. But I do realize the benefits and I see results when I am actively engaging in online networking so I make it a part of my marketing.
Just as any tool in your business, you will want to know how to use it effectively.
Here are some benefits online networking has achieved for my business and can certainly do for yours:
• Create visibility for your brand
• Share success stories and testimonials
• Promote events, products, programs, and partners
• Drive Traffic to your website or blog
• Stay in touch with your audience
There are a lot of experts on online networking and marketing that can help you develop the skill to create and manage your online marketing strategies or you can hire someone to do it for you. It comes down to how much time you have on your hands and how much skill you have in this area.
If you’re like me, technology isn’t my strong muscle and I’d waste a lot of valuable time if I were to try to do much of anything that requires technical know-how. So if technology isn’t your strong muscle either, consider hiring a virtual assistant or someone who can manage your online strategies while you spend time working with clients and other revenue generating activities.
On the other hand, if you’re like me as far as being a people person, someone who likes to connect with others via an activity, a connector and a relationship building kind of person, offline networking is where we shine.
Offline networking is about face-to-face connection and real-time relationship building. It’s the live handshake or hug versus the virtual sentiments.
When you have a service-based business, offline networking is key. People want to get to know, like and trust you before they decide to hire you for the service you provide. They’ll first want to get to know you, then they’ll need to like you, and that’s the point where they will most likely turn to an online search to see what else they can find out about you.
Some of the benefits of offline networking are:
• Face-to-face meetings create a better connection
• Build instant rapport
• Feels more authentic
• Immediate feedback
• Easier to have a two-way conversation
• Quicker to establish the “know and like” factor
It’s important to implement BOTH online and offline networking into your business because they both play an important role in your overall marketing strategy.
Personally, I make it a point to spend more time on my offline networking and I coach my clients on how to make offline networking an authentic, valuable, enjoyable and lucrative part of their business.
Offline networking has always been the #1 way to build a business. For most of us in general, we value connection and relationships and as an entrepreneur that’s the lifeblood of our business.
So make sure that you’re able to provide a good first impression and then be able to back it up with social proof that confirms what you want them to know and feel about you.
Cheers to your networking success!