Social Media Breakfast - Chicago
Although the focus of this blog is social media marketing and the real-time web, the best practice for establishing and taking your online relationships to the next level, is a face to face meeting. No digital tool or application can compete with a true psychical connection. I’ve made some tremendous friends and project partners through social media avenues, but at some point those relationships got the boost they needed by a face-to-face meeting.
A fool proof way to get in front of the most folks is to be a regular presence at events and social engagements. Get into the habit of getting out and meeting people face-to-face. Depending on where you live, some cities will have more opportunities than others. But regardless of the frequency, make the most of your events by following these “Must Haves”.
Have An Objective
Why are you going to this event…and what goals do you want to achieve from it. If you don’t have a specific goal of why you’re going to this event, why go? Maybe it’s just meeting some great people with similar interests, but at least it’s a goal. Just make sure that it’s specific. Have an idea of how many people you want to meet, this will force you to go shake a few more hands when you’re feeling shy and reserved.
Have A List Of Attendees
This doesn’t need to be printed out or memorized, but have an idea of who else will be there. Perhaps you’ve had online conversations with many of them and this is an easy ice breaker when walking through the crowd. It’s also a good idea to see if there are any opportunities for you professionally.
If you’re going to take the time to go to an event, you owe it to yourself to go in with an advantage. By knowing who is going to be there and what they do, you will have much more meaningful and engaging conversations.
Have A Physical Business Card / Contact Info
I’ve violated this rule WAY too often, but it’s vital that you have some sort of physical way to give people your contact information. A Twitter handle or even a phone app beaming contacts can never replace a physical card.
If you don’t have any business cards or gave them all out at your last event, here’s a quick tip solution: At an event several months ago, my now good friend, Sydney Owen, gave me a playing card with her contact info attached to the back of it. Brilliant. It absolutely stood out from the crowd and that kind of creativity matches her personality. Get creative and have fun with it, most people will appreciate the originality…or at least they’ll remember you.
Have A Pitch
You need to have a simple and direct prescripted 30-second pitch of exactly what you do. Too often when the inevitable “So what do you do” comes up…the answer is so long and confusing you can’t figure it out even if you wanted to. Instead of fumbling around with vague details about this and that, and your passion, and your other projects…just have a simple and easy explanation of whatever is it you want people to remember you do.
Have A Way To Take Notes
Whether it’s a physical notepad or an application on your smart phone, you need to be able to write down information from your event. If you make the most of the event and meet many a good number of people, you won’t be able to remember them all. You’ll want to record:
- Who you met
- What they do
- What you talked about
- Any action items you committed to
- Any future opportunities for connections
Have An Action Step
When you have a great discussion with someone, don’t leave the conversation without giving a next step. Don’t be over aggressive but you need to let that person know that you’ll be contacting them. It can be as simple as finding them on Twitter and letting them know what a great discussion you had. But if you have a valuable conversation, you’ll want to be able to continue the relationship. An action step leaves you with permission to contact that person.
Have A Follow Up Thank You to The Organizer
Someone or often a team of people spent a great deal of time and energy putting together the event you just enjoyed. Have the courtesy to send them a personal email thanking them for the event, and letting them know what a wonderful time you had and why you liked it. They will really appreciate that action and perhaps a dialogue can even begin.
Get in the habit of being social face-to-face. Social Media is an amazing tool, but it cannot replace getting in front of someone and having a physical dialogue. Use these “Must Haves” and you’ll make the most of your event.
This is DAY 3 of my “28 Day Blogging Challenge“
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Scott S. Bishop is editor for Real Time Marketer and is the Director of Social for an integrated marketing firm. He is an avid blogger and active across the net. He is @thescottbishop on Twitter
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