Wednesday, 7 June 2017

LinkedIn Tip #95 - Why do I need to attend networking meetings?

Do you have a business that you are trying to promote online and off?

What are you doing to promote your business?

Are you just posting on Facebook, which is where so many people seem to choose to post things about their businesses these days. Twitter, Instagram, Snap Chat and Yelp are some other platforms of choice.

However, if you are choosing to post things about your business on these platforms, why not also choose LinkedIn?

Virtually all these platforms are good tools for you to use for marketing your business, but if you do not know how to use them to their greatest advantage, then you may as well not waste your time and money.

It has taken me years to figure out some best practices for using the different platforms online. Each platform is different and each platform has its own pros and cons. Mostly pros.

Remember that LinkedIn is the professional platform, Facebook is like the Backyard BBQ, Twitter is the coffee shop chatter, Instagram and Snap Chat are the off shoots of Twitter. Yelp is business recommendations and reviews that you invite your clients to take part in letting the world know about how they feel about your business. To be brief.

Are you using all or most of these?

If so, great! If not...not so great!

We as human beings still need the contact with other human beings. We are gregarious. 

That is just how we are built. We need the personal contact with each other.

So, here's the scoop. Go ahead and market online. Build those relationships you need and want for business.

Remember that real business gets done face to face.

My story is very simple.

I have been working hard to build relationships with people online. Then I invite them for coffee or a face to face of some sort, depending on how close we are located to each other.
When I moved to a new area, I started to attend networking meetings as well as utilizing my online marketing systems.

The first time I walked into a networking meeting, I met a gal there who asked me for my business. I got a client right off the bat. Mind you, this does not happen all the time, but very often it does, providing you have been blogging and building relationships correctly online.

For instance, it took me 6 months to build enough trust with a women's organization before I got my first client there.

The reason it took me so long is that most women are not on LinkedIn and do not see any value in using it. However, once they saw some value, they started flocking to me.

Now, I get most of my business through that very women's networking organization.

Personally, I attend a minimum of 6 networking meetings every month, and often more.

Start visiting some networking groups in your area. You can find many on MeetUp or your local Business Improvement Association (BIA), and Chamber of Commerce.

I would love to hear more of your stories about your networking experiences.

Christine Till

The Marketing Mentress






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