Design the activities of your Networking Event.
Every event or function we attend includes some form of activity. A wedding includes a ceremony followed by a reception. An awards ceremony includes an opening ceremony followed by various recognition segments. Besides the activity of business people networking with one another, your event may include a guest speaker, individual business introductions, or even a brief product demonstration. Based on your business goals and your desired results, you must design your event from start to finish with activities that will complement your aspirations. This is not to suggest blanketing your event with dozens of activities. I'm merely saying to add individual activities that make the event more enjoyable while enhancing your businesses image. Keeping the purpose of the event in mind, there are many ways to accomplish this; door prizes, a notable speaker, and even relevant business announcements.
Thoroughly promote your Networking Event online.
Spreading the word about your networking function requires a special kind of focus and dedication. Though you may promote through word-of-mouth or even friend to friend, the Internet offers excellent options. There are several ways to take advantage of mass traffic online; Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and even YouTube are the main places for online traffic.
The above online social networks and are bursting with your target market in some form. Your goal is to locate these people through connecting or "friending" those in your sights. You should create a list with criteria on who you are looking to connect with. Once this is done you can perform a number of searches on each of these sites and locate groups or individuals that fit your description. As you go through this process you will develop keywords and even be able to use Pay Per Click advertising on these websites as well.
Take the proper advantage of e-mail marketing.
It is no secret that we are now in the age of instant information via electronic mail. Getting the word out about your upcoming networking event through word-of-mouth can really be enhanced through the proper use of e-mail. Most of us have a small or large list of e-mail contacts but it takes a bit of extra effort to use e-mail when targeting a market. Building up to your event, it is possible to build a targeted list of potential attendees. You can do this by creating a capture page and promoting highly valuable information to your target attendees. Simply locate online discussion groups in your desired category, post comments, leave a link to your capture page, and offer free information in exchange for their e-mail address. Once they become subscribers, you can send periodic e-mails informing and reminding them of your upcoming networking event.
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