How to Best Network in 2013 – What Venues Can Do During a Networking Event : Networking 2.0 Style

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Venues
Photo credit: Boston TweetUp. Taken at Social Media Day Boston 2012.

Hey Venue Event Managers!

Glad to see you coming back for more. What did you think about the first two posts? Did you find the tips to be beneficial?

Tech Tuesday
Photo credit: BostonTweetUp. Taken at Tech Tuesday.

Did you so happen to miss the previous post?

Don’t worry, just check it out so you’re up to speed: How to Best Network in 2013- What Venues Can Do Before a Networking Event: Networking 2.0 Style

Today, as the third post of this four part series, we will giving you tips on how to network, online and offline, during an event, so that you’re venue gains more exposure, thus more business.

And who doesn’t want that? I know you do!

So how exactly can you do this? Well, let’s review.

Online:

  • Tweet about the event you are holding at your venue using the event organizers twitter handle and your venue’s twitter handle.
  • If there isn’t one already, create a hashtag for the event. Tweet about the event you are hosting with the event hashtag.
Boston Media Makers
Photo credit: BostonTweetUp. Taken at
Boston Media Makers #BMM Sep 06 09.

Offline:

  • Have someone from your venue available and present during the event to answer questions, build relationships, and meet potential new clients.
  • Make it a priority to meet and engage with all the event staff. The goal here is to develop deeper relationships, with event organizers because ultimately they will bring you more clientele and more business while reducing your overall costs.
  • Meet all or as many of attendees from the event as you can. You want to build as many relationships as you can, so that they look forward to coming back and continuing the great experience. The main goal is to make everyone feel as welcomed as possible as if they are already regulars. The key here is that it is a Networking 2.0 event where people are actively sharing information about their experiences in real time with their friends via social media. The more people sharing positive information about your venue the easier it become to generate more sales and repeat customers. Note: Your service should be stellar regardless of this event and all the venue staff should be properly trained to be aware of social media so they understand their impact to the venue.
  • Bonus: Distribute discount coupons as a takeaway. This will give people an incentive to return to your venue. It will also make them remember you! We recommend coupons that expire within 2 weeks.

 

So tell me venue event managers, is there anything I missed out? Anything you have found to work for you in the past that wasn’t mentioned in this blog?

Any suggestions or recommendations you would like to share?

Leave a comment below and let us know.

Next week we will discuss how you can continue to network after an event.

Don’t miss it!

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