Build Stronger Relationships with Face to Face Networking

I get it, social media is a hot trendy topic these days and all the cool kids are “doing” social networking. Hey, for the past year, I’ve been on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn more than I care to admit and I love it. But as a friend of mine, Andrea Costantine said many people “think ‘social media’ is the end all be all, but nothing beats a good old fashioned relationship.”

I wholeheartedly agree with Andrea, which is why I have put a lot of mileage on my car this past week. My schedule has been completely jam-packed with normal business meetings, several awesome networking events, and a fun family night out (see my hubby, kids, and father-in-law in the picture)! Check out what my week looked like:

• eWomenNetwork Reno Chapter dinner event on Wednesday night
• SacTweetUp event at Mix on Thursday night
• River Cats baseball season finale game with the family Friday night
• Simplie Indie Writers’ Workshop all day on Saturday
• eWomenNetwork South Placer County Think Big Summit all day Tuesday
• BNI Roseville Visitor’s luncheon yesterday

I met so many fantastic entrepreneurs, business owners, writers, mompreneurs, and social networking addicts and have had so much fun! Needless to say, I am now up to my eyeballs in follow up emails, phone calls, and thank you notes!

While social networking is all the rage right now, it is important to remember that meeting face-to-face is one of the fastest ways to start new relationships, build on existing relationships, and reconnect with old relationships.

Networking in person at events, meetings, conferences, meetups, and seminars is also a great way to build your “Know, like, and trust” factor, which is what tomorrow’s post will be all about!