Now that everyone is staking out a place in MySpace, putting their face in Facebook, linking up with LinkedIn and tweeting their little hearts out on Twitter, it's nice to know that some very effective face-to-face networking is still going on.
This article by Gabe Goldberg makes an apt comparison between networking and finding information. Just as you can't find everything you need to know on the Web (ask any reference librarian), so much of your most effective marketing will be done in the real, rather than the virtual, world.
For example, I'm scheduled to meet tomorrow with a potential new client--a nonprofit organization. The client said he wanted to meet so I could see their facility and get a better idea what their organization is about. He could accomplish the same thing by emailing me photos of the place and sending me their mission statement, promo material, etc., but he wants to meet me. How quaint, right?
Thing is, I suspect that the reasons he gave and his real reasons for wanting to meet differ. I'd say he wants to meet in order to assess me face-to-face. Listen to my voice, get to know me as a person. And give me the chance to do the same.
No matter how many blogs we write, lists we post to or discussions we have online, people still get great comfort in seeing who they're doing business with in the flesh. Dealing with one another in person creates a level of trust, rapport and comfort that no online social network can really duplicate.
And I'd like to thank Nita Congress of a local freelancers networking group I'm in for sharing this article.
Addendum: on Monday, the Diane Rehm Show on NPR took a look at online social networking and its "value to members in the profit and not-for-profit worlds."
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