Online events, rather than face-to-face events have only come into fruition more recently due to platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, etc being popularised.
In-person networking events are still just a regular occurrence, but now online networking is becoming favoured too – there is just a more diverse mix.
Whether you’re a new, small business on the horizon, a relatively established business or even a successful business, opportunities from attending a networking event will never die down.
However, why would you attend online events… when you could just meet in person? Read on to learn more about this ongoing debate!
What Are Online Networking Events?
Although online networking events are given the same name – are they the same as in-person networking events? Well… there are a few slight differences in the way they function and you’re quote on quote ‘attending the events’.
The first major contrast is that you won’t be meeting these people in real life, but rather on a computer or phone screen. These specialised platforms allow you to speak with like-minded people through a profile on a screen instead of meeting in person at a certain location.
Whether this is a mastermind group, networking events with people in similar positions/ career paths, generalised online networking events, etc – the goal of relationship building, long-term business success and learning remain the same.
There will still be an opportunity to meet people of huge value on these calls with the knowledge that could change your life. No matter where this knowledge is coming from – whether that be in person or online will still have detrimental effects on the way businesses perform after these networking sessions.
Overall, there is no difference between these events apart from you dressing accordingly, meeting at a certain location and reading body language/ eye contact. Everything else is extremely similar.
Benefits of Attending Online Networking Events
Why attend networking events online? Well… although we’ve noted that these events are extremely similar internally, there are some underlying advantages that business networking events have when held and hosted online.
As MOVE Online ourselves hosts networking events (both in-person and online) we feel obligated to tell you all about the benefits of online networking groups for men and women.
Time-Effective
We understand that free time can sometimes be hard to come by and taking your time out of a working business day may affect how a certain job gets finished. However, attending events online creates immediate solutions to that problem that you could be worried about.
Now, with no time spent travelling to the location (like in-person events) you will have much more time in your day to carry out your essential tasks – whilst enhancing your knowledge further with the connections on your online networking group.
Save You Money
Unfortunately for some business owners trying to get to a local or national business networking event can cost a lot of money. If it is a fair distance away from your place of business, you will have to book train tickets, hotels and all the rest that goes with it.
Whereas, when you’re placed in front of your laptop from wherever you may choose, apart from paying the fee of the networking event itself – you will only need a device and stable Wi-Fi connection.
Therefore, as you learn, you will not be taking as much money out of your business cards for expenditure – instead, you’ll only have to pay for the knowledge and connections you’ll be receiving… which is almost always worth it!
Meeting Experts
Along with it being time and cost-effective, there are also some real advantages that you can take into running your business. Acting as a sponge and taking in all the fine details of the great leaders and experts is essential in your growth as a business.
Meeting these people will be a great opportunity for you to listen and learn from their past experiences/ mistakes so you don’t make them, ultimately leading to quicker success. However, you can additionally learn how they approach certain situations (in conversation) and use them in your daily life.
Overcoming challenges, adding great management skills to your repertoire and learning new things – along with countless amounts of other benefits from being around experts, will undoubtedly change and aid a perfect trajectory towards success.
Building Connections and Relationships For Future Plans
When talking online to these people within your industry and niche (or maybe some from outside your field of work) – you never know what these people will need in the future.
For example, one of the people in the call may be in a completely different field but need your product or service to improve their business.
Opportunities can arise at any moment if you present yourself in a manner that appeals to other business owners. Not only that but if your service and or product either solves a problem or provides a ‘wow factor’ to the audience, then the intrigue/ possibility of a reply and gaining new interest from the call will intensify.
Of course, the business aspect of these calls is important, but just making new friends in general online and building relationships with like-minded people can only be positive for yourself and the business.
There is no secret that the main ‘goal setting’ process is to attract business and get people interested in your business – moreover, playing a long-term game and actually making friends with these people may make this more attainable in the long run.
Conclusion
Of course, we can comment on the neverending benefits of online networking – should you consider this, it will create a huge impact on not only the success of your business but the longevity too.
Even though they’re not as exciting as meeting people in real life and you won’t be able to embrace these high-end business owners properly – the knowledge and overall presence will still be unmatched in your ongoing personal development growth journey.
Here at MOVE Online, we have seen the growth with our own eyes with business owners who take up the chance to network (online or in-person).
Therefore, if you’re a motivated business owner looking to grow your business, there are a multitude of ways to begin networking online today!
Mark is a multi-award winner in business networking and relationship building. He is passionate about coaching and mentoring business owners and professionals through 1-1 & group coaching, team performance workshops and group mastermind sessions.