The way the world connects these days is very different to how it once did. It’s fair to say that most work is taking place online, especially when you’re talking building and managing communities.
The web offers us a fairly simplistic and convenient way to meet others who have similar interests, a way to connect with others who may be able to assist with projects and help solve problems.
Having a strong and effective online community is fast becoming a viable business channel for many New Zealand businesses. Online community’s offer many benefits and opportunities but there can be limitations. One way to help bolster the community you have developed is to get the community together offline by holding events, coffee sessions or something to get them to come and meet face-to-face.
By bring
ing your online community to the offline world you will build a solid more effective community. Take a look at your online community members and you’ll notice that people come and go, there will be a core who remain, but there’s likely to be a significant number who are transient.
Many people might be reluctant to meet online but when it comes to social media and business this is becoming more common. Social media is an opportunity for a business to connect in a more meaningful way, going one step further and connecting offline is the logical next step for many businesses.
For example if you’ve used Twitter, it’s quite likely you’ve heard of the term “Tweetup”, this is where people on Twitter come meet up in a social networking setting away from their computers. This kind of meet up with likeminded community members provides a range of business networking opportunities.
It’s true to say that an offline chat makes the connections, and the people you connect with ‘real’.
Building stronger relationships can, and does come about through personal interactions; being able to see the whole conversation (body language etc) helps you understand your connections better, and they you. For businesses this is an opportunity to really see how your online marketing can be translated to the offline world and can turn into more business.
Unlike traditional networking the people you are meeting already know you in some capacity giving you more of an opportunity to really connect.
So how do you get started turning your social media interactions in to real connections?
Start by holding offline get together at your business, local café or bar; put the invitation out there. You will likely be pleasantly surprised how well received (and attended) this is likely to be. You can do this through twitter or via Facebook.
While it seems like organising an event might be time consuming and expensive it really doesn’t have to be. With this type of thing you can draw on the resources of the community for support and interaction. Start small, think big and keep connecting online.
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Posted in Blog | May 20th, 2010. Author: SocialMedia@TWC
