The prospect of networking can often feel daunting and ingenuine, a term often associated with marketing jargon rather than viewed as an important skill to build and develop commercial leads.
With our third annual cross-networking event, Think Tank UK, taking place on 13th June, we have collated our top recommendations for networking effectively and efficiently:
Know Your Business Inside and Out
Capture the advertiser’s attention immediately with confidence and clarity. Make sure you are able to explain who you are and what your aims are in a concise and coherent manner. Ensure you can outline the collaboration opportunities available and ways in which you can support upcoming campaigns. Be transparent and know your rates and margins to ensure a profitable outcome for both publisher and advertiser.
Set Your Targets
Research event attendees and see how you can partner with them, advertisers will be looking for new partners who can connect with their target audience, bolster new product launches and campaigns, and ensure return on investment. Get started on the right foot and seek out the advertisers compatible with your audience too.
Be Open Minded
Whilst partnerships are the fruitful result of networking, it is important that you are also accessible and flexible in outlook. Networking is ultimately about building and developing relationships, you do not want to affront advertisers with a hard lined sales pitch but rather begin with introductions and initiate conversations. Consider the long-term benefits of networking over immediate results.
Get Creative
Not all competition is bad for your marketing strategy. Consider cross-promotion within your networking efforts, i.e. similar and complementary publishers and advertisers can offer the potential of overlapping customers and the promise of referral. Cross-promotion offers potential for new customer acquisition and data capture.
Follow Up
Remember that consistency is key to all relationships, continue the conversation and go the extra mile with your new contacts. Networking events are a plenty throughout the marketing calendar year, therefore, to stand out from the crowd, ensure you follow up with your key contacts. This effort will not go unnoticed by your advertisers, plan ahead and ensure your target advertisers do not forget about you.
Networking is a marketing technique that transcends the first meet, make sure you create a great first impression, and continue the craft by following up with key clients and planning upcoming collaborations.
Why not test these new skills out at ThinkTank UK on 13th June. Register here for free and stay updated by following the event on social media at #ThinkTankUK.
