Firstly, congratulations of taking the first step to organising your own networking event!!
When you run networking events through the Small Business Forum you bring small business owners together to share experience, advice and inspiration. But you also become the “go to person” for your networking group, which in turn promotes your business. It’s a win-win!
This guide takes you through the steps of getting started, promoting your networking event and making it a success. If you have any questions or specific challenges you can contact our Networking Coordinator, Belinda, anytime on belinda.weaver@smallbusinessforum.com.au
See What’s Already Happening
The first step in the process is making sure there aren’t any Small Business Forums networking groups already going in your area. To do this, have a quick look on the Networking Forum . If there is already an event in your local area and you’re still keen to have an organisation role, why not ask if you can help!
If you don’t see anything happening in your area, post a new discussion to see if there is interest for a new group.
Pick a Time
Do you think you’d like to meet after work? In the morning? Or maybe over lunch?
Picking a time for your networking event can be one of the biggest factors in the numbers of people joining your group. When you post a discussion in the forum asking for interest in a new group, why not ask for a time preference too?
Otherwise just pick a time and see how you go. You can always change it once you get some feedback.
Find A Venue
When you look for a networking venue there are a few factors to consider:
• How easy it is to find?
• How easy it is to park at or get public transport to?
• Can it take a group from 2 – 12 (or even more!)?
• Can you order food and drinks for different tastes?
Consider the general ambience of the venue and whether or not it is appropriate to have a group of people chatting merrily. A venue with a broad appeal (rather than just your favourite pub) will make it more appealing to newcomers.
Let People Know
When it comes to promoting your networking group, the Small Business Forum Networking discussion page is your first port of call!
Post a discussion with a subject line that contains the location/suburb plus the date and time. This will help people quickly decide if it’s a relevant group for them. An example is: Sth Melbourne Networking Meetup, Thurs 17th March 6:30pm. In the post itself, include all the relevant details.
Then head over to the Small Business Forum Facebook page and post the details there. This will reach hundreds of people in one go and will be pushed out to Twitter by the social media team at Small Business Forum.
And finally, use your own business pages on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to promote your event. Don’t be afraid of promoting it multiple times and pick up the frequency as you get closer to the event (as people will often forget and just need a little reminder to lock it into their diary).
What Happens On The Night
Well that’s really up to you!
The hardest part of getting groups of strangers together is actually getting the strangers together on the night! When you have a profile picture loaded on your Small Business Forum profile you can point new comers to your mug shot, giving them someone to look out for.
Things To Remember…
While everyone at the Small Business Forum wants the networking events to be a success it’s important to remember that these are casual events that are laid back and most of all, FUN!
Don’t get too hung up and stressed out about how many people are coming and how to keep the conversation going. Everyone is there because it is relaxed and informal and sometimes there will be lots of people, sometimes there won’t.
If you have any questions or challenge you’d like to have a chat about, don’t hesitate to drop our Networking Coordinator, Belinda Weaver, a line at belinda.weaver@smallbusinessforum.com.au.
Happy Networking!
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