This little clip has been making the rounds on Facebook and the Internet in general.  It brings to mind a point that often comes to the surface when we attend business networking events.

As a general rule, we’re all attending a networking event to promote our products and services and there is an understanding that this kind of talk is to be expected.  How can we engage without seeming self-centered? Master this in real life and the online content building efforts start to get easier since that is the primary concept behind inbound marketing, the strategy for using social media and the Internet for generating business.

Do you sometimes get back to the office after such an event and find an email trumpeting all the great things that can be bought  or recommended to others but not a word about any other benefit for knowing the sender of the email?  Are you tossing a lot of cards you collected into the garbage because you don’t think any of the people are a good prospect for your product?  I believe this is a holdover from our earlier marketing days of interrupt marketing.   The problem comes in when there is no offer to provide help and value first, without the requirement of a purchase.  We also miss some great opportunities to help each other when all we’re focused on is the direct step of making a sale or gaining a prospect.

We can all offer to help each other.  In the social media realm this is especially true.  We can easily share each other’s online content provided it is good content.  Many traditional businesses who either haven’t started  serious efforts to market online or haven’t explored the tremendous differences at work in marketing here are shooting themselves in the foot by ignoring the chance to share someone else’s content.  It is also important to note the different types of connections being formed in online communities (see The Size Surprise, an article that discusses how some social media audiences can be quite large but not very productive for the business, while a small audience can be of tremendous benefit if they are engaging in the content).  Without acknowledging these differences, we miss opportunities.

Many aren’t engaged in social media at all and are still just sending emails to everyone they’ve met explaining all about how wonderful their product or service is without one word about how they can help the person on the receiving end of the message beyond buying or using the offered product.

Networking events can be a great opportunity for promoting the valuable content you’re creating and for building your social media communities.  Explain what you do and communicate the value of visiting your online content.  Send that follow up email and recap the resources you offer, providing the links.  Offer to help the other person share their online content.   This doesn’t mean you must connect necessarily, sometimes it won’t make sense to connect but you can still offer to share each other’s content across your networks to make it available to others.  This also helps you since you’re providing useful content to your audience.  Everyone wins!