Why I Love Business Networking

I have been working in the Digital Marketing industry for coming up to three years in September and I have learnt a lot in my job role, but if there is something valuable I have learnt over the past six months specifically, it is the importance of networking.

In a business environment networking can take place in various forms. For example breakfast meetings, social events, lunch socials, formal meets, relaxed social gatherings and online networking (this is just to name a few).  For small businesses, networking is the key to raising brand awareness and to get other local businesses talking about you. I believe the key to networking is building connections with other local businesses in order to gain relationships and trust so that they remember your brand when they require the services you provide or to recommend you.

In my experience I have attended two official networking events: Moxie Mingle and 4Networking. Moxie Mingle is a social networking event that covers the Cheshire areas allowing local businesses to, well, mingle! The mingling happens at a local venue, usually a cafe, restaurant or bar and provides businesses with the opportunity to socialise amongst each other whilst enjoying a few light refreshments. I have attended two Moxie Mingles and enjoy the relaxed, less formal networking environment that follows the Moxie theme.

The second networking event I have attended is a 4Networking event. Unlike Moxie Mingle, 4N covers the whole of the United Kingdom with various breakfast, lunch and evening meetings happening regularly up and down the country. 4N is a tad more formal than Moxie Mingle in a sense that there is an evident format for each meeting. The meeting usually follows the following schedule: each individual giving a 60 second speech, there is then a 15 minute speech from a 4N member and lastly each attendee is offered three 1 to 1’s with other business representatives at the networking event.

Both networking events were beneficial for not only me but the organisation I was representing. I feel that going to business networking events like Moxie Mingle and 4N helped me develop my social skills and boost my confidence. They also provided me with a sense of how to communicate with other business professionals and how to effectively represent an organisation.