When you meet someone at an event be it BNI, Chamber of Commerce, Expo or Networking what do you do after the event?

1)      Throw the business cards in a box

2)      Lay them on your desk in case you want to follow up

3)      Immediately send an email to follow up

In case you were wondering #3 was the ideal answer….

Even if the person you met was not your ideal contact, never underestimate the power of a referral.

Then you will want to determine who and how you would like to stay connected through Social Media.

As a Business Professional the first social media platform I would suggest is LinkedIn.  Since you have their business card it should include their email address. The email allows you to connect with them on LinkedIn without any other additional information.   Send an invitation asking them to connect. In this invitation remind them of where you met them.

Eliminate the default information.  Always add a personal note.

For example:

• Harold, it was so nice meeting today at the Fenton Chamber!  I plan to stop by your store in the near future.. Unique Ideas and More sounds like a place everyone should stop and see.  Let’s stay in contact.
• Sue, it was such a pleasure talking with you yesterday during the Networking event at Jilly’s.  I personally think we probably have similar markets so we should get together and discuss possible options to help each other. Would you be open to that?
• Kami, it was nice meeting you at the On Target Bookkeeping ribbon cutting earlier today.  Would like to stay connected.  Have a Successful day!

Another place to connect with these new found contacts is if they have a Facebook Business Page.  If so, find them on facebook and follow them..  Leave them a personal message just like LinkedIn of how you met them and have liked their page and look forward to the staying connected.

Then I would suggest going to Twitter and see if they have a page on Twitter… Again, take the time to help build that relationship by mentioning them in a message or by direct messaging them.

If you would like the 11 Worst Mistakes in Networking click on Karen THE Connector…

If you are in a situation where you have thrown all these business cards into a box, you may want to have them put into a spreadsheet.  Extremely reasonable and then you can use these email addresses to stay connected by sending a monthly newsletter or take those email addresses and see how many you know on LinkedIn… Click here for Daniel’s information.

Karen Fox – better known as Karen THE Connector -is a social media coach, strategist and speaker. Karen works with companies and individuals to take the fear and frustration out of creating their online reputation with social media. She rescues those who are lost on LinkedIn, frustrated with Facebook or afraid of being Twit on Twitter. Karen THE Connector