Que Pasa

How are you doing?

This is good week to network with the weather being in the high 60′s.

Big news from our ride-sharing partner, SideCar!

They are excited to announce that rides will be free this coming week starting tomorrow (May 6th).

Download sidecar app www.side.cr and join the rideshare revolution.

See you at one of the many events this week, if not, have a great week and get out there and make those connections!

P.S.
We welcome our new clients and partners and thanks to everyone that has been sharing our new offerings ie Social Media Productivity Training and Coaching* both Corporate and Personal, Half Day (4 hrs) or Full Day (6-8 hrs) as well as Specialized Custom Social Media Optimization Training and Coaching for advanced organizations. Contact us for more details.

Joselin Mane
co-founder
BostonTweetUp

Short URL: http://bit.ly/BTUn0506

Que Pasa

How are you doing?

This is going to be a relatively light event week but there are still plenty of great networking events to attend.

Our ride-sharing partner, SideCar, is excited to provide a limited time exclusive offer to the BostonTweetUp community. See sidebar for more info.

Meet Andrew, Sidecar Boston Community Manager, who has an Exclusive BostonTweetUp Deal for you! (Click on the video below It’s only 16 secs and get an instant credit!)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Download sidecar app here

Try it out this weekend and Sidecar will be matching 100% of the driver donations and contributing them to the One Fund (www.onefundboston.org).

See you at one of the many events this week, if not, have a great week and get out there and make those connections!

P.S.
We welcome our new clients and partners and thanks to everyone that has been sharing our new offerings ie Social Media Productivity Training and Coaching* both Corporate and Personal, Half Day (4 hrs) or Full Day (6-8 hrs) as well as Specialized Custom Social Media Optimization Training and Coaching for advanced organizations. Contact us for more details.

Joselin Mane
co-founder
BostonTweetUp

Short URL: http://bit.ly/BTUn0429

Introducing yourself and striking up a conversation with professional contacts can feel a bit intimidating and nerve racking, especially if you’ve never been to a job fair or trade show event. But you should never feel anxious or nervous about introducing yourself because it can actually be incredibly fun and enormously beneficial.

Engaging with others is quite effortless; all you have you have to do is simply be yourself. Honestly!

Now, introductions can sometimes feel awkward, but it doesn’t have to be! You just need to know the right thing to say. There are various ways in which you can introduce yourself to spark up a conversation, in fact there are 5 ways, as mentioned by BostonTweetUp’s co-founder and author of The Ultimate Guide to Networking 2.0, Joselin Mane, in his Networking 2.0 video series.

1)     “Warm introduction”  

Photo credit: BostonTweetUp. Taken at: Boston Sports & Social Media Marketing

Social media has redefined the way we connect. There’s a chance you might have already met or have gotten to know someone via online. Whether it is from their blogs, social media, or their websites, you may already know them or be acquainted with them to some extent. So all your doing now is meeting them “IRL” (in real life). Knowing them already will make your introduction easier for you because if you for some chance still don’t know what to say, you can just reference something that you’ve enjoyed from their online sharing/content. Anything that will get you reconnected!

2)     “Cold Introduction”

Photo credit: BostonTweetUp. Taken at: Boston Bloggers Holiday Fiesta

(Photo taken at: Boston Bloggers Holiday Fiesta Dec 2011)

When you’re meeting someone for the first time, there’s a chance they may or may be wearing a nametag. If they are wearing one, then that will make your introduction that much more easy. All you have to do is look at what their tag says for some context, address them personally on a first name basis, ask them how they are doing, and introduce yourself. Simple enough.

But it they don’t have a nametag, then find a way to introduce yourself in a way that will reflect your personality. Something along the lines of “My name is Joselin, what brings you here today?” Just remember to be careful in how you introduce yourself because you don’t want to offend anyone. Saying something like this, as opposed to “Hi, what do you do?” will make your introduction easier and warmer. You never know, they may have just gotten fired, don’t have a job, or simply just don’t want to talk about their profession. And you don’t want to be that jerk that reminds them of them their struggles. So refrain from offending people by keeping things neutral.

3)      “Context introduction”

Photo credit: BostonTweetUp. Taken at: Boston Sports & Marketing TweetUp

If you’re at an event and you‘re already acquainted with few individuals there, then you can strike up conversation not only for yourself but for others as well. If you already have some context or background on someone then you can introduce that person to someone new. Point out something that relates them to one another  (this is totally up for you to decide) and watch the networking magic happen.

4)     “No context introduction”

Photo credit: BostonTweetUp. Taken at: Uber Pre-Game to New Years w/ Eventbrite Boston, Task Rabbit, & PopChips Dec 2011

If you’re conversing with two or more people and aren’t sure if everyone else knows each other, simple ask “do you guys no each other?” This will naturally make them introduce themselves, instead of you doing the introducing for them. This will work to your benefit in case you forgot their name, want to be reminded of what they do, or in case you want to take a mental note of how they like to be introduced.  See how it’s done along with 4 other ways to introduce someone in this video.

5)     “Social Introduction”

Leveraging social media platforms like Twitter is a great and easy way to strike up a conversation. Conversations via social media can be done either before or after an event. Before the event would be something along the lines of “Hey @PersonA, @PersonB is going to be at the event tonight, you two should meet” and after the event, “Hey @PersonB, did you get a chance to talk to @PersonA?” So whether you decide to introduce yourself or others to one another either before or after the event, you will ultimately be striking up conversations.

But aside form introductions, there are other creative ways that can help you strike up a conversation or drive others to start one with you

6)     Name Tags

Photo credit: BostonTweetUp. Taken at: Bon-Voyage TweetUp #BVBoston

It’s more than likely that you will receive a nametag during the event, so here’s your chance to make yourself stand out so that others are drawn to you. Normally people will just write down basic info on their nametag- their name. But what if you wrote something other than just your name? Maybe something like your company name, profession, or (as we would highly recommend) your Twitter handle. Chances are if you include something on your nametag that is associated with you, other attendees will be more likely to recognize you, which will then give them a greater incentive to approach and talk to you.

7)     Never Eat Alone

Photo credit: BostonTweetUp. Taken at: Lunchspotting 1.2 

Mingling over food or drinks is an easy and relaxing icebreaker. And most of the time these kinds of events have finger food or Hors d’oeuvres, specifically for that reason. So if you’re someone who is unfamiliar with the people there, grab your plate and sit with someone. It’s just like at the dinner table where we are always encouraged to sit and talk with out families so that we can better connect. Conversing comes easier and when you’re bonding over a meal. It gives you the chance to analyze others while you eat, and it gives you time to think up what to say while you chew your food or sip on your cocktail.

8)     Networking Style

Naturally, we sometimes judge a book by its cover, so depending on how you dress is how you will be judged and treated. So don’t be afraid to try new colors and prints out that will make you stand out, but don’t dress in anything you aren’t 100% confident in. You want to feel comfortable in what you wearing so that you can be confident in what you say and do. Wearing things that make you stand out will draw people to you. However, just bPecause it’s a professional event doesn’t mean you have to stick to the normal yet bland khaki pants and blue button up. Try something different! Something like having your company name, logo, or twitter handle on your shirt. That way others will automatically know what you do, which will make it easier       for them to approach you.

It’s really that simple. Don’t think too much into it and like I said earlier, just be yourself! Striking up a conversation will come naturally, once you learn how utilize and master these tips.

If you want to learn more tips and procedures on how to better connect not just during an event, but before and after an event as well, visit BostonTweetUp.com where we provide guidelines and advise networkers, venues, organizers, speakers and sponsors on how to better network. Or subscribe to our newsletter to find out about daily networking events and opportunities within the Greater Boston Area.

Que Pasa

How are you doing?

It’s been a really crazy week! We hope that you, your family and your friends are all ok.

We listed a couple of places where you can donate and help those that were directly affected by last weeks tragic events (see below).

There are also a few events this week that are also dedicated to helping so support where you can.

Last week we started a new Networking 2.0 series – The Top 5 Unique Things to Do Before a Networking Event as a networker, venue, organizer, speaker and sponsor (see below).

This month Sidecar is our newsletter sponsor.

SideCar is an app for your smartphone that instantly connects everyday drivers with a car with people nearby looking for a ride. It’s like getting a ride from a neighbor or a friend. Best of all Sidecar is roughly 20% cheaper than a taxi!

Meet Andrew, Sidecar Boston Community Manager, who has an Exclusive BostonTweetUp Deal for you! (Click on the video below It’s only 16 secs and get an instant credit!)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Download sidecar app here

Try it out this weekend and Sidecar will be matching 100% of the driver donations and contributing them to the One Fund (www.onefundboston.org).

See you at one of the many events this week, if not, have a great week and get out there and make those connections!

P.S.
We welcome our new clients and partners and thanks to everyone that has been sharing our new offerings ie Social Media Productivity Training and Coaching* both Corporate and Personal, Half Day (4 hrs) or Full Day (6-8 hrs) as well as Specialized Custom Social Media Optimization Training and Coaching for advanced organizations. Contact us for more details.

Joselin Mane
co-founder
BostonTweetUp

Short URL: http://bit.ly/BTUn0422

So to help you with your personal branding, this post will show you five unique things that can make you and your company more memorable before any networking event.

#1 BUSINESS CARDS

Create unique business cards prior to the event to pass out during the event. To make your cards unique give your them a different shape, a different size. Make sure to include your company name and  logo, and include unique things like your contact/social media handles. This will allow other event organizers or event attendees to know where the event products/services are coming from in case they are looking to have you sponsor their next event.

#2 CONNECT WITH THE GUESTS

Before the event starts connect with the guests. It’s important to connect with the guests so that they will know to expect you during the event. So a fun way to connect with them is by tweeting about the event (using the event hashtag) and asking all event attendees what they would like for you to bring or do. Interact and involve them in the experience. They will be more than likely look forward to seeing you during the event if you ask them for their input or let them know about the awesome products/services you will be giving away.

#3 CREATE REWARDS

Photo credit: BostonTweetUp. Taken at: The All New 2013 XV Crosstrek Tweetup! Presented by Subaru of New England

Creating rewards for the guests to partake in will give everyone an incentive for guest to visit your station during the event, and it’s a fun and interactive way to get guests excited and boasting about your company and merchandise. Set these rewards up before the event so that during the event, all the guests has to do is follow the rules in order for them to receive their free product/service. This is a fun way to get guests engaging and interacting with you. You can do things like creating rewards for checkins on Foursquare or on Twitter (as seen in the photo above).

#4 CREATE TAILORED PRODUCTS/SERVICES

Photo credit: BostonTweetUp. Taken at: Kick*ss Cupcakes Happy Hour: Special Holiday Edition w/ Google Places!

A unique thing to do is to tailor your products/services to fit the event. So if it’s a fashion event then make fashion decorated food, if it’s an art event then give away art supplies, if it’s a marathon then give away hydrating products, or if it’s a happy hour event then create suitable happy hour treats (like in the photo above).  Do things that will different things that will tie in with the event theme. This will make the event that much more fun and memorable.

#5 USE HASHTAGS

Go on twitter and tweet about the event which you will be sponsoring. You want to make sure you use the event hashtag to centralize your tweets with other event guests tweets, but you also want to make sure you create a hashtag for your product/service. This wil allow guests to tweet and share about you during the event. This also lets you easily search for photos, videos, tweets, etc that you can leverage to connect with your customers, fans, ambassadors, etc.

BONUS

Photo credit: BostonTweetUp. Taken at:Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl

If you plan on distributing any custom merchandise like shirts, mugs, or stickers, make sure you have all the necessary tools and equipment to do so. Or if you have any food, divy it up, label it, and have it ready for distribution. This will make it easier for you to distribute the merchandise during the event. It’s better to be prepared and organized than to be flustered and a mess, so bring all of your tools ready!

Think about these tips next time you are asked to sponsor an event. And leave us a comment below. Let us know which tip(s) worked for you. Or which tips have worked for you in the past that were not mentioned.

Short URL: http://bit.ly/BTU5UsP1