Bizzabo officially launched 2 weeks ago. Throughout our private beta period, we’ve tested Bizzabo in hundreds of events, with every event (almost) having at least one team member present to answer questions, listen to users, and network… So basically, we’ve all been to a bunch of events lately. The high exposure to individuals performing networking helped us identify the characteristics of successful networking conduct. We attempted to emulate and enhance these behaviors in and with Bizzabo, in an effort to create the ultimate social experience.
Here are Bizzabo’s 4 keys to networking:
Choosing the right event- Successful networking requires the correct settings; you can’t expect to meet angel investors or recruit a new developer at the World Dairy Expo. The criteria for finding the right event are subjective and flexible, but the general concentration should be on who’s attending and the prospective connections you could make, more than what the convention is about or what freebies would be dealt. In order to make this decision easier for users, we added an “event discovery” feature to Bizzabo. Users can scroll through suggested events and see who’s attending each event. This feature helps users to identify the events that hold the most opportunities for them– whether it’s old relationships that can be rejuvenated or potential new and beneficial connections. Additional event discovery features are coming very soon.
Targeting the right people – A common phenomenon in event attendees is shock and surprise by how quickly the event ended, which is usually followed by disappointment for not fully achieving their goals and frustration for their inefficiency and wasted time. The good news is – it can be easily avoided. In a room full of hundreds of people, only a handful are the right opportunities for you. Therefore, it’s crucial to identify who can offer you something you need, and more importantly, who might be interested in what you can offer. That’s why we created the “Community” tab in Bizzabo. Users can take a quick glance on the general list of attendees, see each attendee’s past experience and mark prospective leads, to make the best use of their time at the event.
Initiate and engage – In life, when looking to accomplish anything, being active is generally the best strategy. In networking the same principle applies; the most effective networkers are the ones that constantly act on the opportunities they discover. Just like talking to a beautiful woman (or man…), it takes balls, courage and you may have to experience a few rejections, but you just might get lucky at the end of the day. We noticed that a lot of talented individuals, whom have a lot to offer, are having difficulties creating that first connection. For that reason, we designed Bizzabo as a platform that builds up the users’ confidence for initiating new interactions, by allowing them to acknowledge the value they might have in the eyes of their target. In addition, the though, edgy first moments of interaction can be started from within the platform, for the more introvert users.
Follow up – “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.”~ H. Ford
Creating solid initial connections are the best outcome from a successful networking event. However, it is only the beginning. The weak ties need to be strengthened and maintained in order to become fruitful. This is not a simple task, and great initial connections are commonly lost for no good reason. Social networks are a great platform for strengthening newly acquired relationships. We integrated LinkedIn and Twitter into Bizzabo for this reason. Users can invite new acquaintances to connect on LinkedIn, follow them on Twitter or simply continue to communicate through the app, converting one night stands into serious relationships 
Throughout our private beta, we went through a bi-directional process; embedding offline networking behaviors into Bizzabo, and introducing Bizzabo to offline networking, creating a unified, multi-platform experience. From the feedback we received and our own experience with Bizzabo, we feel that the result is an overall enhanced networking process, which ultimately produces better connections. We hope you enjoy it! If you don’t have the app already, download it here.
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