3 things I took away from my first networking meeting…

By Nick - Piggyback Media (@Piggyback_Media)

Firstly, welcome to Piggyback Media!

Slight apprehensions writing my first blog and introduction as a brand new company, but don’t feel for me as these feelings have been well and truly trumped with the intrinsic satisfaction to finally be living it.
And these same emotions were no different the morning that I heard the words:

“Let’s welcome Nick from Piggyback Media”
​
I was attending my very first network meeting as a brand new businessowner and I was a little nervous about it. I‘ve been attending network meetings as an employee for many years. But unlike previously, this time there was no corporate backing or company reputation to latch onto.
This time it was me, myself and I, stood toe to toe with a group of experts in each of their specialised fields, wondering whether I had the minerals to hold my own and prove that I have what it takes to offer other business value.

Now I’d be lying if I was to say I wasn’t slightly nervous, but trusting my passion and expertise I jumped straight in and was able to share my experiences and knowledge of marketing both for and alongside small businesses in my previous role.

So after my first network meeting as Piggyback Media I managed to provide some input as well take away a few golden nuggets from the network meeting itself.

So without any further waffling, I’ll get back to the reason I wrote the blog in the first place and share with you those golden nuggets…

Let’s start with ‘Lesson No 1’
You‘re not alone…After coming away from the meeting it hit me, I don’t have to do it alone and neither should you!

At times, running a small business can leave you feeling very isolated and frustrated. By finding an environment where others are in the same situation can be very motivating and rewarding. The opportunity to share experiences and ideas is a huge positive. Now this isn’t the case for all network meetings, but this one definitely did that. The hosts and members at Expert Circles were very accommodating and offered some really great insights into what they do and how they can help businesses succeed.

If you haven’t been to a network meeting before I suggest you do and Expert Circles would be a great place to start. Just to have the opportunity to listen to the knowledge in the room, ask questions when you need to do so and offer input where you can is what makes networking so powerful.

Which is where ‘Lesson No 2' comes in.
Social media isn’t going away…Picture this, 10 people sat in a room mostly made up of successful middle aged business owners. What’s the first thing you’d expect to hear when you sit down as a new attendee? A discussion about the weather, the EU referendum, or the latest sport headlines?

Nope, it was a discussion about how one of the members had finally got their finger out and uploaded a Facebook profile picture.

And it didn’t stop there, the constant mentions of personal twitter feeds and Facebook posts continued to lead a number of the discussions.

This is when I knew…
The services that Piggyback Media had to offer were not just a flash in pan idea!
If they were all on social media, then guess what? Their customers are too, so why wouldn’t you want to advertise there.

In my past and still to this day I am an advocate of the following tactic:
“Know who your customer is, find out where they go and meet them there”

Whether your trade is anything from a financial advisor to a window cleaner, your customers are human and your customers are on social media.

You’ve just got to find out where!

As the world evolves and technology continues to push the boundaries, we know one thing is true.
Social media networks are here to stay.

Gone are the days where TV ad’s grasp our attention or the local classifieds is the place to turn to for the local accountant. Instead we log in daily, sometimes hourly, to get information on anything from sports updates and news, to the latest gossip and local events.

If we're all there, then why wouldn’t you want your business to be there as well!

Which a leads me nicely onto ‘Lesson No 3'
We know what we need to do, we just don’t know how to do it…As you will be aware, promoting your business where the attention is has the potential to deliver amazing results within a short period of time. At the meeting it was evident people were aware of the benefits that marketing on social media can offer, however the same problems that myself and you encounter in areas of our business are evident. The lack of time, understanding and knowing where to start are all key factors when it comes to taking on new aspects of the business.

For social media advertising this doesn’t have to be your problem though!


Thanks for reading and look forward to connecting with you!


​Author: Nick @ Piggyback Media
Contact: info@piggybackmedia.co.uk
Website: www.piggybackmedia.co.uk
Twitter: @Piggyback_Media
Facebook: Piggyback Media
Instagram: piggybackmedia