Networking has at all times been essential in constructing relationships between PR professionals and their purchasers with the media. Nevertheless, within the wake of the pandemic, people and companies needed to abandon in-person occasions and undertake a brand new method of constructing skilled connections—digital occasions.
The factor about digital occasions is that attendees aren’t in the identical bodily area. However that doesn’t imply your occasion can be much less profitable.
On this article, you’ll study 5 distinctive digital networking occasions concepts that can assist encourage sturdy connections between PR execs and your purchasers, and the media.
1. Pace networking
Pace networking is without doubt one of the distinctive digital networking occasions concepts occasions you need to implement. It permits attendees–PR professionals, their purchasers, and the media–to have a number of one-on-one conversations in a fast-paced and structured surroundings.
Pace networking just about works like pace courting. Contributors are divided into pairs and given a set period of time to introduce themselves and trade info. When time’s up, contributors transfer on to the subsequent particular person, permitting them to attach with a variety of individuals in brief durations.
The structured and timed conversations imply much less room for awkward silences and “Zoom fatigue.” The time relies on the scale of the group and the time allotted. Nevertheless, these occasions usually final for an hour or two and 5 to 10 minutes for every breakout session.
For profitable digital pace networking occasions, have a dependable digital occasion platform. For example, Glue Up’s Pace Networking resolution has nice digital breakout dialogue options that facilitate significant conversations.
They embrace direct messaging capabilities, GIFs, media and site sharing, and a follow-up assembly request. You’ll be able to even encourage your PR crew members, purchasers, and editors and reporters to share their digital enterprise playing cards. The cardboard ought to ideally have all their contact particulars to encourage attendees to keep up a correspondence after the occasion.
Lastly, guarantee occasion attendees have prior directions on the occasion construction. This consists of the size of the networking classes, occasion content material, and the particular participant pairings. You too can ship some icebreaker questions. Specify, although, in order for you all the pieces within the occasion off-the-record or not.
2. Digital roundtable discussions
Digital roundtables are among the best digital networking occasions concepts. They bring about collectively small teams of like-minded professionals to debate a particular subject or situation. In PR, you possibly can host digital media roundtables to, not simply strengthen relationships with the press, but in addition to get protection on your consumer. The fabric mentioned in a digital roundtable dialogue can be utilized by the media to jot down articles or create video content material.
To implement digital roundtable discussions successfully, select a subject or situation that’s news-worthy. For example, in case your consumer is an search engine optimization skilled, they will talk about new search engine optimization developments. It is a news-worthy subject since, nicely, these are latest developments nobody else has talked about.
Subsequent, use video conferencing software program, resembling Zoom or Skype, and Microsoft Groups. These platforms have chat or polling options to reinforce the dialogue.
Lastly, it’s necessary to maintain the group dimension small to make sure that everybody has the chance to take part and contribute to the dialog. You’ll be able to have from 4 to fifteen folks in every group. Nevertheless, the shorter the time allotment, the less folks there must be in a bunch.
3. Digital wine-tasting
You’ll be able to host a digital wine-tasting as a thanks for the media who’ve helped you acquire protection on your occasions and on your consumer. A digital wine-tasting can also be a superb choice if you wish to acquire media protection on your consumer in the event that they promote wine. The occasion permits your consumer to showcase their merchandise earlier than the media who can, hopefully, additionally create content material round them.
The advantage of such a digital occasion is that it takes place in a soothing setting. The media who take part are usually despatched a collection of the wines earlier than the digital occasion.
Present preliminary info on the occasion so attendees can come ready to take part. Additionally, use on-line platforms like Microsoft Groups, Zoho, or Zoom with chat and ballot options to allow attendees to work together through the assembly.
4. Digital sport evening
Digital sport nights convey collectively professionals to play video games and interact in pleasant competitors. You’ve gotten a number of choices to do that. You may get the members of your PR crew and the media collectively in a single occasion or have simply members of the media competing towards each other.
Simply be sure that your chosen video games encourage dialog, like trivia video games, board video games, or icebreaker video games.
You should use gamification platforms like Spinify or third-party Zoom digital sport nights hosts, as proven beneath.
It’s additionally a good suggestion to have a moderator who ensures your complete occasion stays on observe. Additionally, incentivize your sport evening with rewards like reward playing cards, titles, badges, and so on.
5. Digital pleased hour
In search of distinctive digital networking occasion concepts that permit contributors to attach in relaxed environments? How about you host digital pleased hours? Throughout these occasions, PR professionals and the media, or the media and your purchasers can work together over drinks and dialog.
You’ll be able to have contributors convey their drinks or you possibly can ship a drink equipment with the assistance of occasion planners previous to the occasion.
In the course of the pleased hour, encourage contributors to share tales within the chat part. Among the finest on-line occasion platforms for digital pleased hours embrace Zoom, Skype, Google Meet, and even Houseparty for small groups.
In closing
Whereas conventional digital networking occasions nonetheless have their place, circumstances typically don’t permit them. The excellent news is that you simply and your purchasers can nonetheless forge sturdy relationships with the media via digital occasions.
You discovered distinctive digital networking concepts from this text. They’re pace networking, roundtable discussions, wine-tasting, sport nights, and pleased hours.
Implement them now and also you’ll reap one of the best outcomes.
