From LinkedInUses
Using LinkedIn For Travel
Networking - don't leave home without it!
Online networking is a terrific tool when you're traveling. The benefits are many - make new friends and contacts in new cities, foster new business and relationships, and have a great time when you're away from home.
I recently had a business trip to New York City that was a wonderful success. I met 30 other LinkedIn members. It was exhilarating to see everyone in person. I'm happy to share my experience and tips.
Commitment
Networking takes time. Set aside time in your schedule for networking meetings just like you would for business or family. This can include slots from breakfast through dinner. I was fortunate that my schedule was flexible. One person actually met me at 11pm, right after I flew in! At the end of my trip, instead of rushing back in the morning I took a late flight that enabled me to spend a good part of the day for networking.
Promotion
Now that you freed up time you need to fill it. Like any event the more advance notice you can provide, the more people who can fit it in their schedule.
Start with your own contacts. Search your address book and LinkedIn connections. LinkedIn Contact Manager exports by address nicely. LI's new My Connections page can also be used as it filters (but not saves) by location. I displayed my NY Metro connections, copied all the text, and extracted the email addresses to create my list of people to invite. See these tools at Software.
I find there are certain advantages to having 20,000 connections, like having several hundred people in NY I can directly invite. Depending on your travel availability and size of your network, you may need to promote your visit outside your direct contacts. Send LinkedIn Introductions to targeted individuals you want to meet. Promote a get-together on LinkedIn Answers and applicable Yahoo NetworkingGroups.
Quality
In addition to my regular business meetings I carved out time to meet select people one-on-one for purely networking purposes. I created a short list of people that I wanted to see and sent them a personal email with available times.
Quantity
Master networker Keith Ferrazzi says "Never Eat Alone." I say never eat with just one person! I scheduled a group networking breakfast and also a lunch. My thanks to the brave souls that met me at 7 in the morning.
I used Evite to handle group communications and RSVPs. I created an Evite invitation, imported my local contacts, and invited them. Note - Evite has a limit of 750 people you can invite, though you can request more. For attendees, Evite provides a map, lets them see who's coming, and can add the event to their Outlook calendar. As the host, you can send reminders and updates to all or part of the invitees.
MarcFreedman
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