Photo by Wendy Piersall

Social media can become even more powerful when you combine it with offline PR efforts and use it to supercharge your real-world business networking.

Probably the most important benefit for a lot of people getting on social media is the people you’ll meet, interact with, and start to build relationships with. I’ve met hundreds of interesting individuals since I started blogging in 2006—many of whom have become friends, mentors, clients, and business partners. But nothing beats meeting these people face-to-face.

Where to Network Offline

After your first few months blogging or interacting on social media networks, attending some of the big new media conferences like South By Southwest Interactive and Blog World Expo can go a long way to help you establish A-list contacts and boost your profile online.

If you’re looking for local events to attend, you can scan the headlines at Upcoming, or do a search for a BarCamp conference or Tweetup in your city to network with and learn from other people who are also passionate about social media and technology. Or search through the groups on Meetup.com to find people who share your interests.

Once you have your blog set up and start to gather a following, you can use it as a platform to organize your own offline networking events too!

Find People You Want to Get to Know

Almost every organized conference will have a website where attendees will gather. You can search through the speaker and sponsor lists to find what sessions and talks interest you the most (and who you might want to connect with), and some sites even make their registration lists public or have user forums where you can easily see who else plans on attending.

If not, search through Twitter for mentions about the event you’re interested in attending and see who’s talking about it. Send out a couple status updates on your Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn profiles letting your friends and followers know you plan to be there and see if anyone else will be there too.

Click through and explore the profiles of anyone who’s talking about it. Once you get a sense for what speakers, businesses, and attendees might be at your conference or event, make a list of individuals you’d want to meet in person.

Eliminate the Cold Approach

Now that you’ve researched who you want to meet, try to connect with them online before the event. If you find them (or they find you) through Twitter, send them an @reply or a direct message to tell them you plan on being there. If you find other people talking about it on Facebook, shoot them a message. If you can connect with them on their blog, look for their contact details and try to send a personal email.

Keep it brief, but tell them 1) something about yourself or why you’ll be attending the event, 2) how you came across them or why you’re interested in what they’re doing, and 3) let them know you look forward to meeting in person.

Reaching out to people before the event can be a lot easier than walking up to someone you’ve never met before and having cold introductions or worse, that universally-dreaded networking moment when you’re left awkwardly standing there waiting for them to finish talking to someone else.

A majority of people welcome these kinds of online introductions, and many will even click through to look up your profile or your website to learn more about you, so connecting early will differentiate you from the rest of the crowd. You’ll already know a thing or two about each other, which will give you something to talk about and elminate that uncomfortable feeling when you’ve just met for the first time and nobody knows what to talk about (“Uh, so what do you do?”). They’ll be more likely to recognize you when they see you in person, and they might even come seek you out.

Now, go enjoy your networking event and make some friends!

Cody is a nomadic entrepreneur & lifestyle designer who helps social changemakers & other remarkable people spread their message on the web.

Tags: BarCamp, Blog World Expo, conferences, Events, meetup, networking, relationships, social networking, SXSW, Twitter