“Real world” networking (as opposed to online “Social Networking”) is what gives a Local Thought Leadership campaign its legs. You can make money online without ever leaving your house, but then you’re an internet marketer, not a Local Thought Leader.

Thought Leadership, and all contemporary marketing, is primarily about building relationships. The best way to build relationships is in the real world with real people you have really met. This is where networking comes in.

Networking has been around forever, from the secret societies of Ancient Greece to the Good Ol’ Boys of White America. There has been, and will always be, a strong market and social advantage for people who are able to integrate themselves into a large community and form relationships across allied industries and professions.

As a named business tool and trend, networking in its current form was more or less invented in the 1970s, and peaked in 80s. Men (mostly) in bad suits glad-handing each other and swapping business cards. “Let’s do lunch,” and all that. Rotary clubs, toast masters, chambers of commerce. The problem was that a lot of people ended up slightly inebriated, confused, and holding a stack of business cards they didn’t know what to do with.

We are currently experiencing a resurgence of networking. It never went away, of course, but it’s definitely booming again in a way that it hasn’t in a while. Partly this is because of the economy (lots of people looking for an edge), but there are a number of other trends at work here as well: the relationship marketing movement, the four hour work week / multiple streams of income trends, the increase in entrepreneurship and small businesses.

Unfortunately, a lot of people are still suffering from 1980s style networking deficiency. The clothing is better, there are more women, and the cocktails are less likely to be scotch on the rocks… but the end result is often the same: Handfuls of business cards, very little business.

But, oh! When it works, it works.

Networking can drive Thought Leadership forward because it gives you an opportunity to show complete strangers that you are an expert in your field. It gets a piece of marketing into people’s hands (your business card), gives you a small piece of a whole bunch of people’s attention, and provides you with dozens of personal invitations to share your story and learn about other people.

So, how do you make sure that your networking is efficient and legitimate Thought Leadership activity, instead of glorified bar-hopping?

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