For all of the talk about the importance and relevance of social media that comes out of me and many other people, there is still a huge amount to be gained from the face-to-face version. My argument would be that in today’s online world, the value of face-to-face networking at its best has actually increased.

I attended the Sydney CBD BNI networking group this morning and had a great time meeting some new people and hearing about a range of high-performing businesses of all shapes and sizes operating in the city. It’s a great example of networking done well, but my invitation to attend this group came from a face-to-face meeting and a very rambling conversation with one of the members.

I have also had two requests for my services today from two connections who have met me, one of them only once, and neither of whom were connected to me on social platforms before we started talking.

Yes, we need to have a strong presence online and build our businesses this way – this tide is rising quickly and we need to stay afloat in order to reap the benefits – but we must never overlook the strength of the traditional methods. Trust can form much more quickly from having a broader conversation and trust in any relationship is what really matters. Use your social channels to grow the relationship and develop even greater levels of trust and you will see some excellent growth in time.