{"id":3147,"date":"2012-10-19T10:30:15","date_gmt":"2012-10-19T14:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/?p=3147"},"modified":"2018-08-16T12:59:12","modified_gmt":"2018-08-16T16:59:12","slug":"how-to-follow-up-after-national-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/2012\/10\/19\/how-to-follow-up-after-national-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Follow Up After National Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

The basic format of an introductory networking conversation between two public relations professionals is often simple: share who you are and what you do, then swap business cards.<\/p>\n

As often as we have encounters like this, many people often don\u2019t take the necessary post-interaction steps to sustain a connection with newly acquired relationships. In this industry, who you know is extremely important \u00a0\u2013 so when you\u2019re at conferences and networking events, it is essential to go one step further than giving a confident handshake and exchanging business cards.<\/p>\n

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Networking with fellow PRSSA members is a great resource. Photo by Erica Brown<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As you travel home from the PRSSA 2012 National Conference this week, you should plan what you are going to do now that the event has ended. If you want to stay on top of your networking game, here are a few steps you\u00a0should take to get the most out of your PRSSA relationships.<\/p>\n

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  1. \n

    Make that database \u2013 <\/span><\/strong>For every business card I receive, I always take the information and put it into a Google spreadsheet I created. I keep everyone\u2019s information online so my desk isn\u2019t full of floating bits of paper.<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
  2. \n

    Get connected \u2013 <\/span><\/strong>Now that you have everyone\u2019s contact information in a centralized location, it\u2019s time to start the real networking! Send your new friends a brief thank you or follow-up email. After National Conference last year, I sent each of my new contacts a card in the mail. Aren’t public relations professionals known for always being on their smartphones? It takes no effort to add someone on Twitter or Facebook while after a session or networking event. Besides, don\u2019t you always feel so cool after PRSSA events when you gain 20 followers? I know I do.<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
  3. \n

    STAY connected <\/span><\/strong>\u2013\u00a0It is easy to make the first move of sending a thank you email or LinkedIn request, but you can\u2019t just say hello once and then disappear. Favorite your acquaintance\u2019s tweets or comment on their blog posts. If you\u2019re traveling or working in a new town, meet up with your connections.<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    At National Conference, it is easy to connect with driven and exciting public relations folks. Make sure that you\u2019re now prepared to make your new network last by going a little further than being just a name on a business card.<\/strong><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    About the blogger<\/strong><\/p>\n

    This is a guest post by Lauren Tennet, a senior public relations student with a double minor in history and Spanish at Ohio Northern University.Tennet is currently the social media & marketing Intern at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, Texas. A proud Delta Zeta, Tennet will serve as the director of Ohio Northern\u2019s student-run firm, True North Public Relations. In the fall, as well as the\u00a0a<\/ins>dvertising\u00a0m<\/ins>anager forFORUM. She will also be the social media intern for Campus Crasher, an online university scouting page. Besides these accomplishments, Tennet is an avid music lover and performer.<\/em><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    [highlight]How do you follow up with members and professionals? Share your experience with us. \u00a0[\/highlight]
    \n<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The basic format of an introductory networking conversation between two public relations professionals is often simple: share who you are and what you do, then swap business cards. As often as we have encounters like this, many people often don\u2019t take the necessary post-interaction steps to sustain a connection with newly acquired relationships. In this industry, who you know is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":3154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2895],"tags":[17,568,75,1453,2217,15,1296,40,305,507,1452],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3147"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3147"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3165,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3147\/revisions\/3165"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}