Six ways to turn online connections into offline business relationships

How can you link up for coffee with someone who you’ve only connected with on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn? According to an Academia.edu study, there is a tremendous connection between your online and offline relationships. According to their findings, “the average American has 634 ties in their overall network and technology users have bigger networks.”

But the question remains, “How well is your online networking actually working?” If you are using technology and social media platforms to build your business, then at some point, you will have to transition into real-world relationships.

As social networking continues to entrench itself into mainstream culture, every small business will need to leverage online influence into offline business results. Mark Schaefer explains in a Social Media Today post, “The social web is an amazing opportunity to create small interactions that lead to larger engagements — meaningful relationships and business opportunity.”

So how do you take online connections, offline? If you are ready to transition online connections into real-world business relationships, here are six practical tips to get started.

By Erica Nicole, founder and CEO of YFS Magazine, the definitive digital magazine for startup, small business news and entrepreneurial culture.