Imagine, as an example, the owner of a small building maintenance company in Curitiba, in southern Brazil, that serves offices and commercial buildings. Last month she signed up for a few online networking events: she watched a talk about sales and joined an open room with business owners from her region. She came away with good notes, a few names on LinkedIn and not a single scheduled conversation. Before choosing the next one, she takes the networking diagnostic and realizes the problem was not the events themselves, but the lack of a goal for each one. This guide shows what each online networking event format is for, how to choose, how to behave in each one and what to measure afterwards, so your time pays off.
The formats and what each one is for
"Online networking event" is a label that covers very different things. Almost all of them fit one of three formats, and each one was designed for a specific result. Much of the wasted time comes from joining one format while expecting the result of another.
Talk or webinar
One person or a panel speaks, and the audience watches, with room for questions in the chat. It is good for learning, understanding an industry topic and getting to know the organizers. Contact between participants is limited, because attention is on the speaker, and that is part of the format. It is the right choice when your goal is knowledge, or when you want to get closer to an association, a speaker or a community.
Open room
Participants join a group video call, sometimes split into smaller rooms, and talk freely or around a theme. It is good for meeting new people in a relaxed way, getting a feel for a community and practicing your introduction. Who talks to whom depends on chance and on each person's initiative, which has an upside: you may meet someone you would never have looked for.
Business round
Conversations are one to one, by video call, with a fixed length, at an event with a set date and time. Each company describes in its profile what it offers and what it is looking for, and at the start the platform forms the pairs among those present: conversations with people who are looking for what you offer, with no repeated conversations. It is good for opening business relationships with companies you do not know yet. The business networking guide explains why a conversation with a clear reason tends to yield more than a long list of names.
The formats side by side
The table sums up what changes from one format to the next. None of them is best at everything: each one answers a different need.
| Criterion | Talk or webinar | Open room | Business round |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is for | Learning and meeting the organizers | Meeting new people and getting a feel for the community | Opening business conversations with new companies |
| How contact happens | Through the chat or later, on your own initiative | By chance, in whichever room you land in | Formed live, based on each company's profile |
| How much you talk | Little, through questions | As much as your initiative allows | Half of each conversation |
| Preparation | A good question for the chat | A short, relaxed introduction | A clear profile, a short pitch and a tested camera |
| What you take away | Knowledge and a few names | Loose contacts to follow up on | Contacts of people who also marked interest |
| Best moment | When the goal is to understand a topic | When you want to grow your network without hurry | When you need new conversations with people who buy or sell |
How to choose the right event
Before signing up, answer three questions. They take a few minutes and spare you a good share of wasted afternoons.
What is your goal right now
Write in one sentence what you want from that event. "Understand the new public procurement rules" calls for a talk. "Meet business owners in my city" calls for an open room or a group that meets regularly. "Talk to buyers from other states" calls for a business round. If you cannot write that sentence, maybe it is not time to attend any event yet, but to define who you sell to.
Who will be there
Read the description and check who is organizing, for which audience and from which industry. An excellent event for tech startups may not have a single building maintenance buyer. If the page does not say who attends, ask the organizer before you block the afternoon.
What happens afterwards
Check how contacts stay with you at the end of the event. At a talk, it almost always depends on you reaching out. In an open room, on asking for the contact on the spot. In the platform's business round, contact details are only shared when both sides mark interest. If what you need is a meeting that repeats with the same people, the article on business networking groups shows how clubs and groups with regular meetings work. And if you are torn between an online event and an in-person trade fair, the comparison of an online business round or a trade fair helps you decide.
Preparation that fits in one afternoon
An online event seems to need no preparation, because all you do is click a link. That is exactly where a lot of time is lost: you join without knowing what to say, and the conversation stays generic.
- One sentence about what you do and for whom: "I do electrical and plumbing maintenance for offices and commercial buildings" says more than your company name.
- One sentence about what you are looking for: the kind of client, supplier or partner that would make a difference now.
- Updated profile: name, company and role visible on screen, and a LinkedIn profile or website that confirms what you said.
- Tested equipment: camera at eye level, headset, light in front of you and a stable connection.
- Protected time slot: calendar blocked, phone out of reach and no other window open.
If the event is a business round and you have never joined one, the business round simulator shows you the screens from the inside in under a minute, with no camera.
How to behave in each format
At a talk
Watch with your camera on when the event allows it, and take part in the chat with a question or a comment that shows what you do, without sounding like an ad. A well asked question makes the speaker and the other participants remember you. Write down the names of people who made interesting comments and reach out to them later, mentioning what they said.
In an open room
Introduce yourself in a few sentences when your turn comes, ask about other people's businesses and leave room for everyone to speak. Avoid turning the room into a shop window: people who only talk about their own product tend to be remembered for the wrong reason. If a conversation goes well, suggest continuing at another time, just the two of you, and exchange contacts right there.
In a business round
Start with a question, not with your catalog. Ask what the other company is looking for, say in a few sentences what you do and see whether there is a fit. Respect the time: rooms switch automatically, so save the details for a later conversation if both sides are interested. At the end of each conversation, be honest when you mark whether you want to continue. Marking interest in every one only fills your list with contacts that will go nowhere.
After the event: where results show up
Much of the value of an online networking event shows up in the following days. A good conversation that nobody picks up again gets lost in the week's schedule.
- On the same day: write down who you talked to, what was said and the next step for each conversation.
- Within 48 hours: send a short message that picks up something specific from the conversation and suggests a concrete step.
- For people who were not your client: thank them and, if it makes sense, introduce someone from your network. That also builds a relationship.
The guide to following up after a business meeting shows when to write and what to say in each case.
What to measure
Without a record, each event seems either worthwhile or a waste of time depending on your mood that day. A simple spreadsheet solves this. For each event, write down:
- Time invested: the hours of the event and of the preparation.
- Conversations with the right people: not the names you saw on screen, but the conversations with people who can buy from you, sell to you or refer you.
- Agreed next steps: a meeting, a proposal to send, a visit, an introduction to someone else.
- What turned into business: weeks or months later, go back to the spreadsheet and mark what became a proposal and a sale.
After a few events, compare the formats by what each one delivered for your goal, not by the total number of people present. A talk that gave you an idea capable of changing your offer was worth the time, even without a single new contact. The article on how to measure the return on networking goes deeper into this record and shows how to read the numbers.
Where to start
Write your goal for the coming months in one sentence and choose the format that answers it. Set aside an afternoon to prepare your introduction, test your equipment and set up the spreadsheet. After the event, pick up the good conversations within 48 hours and record what each one became. Further down the road, take the diagnostic again to see what changed in the way you network.
Your company's first online business round is on us: all you need is an active CNPJ (the Brazilian company registration number), once per CNPJ, and contact details are only shared when both sides mark interest. See the upcoming business rounds and pick one to try the one-to-one conversation format.