How can face-to-face events help build community and traffic for our site? | Social Signal

Remember when the Internet was going to make face-to-face communications a thing of the past? It turns out that online networks and face-to-face relationships actually reinforce each other - a lot. Combining the connectedness of the always-on Net with the power of real-world contact strengthens relationships in both spheres.

So when you find ways to bring your virtual community into the physical space, where your members can actually meet each other, you're dramatically increasing the emotional clout of their next online encounter. You're giving them an opportunity to plan more offline activities that can deepen their relationship, or have a concrete impact on an issue they both care about. That in turn lends more meaning to their online activities.

You can do something similar when you find ways to extend a physical meetup into the online world. Liveblogging, podcasting, taking live questions via a channel like Twitter - these can all help you extend the impact of your event many times farther than it could otherwise go, while drawing in outside energy and ideas from the Net.

One last advantage: face-to-face events will often draw people who haven't come to your site, but who will hear about it at the event; your site will draw people who might not otherwise attend your in-person events. That can build a virtuous circle... one that can help put your community on a sustained trajectory for growth.