The international social networking organization has chapters in 391 cities, from London to Hong Kong, but at the time it didn’t have a Portland branch. After a few emails, May was asked if he wanted to take on the organizing task.
He says the question “was a little bit daunting,” but despite knowing virtually no one in town he decided to go for it. A natural organizer, May pulled together the first event in March, and it attracted more than 100 people. The most recent get together took place last month at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, where the three-story atrium was packed with more than 250 people and two open bars.
“Greendrinks carries itself in this community,” May says of eco-conscious Portland. “People really wanted this event. It’s been easy for it to spread via word of mouth.”
Unlike industry-specific associations and member-based business groups, Greendrinks doesn’t charge for its gatherings or host educational workshops. Instead it functions more like a roaming cocktail party. The drinks are free (courtesy of Peak Organic) and each month’s event is hosted by a different local business.
“It doesn’t have to be something that’s rigid,” May says. “It’s very much a chameleon. Each month it adapts to the host company.”
Really, the network’s only unifying feature is that it attracts people who are interested in lightening our load on the planet. This means you’re as likely to meet a green builder or a socially responsible marketer as you are to meet a yoga instructor or a bike advocate. The aim is to provide an informal meeting space where people can make new business connections and foster creative collaborations with existing contacts.
Find your biz niche
The same principle holds at another newly formed social networking group, the DownEast Pride Alliance. Much like Greendrinks, its events are free and open to the public. The key difference is the DownEast Pride Alliance gears itself to business people who are members of the gay community or work for gay-friendly companies.
Organized by Sid Tripp, who owns design firm Proactive Resources, and Leah Bartley, a financial advisor, the group held its first meeting in June. According to Tripp, the get-togethers provide an opportunity for people who are members of a minority community to attend a business-focused function and be in the majority.
“I’m having to forever explain why I’m single, why I don’t have children,” Tripp says of the questions he gets at conventional business gatherings. “There’s not that element where I’m going to have to explain myself (at a DownEast Pride Alliance event). That’s one less obstacle someone has to overcome to do business.”
Tripp says the monthly networking meetings also provide an excellent opportunity for business owners trying to reach the GLBT community.
“The gay community is very loyal to the people who court them,” Tripp says. “It’s a very lucrative market.”
For business types who are looking for a more general mixer, the Social Network of Maine (or SNOM for short) is where you’ll find it. This networking group was formed in February by John Seymore, of Southern Maine Signal, and Mike Norton, of Port Harbor Marine. It holds get-togethers twice a month at different bars around town.
“I really didn’t feel the Chamber of Commerce was my demographic,” Seymore says of what drove him to start the organization. “I don’t want to knock the Chamber, because they’re doing great things. But as younger people coming in, we’re on the outside because there’s already an established core in the Chamber.”
In July, SNOM branched out and added a Lewiston/Auburn chapter. The organizers hope to eventually serve more of the state, with chapters in Brunswick, Biddeford and Wells/Ogunquit under consideration.
Face-to-face value
All three organizations offer those who attend their events the invaluable business resource of meeting potential customers in person.
“The face-to-face is the most important part,” Tripp says. “People in general are reluctant to put themselves out there. We create a very safe space where it’s easy to strike up a conversation. It’s the same reason why so much business is done on the golf course. Think about how powerful it is to be able to talk to the owner of a company directly, rather than go through the chain of command.”
In our world that’s saturated with marketing messages, junk mail and telemarketing pitches, this ability to connect an actual person with a product or a service can be a powerful driver of purchasing behavior.
“You can communicate vision a lot more clearly in person,” May says. “It’s less easily dismissed. It’s a very informal way for people to meet and avoid the cold call.”
Seymore sums up the value of personal connections when he says: “I’m very hesitant about doing business with someone I haven’t had a drink with.”
And, as Tripp sees it, in these tight economic times social networking is just plain efficient.
“With the price of gas right now, people are worried about their heating bill and their next tank of gas,” Tripp says. “If you can go to one place and meet 15 new people and three of those are people you can do business with, that’s cost effective.”