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Can you remember the last time you were at a networking event? You were probably in a room full of other guests, all wearing their name-tags, and making small talk. At the end of the evening, you would have probably talked to a few dozen people and made 4-5 relevant business connections.

Today, virtual networking gives you the unprecedented opportunity to build and nurture business relationships at a scale far greater than you ever did before. At an event on a virtual network platform like Zuddl, which is accessible to 1000s of people around the world, you can easily connect with the right kind of people - whom you may never have been able to meet otherwise. If done right, virtual networking through ai-powered matchmaking can drive real value for attendees, and turn a good event into a fantastic one. To host virtual events in 2021, organizing effective networking is critical.‍

A timeline of the evolution of networking 

While the world is continuously switching between online & offline, online meeting platforms seem to be the winner by being accessible to people around the world.

The earliest forms of digital networking for the masses can be traced back to the 1990s when dial-up messaging, emails, and web portals were being just introduced. In the last 30 years since then, we've been spoilt for choice over the channels for communication.

We have seen the evolution from wired to wireless, text to speech, and now speech to video discussions. While all of these forms are retained in some form or the other, the evolution of networking has rather played a key part in how businesses today network with their audiences. 

But if the scope of communication and the channels to deliver content have been so convenient and powerful, how come the majority of the events have always been offline in nature?

It is primarily due to the level of virtual event engagement on offer and one not-so-secret ingredient, networking!

Events have evolved and so should networking

The events industry has seen a major transformation over the last year - largely because of seeing the opportunity in catering to the needs of an audience that expects a lot more Virtual events have enabled organizers to bring in people across the world without worrying about the venue, logistics, and whatnot. But amidst all of this, networking seems to have been left as an afterthought. 

Networking has always remained a sought-after activity in real-life events and most event platforms today fail to deliver a way for attendees to connect with the right people. What if virtual events can do much more than what an offline event can. Think about it - in an offline event, an attendee spends about 4 hours meeting X number of people.  Out of these X numbers, only a handful of them are actually of value to them.

We believe this has been taking away the many precious interactions that speakers and thought leaders such as founders, leaders, mentors, etc. have with the attendees. But should we just accept this is how networking works in a virtual world?

Definitely Not!

At Zuddl, we like to keep pushing the boundaries of what a virtual event is capable of. Today, we're proud to show you what we've been working on behind the scenes over the last 3 months. 

With this, we add a lot more value to business networking, by helping the attendees have more meaningful and insightful discussions throughout the event. We achieve this by not only taking feedback from our clients but also ensure to receive even the tiniest of feedback received from an attendee. Today we're proud to bring out our latest feature to the table - The Smart Networking.Smart Networking is Zuddl's effort to ease the cumbersome process of networking at a virtual event. Our AI-powered matchmaking algorithm ensures that your attendees are matched with individuals who share common interests just like you. ‍

How Smart Networking through ai-powered match making transforms the attendee and organizer experience

With other virtual event platforms, attendees are aware of just the speakers and have little context on who else is part of the event. This is not only a challenge for the attendees but for the organizer as well since they’d like to have some more control over the quality of interactions between attendees.‍

Here's how Zuddl's Smart Networking takes networking to the  next level:

Creates meaningful connections:

We enable interest-based matchmaking for your attendees, to ensure maximum value in an interaction. ‍

Create Attendee Profiles

Give your attendees a chance to create their own attendee profiles by updating their personal details, occupation, interests etc.  ‍

Generate More Leads 

With Smart Networking attendees or sponsors can find prospects by sharing what all services they are open to discuss about. One can also list out what they are looking out for and what they are offering to have an added level of filtered matchmaking.‍

Curated Connection List

‍Within smart networking, Zuddl curates a list of individuals you’ve already connected with so that you can reach out to them all through the event.‍

Interacting without limits

Your attendees can access the entire list of attendees and  schedule 1:1 conversations or 1:1 quick based on mutual interest. Get the option to schedule a 1:1 at a date and time convenient to both the attendees.‍

Exchanging virtual business cards

Generate more leads by sharing your business coordinates right on Zuddl, just like any physical event. All virtual business cards get saved in your briefcase, which can be downloaded while you leave the event.

And it is not just about the attendees! 

Enabling smart Networking is as simple as switching your wifi on and off on a mobile device. All you do is click on a toggle and the feature gets instantly activated. 

Smart Networking also ensures that the right people get matched, and by default, you can choose numerous interests and matchmaking filters your attendees can choose from. Want to further customize this? You can always add custom interests and matchmaking filters based on the type of audience invited for the event. These filters also act as Tags, which can be used during or post the event to segregate your attendees as per their interests, jobs, personas etc.‍

So, are you ready to impress your attendees?

Zuddl's Smart Networking elevates the way networking has been done until today. Whether it is an online or offline event, networking still remains one of the key aspects that determine the event's success in the mind of an attendee. In our quest to ensure your events stay engaging and immersive, Smart Networking is a breakthrough to ensure your attendees stay engaged till the very end of the event.

So, are you ready to try it out? Get in touch with our event experts here! 

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Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. The platform has clients across the globe, such as the United Nations, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, HSBC, VMware, Google, StackCommerce and Cipla amongst others. In January 2022, Zuddl announced that it closed $13.35 mn in Series A funding.