Taking an organized approach to social networking for business is important. Your business benefits when you get out and about and meet new (and old) contacts in your industry. So how do you find the social networking events where you can maximize your time and find business opportunities? Here’s a list of the top 3 sites to scan for upcoming business learning and networking events:

Meetup.com

Meetup.com brings together thousands of niche groups categorized by interests and geographical locations. If you’re in business, you’ll find a meetup that will work for you. Also, you can see who’s coming to the social events in advance.

LinkedIn Events and Groups

If you’re not already on LinkedIn, you need to be. This is the top social networking site for professionals. Many businesses post upcoming social networking events. Sometimes you’ll also see promotions for events in the Groups section. You’ll need to sign up for the Groups first and it can take a little while to be approved as a participant, but this resource is definitely worth it.

Facebook Events

Just like the other sites, the more individuals and groups you’re connected to on Facebook, the more likely you’ll see an event listing in your status updates. But a quick event search with the right keywords will find the social event for you in your geographical location.

All of the events on these sites can be integrated with email reminders and your Google calendar to keep your networking schedule as organized as possible. Of course, not everyone is using social networking sites to find events. Pick up a phone and talk to your colleagues about what social events they’ll be attending in the next while.

Stay active!  And be sure to check out more of our Business Solutions tips.