45 Significant Business Networking Statistics: 2023 Conversion Rates & Challenges - Financesonline.com

No matter what stage you are at in your career, it’s always good to practice your networking skills. As you will see in these business networking statistics, not only does your professional connections matter when looking for a new job. They are also crucial in growing your business or helping your organization connect with the right customers and suppliers.

In this article, we’ll highlight the data that can help you see the value of networking. We’ll see how it plays a part in social recruitment trends and look at some data points comparing the most popular social media platforms being used by professionals and businesses to find their next new hire. Finally, we will tackle the impact of COVID-19 on networking. We’ll find out what you can do as an individual or business to network effectively and make new professional connections even during the pandemic.

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1. General Business Networking Statistics

As the old saying goes, it’s not what you know but who you know. That is why getting a new job, advancing your career, and succeeding professionally are not all dependent on what degree you obtained or which university you graduated from. As these business networking facts show, a big part of landing a job is establishing connections. And by connections, we don’t just mean close friends or family. In one study, an overwhelming number of respondents actually got hired through their acquaintances.

What is the biggest advantage of networking? It can have a positive impact on your career advancement. Professionals who allotted 6.3 hours per week to networking activities said that it played a crucial role in their success (Marketing Expertus, 2020).
73% of survey participants reported that they had been hired in the past as a result of someone they know making an introduction or a connection (LinkedIn, 2020).
61% of professionals agree that regular online networking can actually lead to job opportunities (Marketing Expertus, 2020).
In the study, “The Strength of Weak Ties,” it was found that 84% of respondents got their job through weak-tie relationships—acquaintances or casual contacts whom they saw only occasionally (Leslie, 2020).
Almost 61% of professionals worldwide agree that regular online interaction with their professional network can lead to possible job opportunities (LinkedIn, 2017).
However, with all the benefits of networking, we also found out that only 25% of professionals actually network (Marketing Expertus, 2020).
41% of them would like to network more but don’t have enough time (Marketing Expertus, 2020).

Moreover, when looking for work, you might want to go beyond job sites and invest time and effort in networking. These numbers provide some convincing evidence that you can significantly increase your chances of landing that dream job when you tap your connections.

Networking is important because 70% of all jobs are not advertised on job sites (Fisher, 2019).
85% of job vacancies are filled via networking (Forbes, 2021).
Most effective way to find a new job: traditional networking (46%), internet job boards (25%), agency or recruiter (14%), direct approach (7%), and newspapers/periodicals (1%) (GreatBusinessSchools, 2021).
82% of US adults said networking is vitally important for finding a new job (LinkedIn, 2020).
You should also consider the fact that referrals make up 40% of new hires (Jobvite, n.d.)

Source: GreatBusinessSchools, 2021

2. Why It’s Important for Businesses to Network

Networking is not only beneficial to individuals but also to the companies that engage in it. If you’re a recruitment professional looking to fill a position in your company, for example, networking can speed up the process of finding the right candidate. Also, the cost of hiring through networking is less expensive and employees hired via connections or referrals end up staying longer with their employers.

On the other hand, if you’re in sales or B2B marketing, networking via in-person meetings can turn many prospects into customers.

40% of prospects become new customers with in-person meetings (Marketing Expertus, 2020).
This is probably because 80% of B2B buying decisions are based on a buyer’s direct or indirect customer experience, and only 20% is based on the price or the actual offering (Blue Corona, 2019).
In addition, a recent study showed that candidates from job boards and career sites are hired within 39 to 55 days. For those companies with employee referrals, the average hiring time is cut down to 29 days (Jobvite, 2019).
Referral hires have greater job satisfaction and stay longer at companies—46% stay over 1 year, 45% over 2 years, and 47% over 3 years (Undercover Recruiter, n.d.).
67% of employers and recruiters said the recruiting process via referrals was shorter, and 51% said it was less expensive to recruit via referrals (Jobvite, n.d.).

3. Where Do Businesses Network

Attending events was the easiest way to meet new people and expand your professional network. In-person meetings were seen, in general, as the best way to establish stronger business relationships for the long-term. Also, in terms of conversion, meeting clients in person tend to produce better ROI.

When trade shows were still happening, about 5% to 20% of new customers come from them (Marketing Expertus, 2020).
Furthermore, over half of business travelers said that 5% to 20% of their company’s new customers came from participating in and trade shows and networking (The Ascent, 2020).
95% of professionals think face-to-face communication is vital for long-term business (HubSpot, n.d.).
The close rate for in-person meetings is 40% (HubSpot, n.d.).
Many prefer in-person business meetings because it lets them build stronger, more meaningful business relationships (85%) and gives them the ability to read body language and facial expressions (77%). In addition, it gives them more social interaction and the ability to bond with coworkers/clients (75%), allows for more complex strategic thinking (49%), and provides a better environment for tough, timely decision-making (44%) (GreatBusinessSchools, 2021).

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Why Do You Prefer In-Person Business Meetings?

It builds stronger, more meaningful business relationships

It provides the ability to read body language and facial expressions

It boosts social interaction and the ability to bond with coworkers/clients

It allows for more complex strategic thinking

It improves environment for tough, timely decision-making

Source: GreatBusinessSchools, 2021

However, this doesn’t mean that people were not nurturing their professional connections virtually before COVID-19. As we can see from these statistics, many prefer remote meetings and use various social media platforms for networking.

84% of people prefer remote meetings (HubSpot, n.d.).
For freelancers, their connections and social media play a huge role in getting their next gigs or projects. Often, they find work through previous clients (41%), friends and family (38%), social media (37%), professional contacts (37%), and general freelance websites (29%) (Upwork, 2019).

Furthermore, this is how some of the top social media platforms contribute to business networking:

The top 3 social media channels that B2B organizations use to distribute their content include LinkedIn (96%), Facebook (82%), and Twitter (82%) (Business 2 Community, 2020).
More than 20,000 companies in the US use LinkedIn for their recruitment (LinkedIn, 2020).
96% of B2B content marketers use LinkedIn for organic social marketing (Hootsuite, 2021).
LinkedIn saw a 55% increase in conversations among connections in 2020 (Hootsuite, 2021).
Facebook has more users (2.7 billion) versus LinkedIn’s 738 million (LinkedIn, 2020).
But 4 out of 5 LinkedIn users are decision-makers at the companies where they work; thus, LinkedIn has more users who will most likely engage with B2B marketing content (Oktopost, 2020).
35% of respondents said that a casual conversation on LinkedIn has led to a new opportunity, such as a business partnership (Forbes, 2021).
59% feel that LinkedIn is mostly about recruitment, hiring, or finding a job (Guild, 2020).
However, 45% of LinkedIn users also state that “LinkedIn has become more about sales and marketing than professional networking,” (Guild, 2020).
Only 12% of respondents say the following statement is very accurate: “LinkedIn is for networking with your most valued professional connections” (Guild, 2020).

Social Media Platforms Used by B2B Companies for Networking

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Source: LinkedIn

4. Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Business Networking

The COVID-19 outbreak literally put a stop to all events and trade shows worldwide and, consequently, to in-person networking. With hundreds of thousands jobless, you would think that this would be the perfect time to go out there, network with people, and make it known that you are ready to work. However, it seems that the anxieties and stigma of losing one’s job have been holding back professionals from reaching out to their connections.

Among people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, less than half (42%) say they’ve reached out to existing connections. Moreover, only 39% say they’ve asked people in their networks, such as friends and former colleagues, for introductions to other people (LinkedIn, 2020).
Also, only 35% have been making their own introductions to new connections and only 50% say they’ve even posted on social media about being unemployed or looking for a job (LinkedIn, 2020).
Among young workers ages 16 to 24, only 23.6% of those looking for work reached out to family or friends for help (Fortune, 2020).

While the whole world is still wary of holding major gatherings with in-person attendance, many companies have pivoted their events and marketing strategies to online and virtual events/trade shows.

The global virtual events market size was valued at $77.98 billion in 2019 (Grandview Research, 2020).
As of March 2020, the exhibition and events industry had lost $16.5 billion (UFI, 2020).
In 2020, the number of organizations planning a virtual event doubled (Personify, 2020).
Furthermore, 93% of organizers plan to invest in virtual events in the future (Bizzabo, 2020).
However, 30% of event planners wouldn’t attend in-person meetings under any circumstances, while 32.7% would attend only if the meetings were both small and local. Meanwhile, a mere 14% have no qualms whatsoever (EventMB, 2020).
80.2% of event organizers have been able to reach a wider audience with virtual events (Bizzabo, 2020).
73% of planners have been able to successfully pivot their event to virtual (EventMB, 2020).
Lastly, 66.5% of events professionals plan to use hybrid as their go-to format once in-person events resume (EventMB, 2020).

Source: EventMB, 2020

The Best Approach to Business Networking

One very interesting revelation in this article was that the acquaintances we have can be as valuable (if not more) as our close connections when it comes to pursuing job and business opportunities. With this fact, we can surmise that networking should not be limited to your friends and family members. If you’re serious about building business connections, it would be best to put in the hours to promote yourself, your skills, and not be ashamed to reach out to people outside your immediate circle.

Also, you should definitely learn more about social platforms such as LinkedIn and how you can use them to your advantage when networking. Check out and follow the business profiles of companies that you would like to connect with so that you can get updates on possible career opportunities with them. After all, it’s not only individuals who are on the lookout for good jobs. Companies are also engaging in networking in order to find the most suitable candidates to fill their vacancies.

References:

Bizzabo (2020). 2021 Event Marketing Statistics, Trends, and Data. Retrieved from Bizzabo
Blue Corona (2019). 75+ B2B Marketing Statistics to Know in 2020. Retrieved from Blue Corona
EventMB (2020). 100 Event Statistics (2021 Edition). Retrieved from EventMB
Fisher (2019). How to get a job often comes down to one elite personal asset, and many people still don’t realize it. Retrieved from CNBC
Frost (n.d.). 15 Surprising Stats on Networking and Face-to-Face Communication. Retrieved from Hubspot
Grandview Research (2020). Virtual Events Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report. Retrieved from Grandview Research
GreatBusinessSchools (2021). Face Squared – The Numbers Behind Face to Face Networking. Retrieved from GreatBusinessSchools
Hebberd (n.d.). Why Employee Referrals are the Best Source of Hire. Retrieved from Undercover Recruiter
Hudson (2019). 4 Reasons to Invest in Employee Referrals. Retrieved from Jobvite
Katz (2020). LinkedIn vs Facebook: Which Will be Better for B2B in 2021? Retrieved from Oktopost
King (2020). The young and unemployed need better networks. Retrieved from Fortune
Leslie (2020). Why your ‘weak-tie’ friendships may mean more than you think. Retrieved from BBC
LinkedIn (2021). About Us. Retrieved from LinkedIn
LinkedIn (2020). LinkedIn Workforce Report | United States | July 2020. Retrieved from LinkedIn
Marketing Expertus (2020). Networking Statistics (2019-2020). Retrieved from Marketing Expertus
Marx (2020). B2B Content Marketing: 5 Trends That You Need to Watch in 2020. Retrieved from Business 2 Community
Morand (2020). 30 Virtual Event Statistics You Need to Know in 2021. Retrieved from Personify
Newberry (2021). 38 LinkedIn Statistics Marketers Should Know in 2021. Retrieved from Hootsuite
Ovcharenko (2021). Networking In Times Of Social Restrictions. Retrieved from Forbes
Seaman (2020). Job seekers are acting like the pandemic never happened. Here’s why that’s a problem. Retrieved from LinkedIn
Stubbs (2020). How To Network Better and Hate it Less. Retrieved from The Ascent
UFI (2020). UFI releases the first global assessment of the economic impact that COVID-19 is having on trade shows and exhibitions. Retrieved from UFI
Upwork (2019). Main information sources used by freelancers to find work in the United States in 2019. Retrieved from Statista

By Jenny Chang

Jenny Chang is a senior writer specializing in SaaS and B2B software solutions. Her decision to focus on these two industries was spurred by their explosive growth in the last decade, much of it she attributes to the emergence of disruptive technologies and the quick adoption by businesses that were quick to recognize their values to their organizations. She has covered all the major developments in SaaS and B2B software solutions, from the introduction of massive ERPs to small business platforms to help startups on their way to success.