Planning Networking Events: 9 Steps for Success
Mark Bushy
October 29, 2025
Mark Bushy
October 29, 2025
Coming up with an idea for a new and exciting networking event is one thing; managing logistical planning, event promotion, and ways for attendees to connect and engage is another.
This guide breaks the planning process down into nine actionable steps, providing practical advice to help you create a professional, engaging, and well-organized networking event. With a clear understanding of the behind-the-scenes effort involved, you can develop a plan that not only helps foster connections, but that may also lead to job opportunities or even future business partnerships.
Planning networking events requires a careful, methodological approach.
While you might be eager to get started by immediately announcing your event on social media platforms, if you don’t have a clear idea who your target audience is or what will take place on event day, you’re probably going to have a tough time successfully promoting it.
By understanding the logical flow and structure of planning a networking event, you’ll have a better shot at getting it right the first time and fewer last-minute changes to worry about at the end.
Begin by getting super clear on the purpose and objective of the event.
While there is an obvious answer here—to create networking opportunities—you can go a little deeper by asking yourself the following question: “What do I want attendees to take away from this event?”
You may want them to enjoy a learning opportunity, make a professional connection suitable for a role they're looking to fill, or feel they've met like-minded individuals with similar interests.
Still, a lot of people go to networking events simply to find a job. According to recent research, networking is how 70% of employees found their current position.
Step one is an appropriate place to define your target audience. That requires answering the question, "Who is your event for?"
For instance, it might be for marketers working in software, HR leaders in Fortune 500 companies, new business owners and startup founders, New York real estate agents, or recent graduates looking to connect with businesses that are hiring.
The next step is to find the right venue for your networking event. Make sure the location you choose is easily accessible to your target audience and large enough to meet your capacity goals.
Once you've locked in a location and set a date, start thinking about what kind of format you’ll use for your networking event. Classic options include:
Speed networking
Happy hour open mixers
Trade shows and conferences
Formal dinners
Business breakfasts or lunches
Skill-building sessions and workshops
Things are getting more serious now. You know when and where you’re hosting the event, so it's time to begin spreading the word.
Begin by pulling together a list of potential attendees in your network who might want to attend and sending them an invitation.
Tools like EventCreate make sending event invitations a pain-free process. In EventCreate, you can use a pre-designed event invite template, tailor it to your tastes, add your brand colors and fonts, and email invitees automatically.
As you begin receiving initial responses, get to work building out the event agenda.
Your event agenda is a short one-page document outlining what will take place at the networking event and when. Consider when everyone should arrive, when activities like icebreakers or trivia begin, and what time the event will finish.
Before you promote your event beyond the initial invite list, you need to set up an easy way for attendees to register.
EventCreate has your back here as well. In our event registration software, you can design custom registration pages to capture data like expected arrival times or meal preferences. You can even add your own fields to capture each attendee's role or interest, which can help you make connections and introductions prior to the event.
Our platform also has a powerful built-in RSVP tracking solution, allowing you to keep an eye on expected attendee numbers in real time.
Now that event registration is all set up, it's time to focus on event promotion.
Start by creating an event landing page with all of the necessary details, such as who the event is for and the location of the venue. EventCreate comes packed with dozens of professional website templates, making this an easy task to tick off your to-do list.
Then, consider using professional networking channels like Meetup and LinkedIn to promote your event and maximize your reach.
Given that the majority of business networking events are in-person events—it’s easier to build meaningful connections face-to-face—you’re going to have to think about some on-site logistics, such as:
Seating arrangements so you can get attendees to their spots quickly
Where attendees will check in and enter to prevent delays at the gate
Features like ramps to help with accessibility
Fire exits and safety protocols to ensure attendee safety
Wi-Fi access to make sure everyone can connect digitally
Audiovisual equipment for presentations and background music
Once you've dealt with the logistical aspects of event planning, start considering ways to increase attendee engagement. In particular, think about how to get conversations started.
Yes, people come to networking events to meet people, but that doesn’t mean that everyone who shows up is the outgoing extrovert they might like to be.
The truth is that starting conversations with strangers can be a little bit awkward. Make life easy for your attendees by setting up some icebreaker activities, like:
Speed networking
Human bingo
Industry trivia
Question cards
Serving a few refreshments early on is a good move as well. A quick sip or bite can be an easy way to fill awkward silences.
The final step in planning networking events actually takes place after the event. Sending attendees a simple email survey is an easy way to follow up.
Gathering feedback will help you learn what went well and what didn’t, and you might even get some inspo for implementing future corporate event ideas. Remember to thank them for coming while you’re at it!
Networking event management is about more than just planning an event—careful attention to the overall event experience is key to helping attendees make new connections.
The following tips can help you increase engagement at your networking event.
Make it easy for attendees to get in touch with each other by providing an attendee directory.
Including attendees' phone numbers, email addresses, or social media profiles (with their permission, of course) and sharing the directory prevents attendees from needing to walk around with a pocketful of business cards. Instead, they can click a link and find the details of the person they connected with.
Help get conversations started by incorporating interactive elements into your networking event. Ideas here include:
Panel discussions
Breakout sessions
Hands-on workshops
Group challenges
Scavenger hunts
It's a good idea to schedule these interactive elements earlier in the agenda when things are still a bit quiet and potentially awkward. Then, leave the latter part of the event free for open conversation.
Another easy way to provide a simple conversation starter is to give each person a personalized name tag.
Apart from the obvious—their name—consider including details like their job or information in a unique category such as “what I’m interested in.” A few extra details can help kick off new professional relationships and make your networking event a hit.
To help you get the job done, EventCreate has an embedded name badge builder, allowing you to easily print name tags using your guest list.
Event hosts and moderators are another powerful way to improve engagement on event day.
You might, for example, schedule a few guest speakers for the earlier part of the event to engage attendees in a question-and-answer discussion. Each time someone asks a question, they must introduce themselves to the group and share an interesting bit of personal information, giving everyone easy starting points for later conversations.
Conversation prompts might feel a bit forced to begin with, but here’s the thing: Once the conversation gets started, everyone will forget the initial awkwardness and the prompt will have served its purpose.
Here are a few different prompt examples for various contexts:
Business owners: What’s the biggest challenge you’re currently facing in your industry?
Career professionals: If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be?
Job seekers: What’s a dream project or challenge you’d love to work on in your next role?
Creatives: How do you stay creative when you're feeling uninspired?
Tech entrepreneurs: What’s the coolest tech tool you’ve come across recently?
People interested in personal growth: What’s a habit you’ve developed that’s been a game-changer?
Recent graduates: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned outside the classroom?
Organizing, promoting, and hosting an engaging networking event is a big undertaking. That’s why the best event planners have a secret weapon for streamlining the process: EventCreate—the ideal tool for creating engaging networking events.
Our customizable event websites, attendee tracking tools, and seamless RSVP management make organizing and executing a successful networking event easier than ever. With real-time analytics and automated communication features, EventCreate ensures your event runs smoothly and delivers maximum value.
Highly-rated and thousands of reviews worldwide, EventCreate is independently ranked a top event management platform.
