Over 65% of small and medium-sized businesses owners are networking in person at least once a week, according to research from www.Business-Scene.com [1].

Despite the rise in popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter - an estimated 700,000 businesses are now using Twitter in the UK - networking in person can bring real business benefits.

The research has revealed that one in five SMEs made more than £10,000 from this form of networking in the past year and 44% made more than £1,000.

"Face-to-face networking is now something no business can afford to ignore. Online networking is very effective at raising a company's profile among potential customers, and should be an important part of their marketing mix, but for real business relationships it is still vital to feel a handshake and see the whites of their eyes," said Warren Cass, Founder of Business Scene.