A tweetup is the actual face-to-face meeting of Twitter users for a specific objective.
Unlike a
tweet chat?or a
Twitter list, tweetups necessitate the physical presence of users and may be held anywhere, from coffee shops, to hotel lobbies, to restaurants, to conference rooms, etc. Attendees of these events generally have not met in person and do not actually know each other, but have already been acquainted online through the various groups or lists they follow.
Tweetups are a chance for users to meet in real life and convert 140 character engagements or conversations into actual lengthy exchanges about various topics or a specific subject. A tweetup may be organized around a particular subject, or may be arranged just to socialize, make friends and establish contacts.
How A Tweetup Begins
A tweetup begins with a person or group of people agreeing to organize a meeting of sorts.
These people will be the ones who will determine the day, time, venue and practically everything else about the tweetup. They will also be responsible for marketing the tweetup to their followers and the general Twitter community and inviting guest speakers or thought-leaders, if necessary.
Normally, it is initiated by a specific
hashtag?which the organizers then use to make announcements and keep all interested attendees posted on the tweetup details. The community then either
retweets,
mentions?or inserts the hashtag into their own tweets to confirm their participation and/or encourage more people to join.
Creating Your Own Tweetup
You can start an informal tweetup of sorts with Twitter users within your physical community, just to place a face to the usernames and boost your social or business networks.
For example, you're an artist from Atlanta and want to meet up with fellow artists in the community. You can create an #ATArtsTweetup
hashtag?(
provided it's available) and announce it to your network.
Set A Goal
A successful tweetup is reliant on a goal. Why do you want to organize the tweetup? To socialize and break the ice with users in the area? To forward a cause within a specific industry? To share information?
Whatever your goal is, be sure your planned tweetup revolves around that, so that interested attendees will know what they're getting into.
Promote
Additional promotional efforts may be done via Facebook, email newsletters and other forms of social media to let the most number of people know that an event is coming up. The operative word to a successful tweetup is promotion, so don't be shy to announce wherever possible. This will work a lot better and faster if you have a team helping with the marketing.
Establish The Event
As the event approaches, you can boost the physical appeal of the tweetup by printing out name badges for your attendees. You might also want to invite prominent members of the local artist community to give a talk on specific subjects so that more people will be interested in attending.
Confirm
Don't forget to seek confirmations from at least half of your invitees so you're sure that you'll be facing a good number of people when it starts. And when it actually does, be prepared to play the welcoming host. You will be making a lot of introductions so be ready to speak.
Say Thank You
After the tweetup, thank everyone who participated and helped spread the word. Also, don't leave the event's conclusion at that. Take the opportunity of meeting with fellow Twitter users face-to-face to plan the next tweetup.
Do you know of upcoming tweetups in your area? Let us know when and where in the comments!
