Twitter is a great tool for connecting with people and staying in touch. But nothing beats getting to know people face-to-face. If you are part of an active Twitter community, why not schedule a meetup, or to use the Twitter-appropriate term: a tweetup. It’s really easy to organize a local tweetup. Here are some ideas for how you can do it.

• Before You Start: You have a Twitter account and an established Twitter community.
• Learning Level: 4 | Creating Solutions
• Article Last Updated: Monday, August 22, 2011

Find Local People

To have a local tweetup, you need people on Twitter in the same geography who want to get together. All you need to start is two people! Find someone in your local area and start talking with them about the idea of a tweetup.

Why not create a tweetup focused on any of these ideas:

• People working in your industry or a related industry.
• Self-employed people.
• People who can share tips and lessons learned from social media.
• People who have something in common, like being fans of the same sports team, or graduates of the same school.

Create A Tweetup Hashtag

A hashtag is an acronym that starts with the hash or pound sign (#). Every time you talk about the tweetup, include the hashtag. This helps to organize all tweets from all people about the event. Use the hashtag in the Twitter search box to find everyone tweeting about your event.

Pick Your Venue

Here are a few guidelines for selecting the location for your first tweetup:

• Provide a variety of options. Make sure the place offers many options so different people can find something they like. If you focus on drinks, pick a place with a lot of options including alcohol. If you focus on food, pick a place with variety in the menu.
• Pick a place with easy access. If people have to walk 4 blocks because the parking lot is overflowing, they might give up instead of making the hike to your event.
• Try to be centrally located. If you want to pull people from all over your city or town, start by picking a place close to the center.
• Avoid high crime areas. You want new people to the group to feel safe wherever you go.
• Make sure you can get separate bills. There’s nothing worse than trying to sort out a combined bill with people coming and going throughout the tweetup.

When you are starting out and your group is small, you can schedule you event at almost any location you choose. As your group grows, you will need more space and more attention from the venue. When you reach this size, you should schedule your event with the venue in advance. Some places will be happy to have your event, and may give you access to a party room or another ancillary space.

Publicize The Tweetup

When you start out, you can use Twitter to spread the word and collect RSVPs. However, as your group grows, you can use an online event service to provide the event details and collect RSVPs. Here are a few commonly used services.

• Upcoming
• Zvent
• Meetup
• Tweetvite
• Twtvite

These services are easy to use and generally require you to create a free account before scheduling events. Include a link to the event reservation page in your tweets to spread the word.

Your turn: Do you have experience attending or organizing tweetups? Please add your experience and wisdom as a comment to share with the community.

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