Tweetup Best Practices

Dec 08

To Tweet Up or Not To Tweet Up? That Is the Question.

by Rachel Polish
Category: Best Practices, Digital Influence, Events, How-To, Influencers

Is this how you engage your social networks?

As a digital strategist and frequent blogger, I spend a lot of time engaging with friends and brands while facing a computer screen or holding a mobile phone. Always seeking new ways to connect, I’ve discovered tweetups as a great way to connect with influencers, yet make more of an impression than an online interaction.

What’s a tweetup? A tweetup is an in person event where brands or individuals who share a common interest get together. Usually, tweetup participants are active on Twitter, but that is by no means a requirement.

As a tweetup enthusiast and a creator of tweetups myself, I’ve seen what works well and what does not achieve the desired result. For those considering tweetups as a means to connect with a key audience, I ask - is a tweetup the right forum for your brand or cause?

Here are some questions to consider when beginning the planning process and evaluating the tweetup opportunity:

1. What is your reason for creating this tweetup?

It’s critical that you have an end goal in mind to ensure there is clarity through the planning process.

2. What value are you bringing to a specific community by hosting a tweetup?

With so many competing events these days, it’s important that you or your brand seeks to connect with your key audience and build a relationship with your attendees. It’s not enough to provide drinks and hope that people will connect with your brand. By infusing your guests with new knowledge or building an unparalleled experience that speaks to their interests, you’re likely to have a much greater chance of achieving your goals.

Signage and nametags are critical

3. What would get someone to go out of their way to attend your event, knowing there are multiple events during the week?

It’s not only important to add value to your community, but to make the event as easy as possible for people to attend. For example:

•    Ensure that the venue is easily accessible and is near parking or public transit
•    The timing for the event is critical – is it a convenient time for your desired attendees?
•    Perform research to ensure there are no major competing events that might cause a conflict for your attendees
•    Have people to register for the event on a site that is uncomplicated (Eventbrite and Twtvite are great), but allows them to see who else is attending. It’s important to make the registration process easy, but also let possible attendees know they will not be alone.

Once you’ve decided to host a tweetup, here are some best practices to consider:

•    Add value to your desired audience and have a “hook”
•    Have a common Twitter hashtag and ensure it is included in all pre-event communication
•    Find a venue that allows people to move around and meet easily, while lending itself well to your brand or message
•    Despite the name “tweetup,” using Twitter as your sole event promotion tool is not always effective. I’ve found that the most well-attended events reach the target audience on the sites where they go to find events – Facebook (create an event page), email, Upcoming.org, a specific blog that focuses on the target audience, etc.
•    Even if you are not providing drinks and/or food, ensure that both are available at your venue. Be clear about what is provided and what requires payment on the invitation.
•    Using nametags is absolutely critical. After all, most people have met online, but having a nametag helps people recognize one another in an offline setting.

• Have fun with the event while speaking to your brand – have themed beverages and food, offer giveaways or drawings that highlight featured products or sponsors and consider dressing the hosts in branded gear so they are identifiable.

Have fun with the theme for your tweetup!

• Take photos, videos and live Tweet from the event, tagging all content with the common hashtag. Post the content on sites that allow the content to be easily shared and send links to your attendees to follow up on your event.

What best practices work well for you?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 12:27 am and is filed under Best Practices, Digital Influence, Events, How-To, Influencers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

15 COMMENTS
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TAGS: Tags: social engagement, social networking, tweet up, tweetup

15 Responses to “To Tweet Up or Not To Tweet Up? That Is the Question.”

Phil Buckley Says:
December 8th, 2009 at 8:04 am
I just planned and executed a fun Tweetup last week, everything went fine, but I wish I had printed out name badges.

Great checklist!
Redlincook Says:
December 8th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Thanks for this article. I’ve been to several tweet ups. Some as you’ve said really fun networking events where you can enjoy the company of others in your industry or with similar interests. Others though, are poorly executed and a waste of time. As with most things, pick them wisely.
Heather Coleman Says:
December 8th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
I’ve attended several Tweetups in the DC area and found it to be great for networking. Our hostess @Sisarina (on Twitter) has most of the bases you mentioned covered. She also blogs about the events after the fact with a list of attendees, which supports future networking with the people you’ve met or didn’t get a chance to talk to. One thing I do is start following those that have signed up for the event from the Twitter handles listed on Eventbrite - that way I’m covered with a way to stay connected before the event even happens. Great post - I vote to Tweetup!
Rachel Polish Says:
December 8th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
I love the feedback here and what I’m seeing on Twitter! I like the idea of pairing a Tweetup with an offline event (such as a tradeshow), blogging about the event afterward and using Eventbrite as a Twitter handle guide to those who attended the event. Keep it coming!
@JoselinMane Says:
December 9th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Rachel,

Great job with this list!

I run @BostonTweetUp - A New Media Event Planning & Promotional service in Boston. We list events on the calendar, have a weekly video show and tweet our event reminders.

We just recently hosted the #MegaTweetUp http://megatweetup.eventbrite.com/

One thing that everyone liked was the usage of Twitter lists (both official and via TweepML) to connect with people before and after the event.

Everyone’s follower count increase substantially because of it.

Keep in touch.

@JoselinMane
swati Says:
December 12th, 2009 at 6:00 am
It is very interesting article, adding it to my favorites! Your blogging are great,and you are also great…

WEB solution
sanjay kumar Says:
December 14th, 2009 at 1:45 am
This post offers great perspective. It’s so easy for all for us who grapple with constant information overload to forget that millions lack access to basic information. And here you’re talking about reproductive health informatoin that most of us would rather privately “Google” than discuss in an open forum. How brave of these women to attend.

IT provide
Mark McCulloch Says:
December 14th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
When it comes to Social Networking I have been researching it for quite some time however your information is the very best I have found so far.

Mark
Rachel Polish Says:
December 14th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Thank you for the positive feedback! I’m always looking at new ways to engage and success stories. I appreciate your kind words, but am hopeful this post will spark new ideas, too. Thanks again.
Alexandra Spirer Says:
December 18th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Thank you for this information post. I am still learning more about twitter and the power that it has in getting our brand message and news about our company out. I will definitely look further into tweetups as this is something up until now I have not been aware of.
Rachel Polish Says:
December 18th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Alexandra - I’d love to hear if you put this post to practice and what insights you glean from the experience. Good luck!
Sega Mario Says:
January 6th, 2010 at 1:00 pm
I think tweet ups are a brilliant concept. Ever since I started interacting with my web property visitors on twitter, things have really become much better. Folks show far more interest in our content and website and of-course I’m looking to soon have a tweet up. Definitely a good idea!
Rachel Polish Says:
January 6th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Let us know how it goes and what worked well for you. Good luck!
saç ekimi Says:
March 4th, 2010 at 3:57 am
Was a useful exchange of information, but the more your site is better journal.
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tup bebek tedavisi Says:
July 31st, 2010 at 2:34 am
Twiter now in the middle of our life ..:)