Kickin’ It Twitter Style: The 10-Step Guide To Tweet-Up Success

I’m impressed by how many ways people can use 140 characters of text. Nothing in social media is as captivating to me as the Twitter phenomenon.

My most recent Twitter obsession? The Tweet Up.

Two weeks ago Brazen Dan put together a killer Tweet Up for Team Brazen and other local Twitterers in the Madison area. The turnout was amazing.

With Twitter’s high-speed approach to consuming information, it’s only a matter of time before Tweet Ups start sprouting up in every major city around the country.

Mainstream? Maybe … it’s hard to ignore the potential.

I’ve read a mountain of posts about how Tweet Ups are a valuable way to network. I don’t need to retell that story. But I do think it’s important to start thinking about how you can make a Tweet Up in your city a success.

The fundamentals.

Propose a Tweet Up in your city. If you don’t have followers in your city, find some first. Make your Tweet sound something like this …

“Who’s down for a #MadtownTweetUp this Friday? Brocach on the Square. RT Please!”

Make your Tweet Up name (Ex: #MadtownTweetUp) memorable so people include it when they re-tweet (aka “RT”). You’ll be able to keep track of how successful the Tweet Up is going to be by doing a Twitter search for your Tweet-Up name.

Take a rough headcount so you know roughly how many people are going to show.

Find a good venue.

Atmosphere is crucial when you’re hanging out with people you’ve never met or rarely hang out with. Make your meet-up spot a neutral environment—something that everyone can enjoy.

The first Tweet Up I attended in Madison was at a piano bar. Low key. Dark. No good.

The last Tweet Up we had was at an Irish pub. Lots of energy. Irish music. Killer!

You don’t want to go to a place that kills the mood to socialize. You don’t want to psyche people out either. Wherever you pick, keep in mind that not all social media heads are known for their offline social skills.

Make things comfortable. Beer helps too.

Call ahead.

How much does it suck when you get to a bar and there’s nowhere to sit? Multiply that woe by the number of people in your Tweet Up and you get a pretty great reason to call ahead.

Name tags, pens, paper.

Name tags are lame. I get it. But at Tweet Ups they’re essential. Fun too.

The best part is putting a face to the name. I finally got to meet @antrover ,creator of the bacon bot (a bot that Tweets you when you talk about bacon). Kind of looked like Jim from The Office (I digress). But I never would’ve known it was him unless he wore a nametag that said “@baconbaconbacon”.

Want to go Twitter crazy? Order a T-shirt with your Twitter ID on it.

Be memorable.

At our last Tweet Up, someone brought stickers and keychains from their company. I thought that was pretty cool. And it was a good reminder of who she was when I followed her the next day.

Even better than company schwag …

Just be candid.

The best way to be memorable is to be as outgoing and as candid as possible.

We have this guy in our Tweet Up group who works for the cable company. I started ranting to him—I mean really ranting—about my bootleg DVR. He told me to Tweet him next time something goes wrong. I know he’ll remember me when I finally take him up on the offer.

Alert the presses!

Andy Drish came into town last week and I was surprised when he told me that his Iowa Tweet Ups were getting media attention. I shouldn’t have underestimated how intriguing Twitter culture can be.

Alert your local papers, new outlets, etc. before any local Tweet Up. Many sources are already in the Tweet-O-Sphere. See if you can find yours.

Sponsorships?

Sure. Why not? In fact, companies and organizations should be leaping at an opportunity to sponsor such a hyper-connected group of people.

Sponsorships pop up in places you’d never expect. Just remember one of the most important rules of social media: Don’t be afraid to ask.

Beyond the Twitter …

Some cool sites are popping up to facilitate Tweet Ups even further. I’m pretty stoked to see what they develop over at Tweetup.com. In the meantime, check out what these sites are doing to strengthen their local Twitter scene.

• Tweetup.org
• AustinTweetup.com
• ChicagoTweetups.com

Who’s going to be the IT hero in Madison who puts together MadtownTweetup.com (it’s available)?

It’s always good to be gracious.

Send some thank-you Tweets after the event. It’s a small gesture that goes a long way.

They’ll remember it. Then they’ll tell two friends, and they’ll tell two friends and … you get the idea.

Before you know it, you’ve got a local social media community that any good social media boy or girl can take advantage of.

And that’s a beautiful thing.