Internet Tech Boston

So, you want to take your organization’s use of Twitter to the next level by organizing an informal gathering of people interested in a fun, informal, and informative networking event? Good – you should do this every 3 months or so, to get out there and meet people, let them put a face to your brand, and answer any questions they might have.

Strictly speaking, the word “TweetUp” is defined as a gathering of Twitter users. It came into existence after Twitter first took root in the web and people needed a way to actually meet the people they were following online. Now, the phrase describes any kind of meeting, formal or informal, whose purpose is to make real world connections between people and is most likely organized and promoted with social media tools.

Sounds complicated? It’s really not. It takes some work, so don’t expect to pull this off in one day. But, if you’re considering hiring a consultant to organize and promote your TweetUp – you’re missing the point entirely. My advice would be to create a simple, targeted campaign around an informal networking event. Here’s how I do it:

Before the Event

1. Pick a date that works for people, and there’s not already a big event happening at that time.
2. Find a pub or restaurant that’s a central venue and contact them. Most pubs are willing to donate some appetizers or even a drink ticket to each guest, in exchange for you bringing in a couple dozen people to eat and drink there.
3. Keep the purpose of this Tweetup simple, so people understand it, and there’s no need to prepare anything. I would strongly suggest something like a “Dreamforce AfterParty – After a long day at Dreamforce, come RELAX, have a few drinks with your Sales 2.0 peers, and MEET new people.”
4. Try to get some money from your boss(es) to pay for a drink ticket for each guest, and a couple of decent door prizes.
5. Look for people or organizations that can help co-sponsor your tweetup event with. Pick the organizations that fit the theme or purpose of the event. If you sell second hand clothes, find the local tailor to be your co-sponsor.
6. Setup an event registration site at EventBrite with the details around the event, and directions to the location, etc. Have the logos of the pub and all sponsors prominently displayed.
7. Promote your event registration site on as many social media sites as you can – Twitter, your blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Alltop, – EVERYWHERE. Just one post will not be sufficient. You need to create a storyline that people can follow. This is important. People will see your first tweet, and be interested – but they won’t take action until it seems like there’s enough buzz, and it’s the right thing to do.
8. On your blog post about this event, be sure to include a “Tweet This” button so that everyone who reads the blog post can easily tweet it for you.
9. Get as many co-workers, friends, and colleagues as you can to register at your event site and retweet and help promote. This makes it look like the party is huge.
10. Once you get a dozen or so people signed up, approach local, key influencers on a 1 on 1 basis  via email, phone, Twitter, etc, and ask them “you’re coming to the big Sales 2.0 afterparty at Dreamforce – right?” By now, it looks like they might be missing out on something, so they will say – Absolutely. Make sure they sign up at your event site. The event site will list everyone who is registered to the event, and it will draw a bigger crowd if the key members of your social media community are there .
11. After you get  the “big names” registered, use that as a moment to REALLY kick start your promotion. Example Tweet – Wow! Anneke Seley is going to be at the big Dreamforce Afterparty. Sales 2.0 people don’t miss this one!

During the Event

1. Continue the promotion on Twitter right up to and DURING the event. Most people don’t think about what they’re going to do at night until that moment approaches. You want people who are asking “gee, where should I go for dinner tonight” to be told – well, did you here about that event? Let’s check that out. A “live tweet stream” of the tweetup throughout the event also helps bring in people.
2. If you have doorprizes, take business cards.
3. During the event, be the host with the most. I would avoid trying to corner one or two people and rope them into long conversations. Instead, act like you’re glad they’re they’ve come, but you have many people to see, meet and talk to.
4. During the event, make introductions between people. Find people, meet them, and introduce them to other new people. Everyone will think you’re special and will WANT to talk to you.
5. Take pictures and video of the event.

After the Event

1. After the event, post all your pictures and video on your Facebook page, Flickr, and your blog.
2. Create a special offer for only those who attended the event – a whitepaper, consultation, free month, whatever, and send it to them.
3. Connect with everyone on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc!

There it is in a nutshell – 19 steps to TweetUp success. From beginning to end, the whole thing should be a two week project. If I left something out, leave a comment below and help build this list. In the meantime,, get out there, meet your community, and have a little fun – and be sure to invite me to all your TweetUps, too!

Last night I ventured out to the Boston-area Startup Marketing Meetup organized by Nathan Burke and hosted by the folks at Aprigo in Waltham. I gave a 15 minute talk on the subject of using video to strengthen your online marketing efforts. There were about 15 or so people from the local startup community – some folks looking for work, some looking for marketing ideas (like me), and some brave souls starting their company of 1 and needing some moral support. In other words – it was a great crowd with people who could really share their unique perspectives and help each other out.

Phillip Zannini

I particularly enjoyed listening to Phillip Zannini talk about his experiences and “lessons learned” from his time working at 2 startups that he either founded or co-founded. Phillip gave some good, honest, and actionable advice that may seem simple, but if not followed can lead to really disastrous results. For example, he advised that co-founders should form a team of complementary but different skill sets. By nature, entrepenuers and co-founders are hands-on. If the members of your startup team have similar skills, it will result in everyone trying to do everyone else’s job – not good in the already-hectic culture of a startup.

If you’re interested in learning more about my talk, I’ve posted my presentation slides below. Also, be on the lookout for Nathan’s video recording of both presentations on his blog.