I love to connect with my online network of friends and colleagues when I’m attending a conference or event in their area. It makes traveling more rewarding, fun and profitable as well. Great collaborations always seem to follow, so I’d like to share a few tips for arranging successful Tweetups.

Use your social media lists to let everyone know you’re going to be in their town and want to bring your network together. Just because it’s a Tweetup, don’t forget to use more traditional means to spread the word and organize your event—email, meetup.com, Eventbrite and even apps.

Foursquare is great for letting your connections know where you have been, but OverNear is great for letting your connections know where you are going to be which gives you the ability to set up meetings with key influencers before you even arrive.

Since you may not have been to the location you’ve selected for your Tweetup, ask a couple of your most trusted local contacts if it’s suitable for your requirements. It can be disappointing to arrive only to find a dark dive bar with music blaring when you were hoping for a fun but professional environment suited to good conversation.

Be sure to bring nametags and sharpies—you’ll want to be able to put faces and Twitter handles together with actual names and businesses. Collect business cards so you’ll be able to update your database and stay in touch. Drawing for a door prize is always a nice incentive for collecting cards as well as a good excuse to say a few words to the whole group midway through your event.

Here’s to your next successful Tweetup—a great way for you to connect with your network live and in person and to connect them to each other as well!

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Patty will be joining us as our #SpeakerChat guest on November 12, 2013 at 4pm pst