{"id":2600,"date":"2015-09-18T21:23:28","date_gmt":"2015-09-18T15:53:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blogbrandz.com\/tips\/?p=2600"},"modified":"2023-01-04T15:14:18","modified_gmt":"2023-01-04T09:44:18","slug":"how-to-use-meetup-com-to-promote-a-local-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blogbrandz.com\/tips\/how-to-use-meetup-com-to-promote-a-local-business\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Use Meetup.com To Promote A Local Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this article, you’ll learn how to promote a local business using Meetup.com to build a community of prospects that will turn into loyal customers.<\/em><\/p>\n

Do you want a way to promote your local business with events? Would you like to reach out to a local group of prospects with the potential to become loyal customers? Look no further than Meetup.com<\/p>\n

Although it\u2019s been around for over 12 years, Meetup.com is an extremely underrated social networking site. But, for those that use it well, it\u2019s proven to be a huge success.<\/p>\n

The goal of Meetup.com is to \u201crevitalize the local community and help people around the world self-organize.\u201d According to the Meetup.com website<\/a>, more than 9,000 groups get together in local communities each day.<\/p>\n

Meetup.com has 23.03 million members, and 212,809 Meetup Groups in 179 countries. There are 532,953 monthly Meetups organized on the site. Many of these groups are focused on causes or events.<\/p>\n

By its very name, the idea of organizing a Meetup involves a live event at which people meet in person. That is one of the terms and conditions that Meetup groups must adhere to.<\/p>\n

There is also a small fee involved in starting a Meetup group, but you can choose from a number of payment options and three membership periods.<\/p>\n

In this article, you’ll learn how to promote a local business using Meetup.com to build a community of prospects that will turn into loyal customers.<\/p>\n

Many local businesses lend themselves to promotion via events. Meetup.com can help them reach out to potential customers who enjoy live networking or rally them around an activity or a cause.<\/p>\n

These professional networking tips<\/a> will help you learn business networking skills and use local networking events to start building your professional network.<\/p>\n

How To Use Meetup.com To Promote A Local Business<\/h2>\n

Here’s how to go about creating a Meetup group that will attract the right kind of prospects for your business.<\/p>\n

#1. Create your business personas<\/h3>\n

A business can have more than one persona for its customers. Understanding and creating your customer personas will give you a better idea of the kind of activities and events that each persona might be interested in.<\/p>\n

For example, if you own a local travel agency and one of your customer personas is a single woman who loves to travel as a group, you can\u2019t possibly club them with couples with kids, because the two groups don\u2019t have the same priorities, and interests.<\/p>\n

#2. Start a Meetup targeted for each persona<\/h3>\n

Right now, organizers can lead up to three Meetup groups on a single Organizer Subscription plan.<\/p>\n

If you have different customer personas that are very different from each other, the best way to attract them is to create a separate Meetup group for each one. That way you can customize the events and activities you organize to appeal precisely to each persona.<\/p>\n

For example, single women without kids are usually willing and able to stay out later than families with small kids. So you might be able to organize a Meetup for them that goes on till the wee hours, while a Meetup for families with kids would have to start and end much earlier and have very different activities than one for single women.<\/p>\n

Create separate groups for each target persona and promote events that give each group a taste of your ability to cater to their specific needs. Give your group a catchy name that defines the audience you want to attract perfectly.<\/p>\n

For example, Travel Chicks NYC\u2019s Meetup<\/a> group has an excellent understanding of its target persona \u2013 women who want to travel the world with other women’s companions.<\/p>\n

\"Travel<\/a><\/p>\n

#3. Promote your Meetup Group<\/h3>\n

Meetup.com makes it easy to promote your event because they will display it to local visitors when they’re searching for Meetups in your city.<\/p>\n

You can get your group off to a good start by using an attractive header image and writing up an introduction that defines exactly what you\u2019re organizing and for whom.<\/p>\n

This introduction will be the first thing that new members of your group see, so make sure it attracts the right kind of people.<\/p>\n

Add a couple of your more enthusiastic members as Organizers so that they have the incentive to promote your group to their own social networks.<\/p>\n

You can also post about your new Meetup group and events on your blog. If you have a WordPress blog, you can use the WP Meetup plugin<\/a> to promote your Meetup.<\/p>\n

This plugin fetches event information from Meetup.com and creates posts for each event. It also provides an event calendar for displaying events on your blog, either on a page or as a widget.<\/p>\n

Set up a Twitter profile and create a Facebook Group<\/a> for your Meetup Group to give them another way to keep in touch and get updates about new events.<\/p>\n

Start an email list for your Meetups and encourage members to join the list. Then send out notifications of new events to all members.<\/p>\n

Encourage your members to download the Meetup app on their smartphones so they don\u2019t miss out on notifications.<\/p>\n

Print up flyers announcing your local Meetup event and post them around your neighborhood. Encourage members to bring friends and refer their friends to your group.<\/p>\n

As a business person, you can sponsor your own events and write them off as a business expense, so it does away with the need to go hunting for sponsors.<\/p>\n

However, you can choose to charge for specific activities that you organize, such as travel or dining out, or sell tickets to your event using Paypal, or via event websites like Eventbrite.<\/p>\n

What Sort Of Meetup Events Can You Organize?<\/h3>\n

Here are some ideas for the sort of Meetups you can organize for your ideal prospects.<\/p>\n