“Eighty percent of people are doing something with technology already,” Tom said. “We’re trying to make information easy.”
The Tweet Ups, which happen monthly at Hingham's Summer Shack and are mainly focused on attracting different Twitter users, started during the summer after a friend of the Beach’s suggested the idea.
Although that friend has moved away, the gatherings continue with the hope to make small businesses, self-made marketers, and locals simply interested in the subject matter more informed.
According to Tom, the main idea is to have quality content in a niche market.
That mentality has helped him and his wife, Reiko, generate thousands of hits on their “Gymnastic Minute” videos on YouTube — short clips where coaches talk about teaching gymnastics and how to overcome difficulties.
Without any marketing or promoting, Tom said, the quality of the content available, and the fact that people are looking for that kind of information has made the videos popular.
“It’s not about broadcasting of a net [to your audience], it’s about using a GPS to get there,” Tom said.
Shea Baker, a graphic designer with local company 3Thought, agreed that the main thing to do is find your market.
“People are looking for information all the time — it’s just are you relevant to them, and can you convey your information,” she said.
With the “search-minded” marketing technique, you also have to properly label your content through tags, keywords, and search engine titles.
To keep users coming back, it’s about being interactive — responding to comments, and having a conversation with your users.
Beyond sharing that mentality with other tech enthusiasts, the Tweet Ups also turn into a networking event, with people from a variety of backgrounds coming together to trade business ideas, make contacts, or just learn from others in the community.
“We are holding a social media tweet up to chat about business, social networking and social media here on the South Shore..anyone interested in social web, or learning about it is welcome!” the Tweet Up site says.
For more information on future Tweet Ups, click here or follow @thatbeach on twitter or @reikob.
