How to Leverage Meetup

Posted on September 23, 2022July 7, 2023 by Erin Roberts

Group of mature women carrying their surfboards out of the sea.

This year, Meetup* is celebrating 20 years of helping people make real connections over the things that matter the most to them. Meetup is a social platform made for hosting and organizing in-person and virtual activities, gatherings, and events for people and communities of similar interests, hobbies, and professions. Whether you’re interested in hosting an event, or just attending one locally in your area, Meetup makes it easy to meet new people who truly enjoy the same things you do. Here are a few tips to help you get started:

If you want to start a group, you’ll first be asked to set your group’s location. This ensures you find people in your area to connect with, whether you decide to meet up in-person or virtually.
Next, you will choose topics that describe your groups’ interests. Examples include motivation and success, Japanese culture, European board games, large dog breeds, real estate, stress relief, and more! You can choose up to 15 topics and are encouraged to be as specific as possible to guarantee you are connected with people whose interests match yours.
You’ll then select a name for your group. Make sure it’s relatively descriptive, like “San Diego Large Breed Dogs Meetup Group”, for example.
Lastly, you’ll describe what your group will be about. This will be what people read when deciding to join your group, and you can always add to it later. Here are some prompts to get you thinking: What’s the purpose of the group? Who should join? What will you do at your events?
And that’s it! Complete the sign-up process and your group will be advertised to those with similar interests.

If you’d rather join an existing group, finding one is just as easy. Simply search on Meetup.com for keywords that describe your interests or hobbies in the neighborhood or zip code in which you live. All in all, Meetup makes it easy for anyone to create or join fun groups of like-minded individuals, and finally find your people!

*Wheelhouse Credit Union is not affiliated with or a partner of Meetup.com. Details in this article are for information purposes only.