I can’t be the only one yearning for a new social group!

If nothing else, Covid has been years of intense social contraction for those of us that obeyed the the law. Now that we’re outside… many of us have discovered our social skills have disappeared. If you’re anything like me you most likely have to build a social circle from the ground up. But the question is, how? Hopefully the tips I’ve implemented in building my circle will help you.

1. Think about the kind of friends you want

Knowing what kind of friends you want to surround yourself with is very important. You wont always agree on everything but try to find individuals that are likely to be compatible with you. Think about it… Do you want to meet people who share the same beliefs or political views, career paths/goals, married or single? Lately I’ve been trying to connect with millennial writers in Birmingham. The goal is to meet like minded young women who’s interested in growing as a writer , share ideas and resources, and just hang out and have a good ass time.

2. Do a Roll Call

Use social media to your advantage. Make a post targeting people you would like to be apart of your social tribe. For example, I’ve been wanting to build a social group that consist of millennial writers, therefore i made a post that said, “Any female writers looking to build their portfolio by contributing to an online publication?”

Since making that post I’ve been in contact with some like minded young women and our first outing is next weekend!

3. Get their contact information

Exchanging contact information and UTILIZE it. This will allow you to of course stay in contact but most importantly set up another date to hang out .

4. Ask your friends to bring guests to meetups

After making the initial contact, be sure to ask them to extend the invitation to one or two other friends. Remember we’re building a new social group. Let’s hope they will bring like minded individuals.

Meeting your friends’ friends can be an effective way to diversify your social network. For example, if you have three friends and they each know someone you click with, you can quickly double the size of your social circle.

Your new friend may be shy, therefore they will most likely to come to a meetup if they can bring someone they know.

5. Put effort into maintaining your new friendships

Friendships require ongoing effort. You need to reach out, show interest in your friends’ lives, and take the initiative when it comes to making plans.

I’m working on setting out some time once a week to pick up my phone to text or call people I’ve recently met especially professionals that are ahead of me. IYKYK

6. Host Events on a Regular

When you host regular events, people in your social circle will get to know each other. Not everyone will be able to attend every meetup, but people who are interested in building a friendship with you will make an effort to come occasionally.

It can help to organize a meeting that includes some kind of structured activity. This can make it easier for people to make conversation because they are sharing a common goal or maybe ideas.

For example, I like to:

• Host a movie night
• Host a games night
• Brunch Dates
• Bar Hopping
• Writing Sessions