Tweet chats are moderated conversations that happen on Twitter at a specific time. They are a great way to create a community and share information. New ones are being created daily and many have a large following. (Check them out here) Tweet chats are a great way to stay connected with you industry or the things you are interested in. But how do you actually create one? What is the magic touch?
The general flow of a tweet chat is a moderator will ask a question —> Q1. What is your favorite social media tool? #smsb
The answers come in as —–> A1. Facebook #smsb
This makes it easy to follow and understand what questions people are answering.
1. Pick a hashtag. Make sure you do your research to find a hashtag that is not in use. It is important that you find a hashtag that’s not too long a la #thingsyouwishyourmotherdidntsay or already used
2.Find a time. When you are considering a time that works for you, consider that the time should work for west and east coast time zones so everyone can participate.
3.Spread the word. Use your existing network. I.e. LinkedIn, Newsletter, Facebook, Twitter. Let people know that you are starting a tweet chat and what it’s about. Get people excited. When people get excited they share with their friends and family, which is exactly what you want them to do.
4.Do your research. Make sure your topic for the week is one that the community is interested in. If you are stuck for ideas you can skim the news or ask the community.
There are tons of resources to help you keep track of the conversation while it is going such as Tweetchat.com. But I’ll expand more on that on a later day. This is great to get you started.
