How to Organize a Successful Twitter Chat

Twitter is a powerful, underused tool for promoting your brand and establishing yourself and your business as an expert in your field. One way to really harness and use the power of networking through Twitter is through a Twitter chat.

Twitter chats are public conversations on Twitter that you follow through a specific hashtag. This hashtag allows you to join the conversation and follow what everyone is saying. It filters out everything else and connects you to others in the conversation.

By hosting and starting a Twitter chat, you will put yourself out there for others to see as an expert and it will help you gain loyal followers. But, I’m sure you’re wondering where to even start. Here are a few steps to help you organize a successful Twitter chat.

First, get a feel for Twitter chats in your field. Search for different Twitter chats in your industry and join in on the conversation. Watch what the host does to keep the conversation going, how they are engaging followers, and what topics seem to be of interest. By joining in on these chats you will also start the process of making connections with key players in your field.

Next, think of a hashtag. This will be what your entire chat is centered around, so you want to make it good. It needs to be relevant, interesting, and simple. You don’t want a long hashtag that people will have to type out every single time they want to join in.

For an example of a successful hashtag let’s look at a real life example. Andrew Pincock, CEO of Trafficado, is one of the co-hosts of the hashtag #seochat. This chat happens every Thursday at 11am and everyone in the industry knows about it. The hashtag is short, simple, and relevant to the industry.

Your next step is to brainstorm a few topics. You want these topics to be something that everyone can easily join in on. It is also helpful to have a topic that people have a lot of questions about, so you are able to ask questions and share answers.

Promotion is also key to getting your chat to be successful. If you don’t let anyone know about the chat, no one will participate and it will be a bust. Make sure to build up some hype around the chat, let people know when it will be and what the topic is. Have others in the industry tweet about it as well in order to let as many people know as possible.

The last step is just diving in and going for it. People know about it, you have a good topic, and the rest will fall into place.