Chats on Twitter can be an effective way to grow your brand
I was Tweeting out a series of tips on how to get more out of participating in a chat on Twitter during #MackCollier’s #BlogChat 9-10 pm ET, Sunday night. As I started to send out #ChatTip #4, I thought – this needs to be a blog post. Right Then @ConnieReece sent a tweet/message asking if I’d done a blog post – as she’d like to tweet out a link. So here it is. I also solicited Chat Tips from other friends who participate in chats on Twitter, so I may be adding more to the post, and I’m sure others will add their tips to the Comments too.
Twitter Chat Background:
If you are familiar with Twitter chats – skip this paragraph. Twitter Chats are mostly informal gatherings on Twitter at a preselected day & time, often weekly, when individuals who want to talk together about a topic all use the same #hahstag (a word or phrase with no spaces, preceded by a # symbol) to talk about that topic for a hour or more. For a list of more than 120 chats (and counting) check out this online chart of Chats and info: Http://bit.ly/ChatSched. Some folks just use Twitter search and type in a Hhashtag, I use @Tweetgrid, others use @tweetchat (some use @Tweetdeck) to read the tweets and participate in the chat (these last three append the chat #hashtag onto your tweets for you. I have participated in numerous chats on Twitter and am the co-host of @SmallBizLady’s weekly #SmallBizChat Wednesday’s 8-9 pm (the chat started it’s second year in April 2010 – update I was co-host through Nov. 2010).
Now for my top Twitter Chat Tips:
- Chat Tip: Star or mark as favorites, tweets from people who you want to connect with later so you don’t forget. After the chat, follow them, send an @username reply, or send them a polite (not spammy DM with no links). Also add them to a Twitter List of people you’e interacted with or to a list by the main topic they tweet about. @markalves had another similar idea: #ChatTip: Create a Twitter list named after the chat to keep track of new people you decide to follow. For more info on how to use Twitter lists – click 1" href="http://bit.ly/dedoiU" target="_blank">here or or 2" href="http://bit.ly/dq66O6" target="_blank">here to read a couple of interviews of me talking about some ways you can use Twitter lists.
- Chat Tip: Before you participate in your next chat – find out the topic and a link to the chat info in advance – and share it with or invite someone who needs to learn about the chat’s topic that week. If they’ve never participate in a chat – show them how it works. Often times other experts or knowledgeable people join in the chat; but you can learn a lot by listening in and/or asking questions about the topic.
- Chat Tip: If you DO attend a chat to learn (but don’t want to ask a question, or if the chat is just moving to fast) please pipe up and say hi; chat hosts love it. Its hard to gauge the audience if they are silent during the chat, then follow the account afterward, but never introduce themselves. Just don’t make that 1st tweet too promotional – some chats leave that until the end. But a quick “Hi all, I’m listening in and learning today” or if you retweet the chat topic, either lets them know you are listening in.
- Chat Tip: Some chats have hosts and/or co-hosts, some bring in guests to answer questions. Some chats have registered a Twitter account in the name of their chat to help promote weekly topics or guests. Be sure to follow that @accountchat if a chat promotes it – so you can get the weekly details and the transcripts of the chat that some hosts tweet out after a chat. For example #journchat, run by @PRSarahEvans (One of the first popular chats) also has the @JournChat account. Sarah even tweets from that account during the event on Monday nights.
- Chat Tip: I often hear folks say – darn I missed #XYZ chat again. Try and set up recurring calendar reminders for your favorite chats. Gmail and Google Apps both allow you to create a calendar item and send an email, pop-up or even send a SMS/text message to your cell phone whenever you set it.
- Chat Tip: Why Twitter Chats? These Chats provide a time and a place for people to share & learn in hour-long “meals” made up of 140 character “bites” (the maximum length of a tweet). You can grow your following by participating with useful tips, ideas and questions, or you can simply listen and learn, or do a bit of both.
- From @KseniaCoffman Chat Tip: www.TweetChat.com or @TweetChat allows you to block people, in case they are spamming the hashtag (tweeting things not related to the chat, but using the #tag); click on ‘person icon.’ My addition: both that program and www.tweetgrid.com allow you to retweet, reply and mark a tweet as a favorite.
- @DanRMorris’s Chat Tip: “Thanks for the RT. There’s a tip right there, Retweet and you’ll surely have the compliment returned.” My addition: Retweeting and replying are part of how chats work. Be selective, but retweet some useful tweets from others that your followers can learn from. This exposes your followers to the chat topic info, and those you RT might @reply or retweet something of yours – which allows their followers to see who you are and what you bring to the party. You also might want to warn you followers that you are participating in a chat, an that you may be tweeting a lot.
Enjoy your next Twitter Chat – I hope these Twitter Chat Tips were helpful.By the way – If you are curious about various Chat’s on Twitter – here is a link to a site where many chats are listed with dates, times, and who runs them: http://bit.ly/chatlist
If you have a #ChatTip of your own, please leave it in the comments. Also, I encourage interaction and community on my blog, so please feel free to include your Twitter @Username (with the @ sign) in your comment. I use a plugin that turns your Twitter @username into a hyperlink to your Twitter profile.
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marc meyer 05.24.10 at 2:54 pm
Good job Cathy.
#9 There is nothing preventing you,d ear reader, from starting your own tweetchat. I think this aspect (tweetchats) is grossly underserved and can bring incredible value to an individual, a company, their industry and their customers. Here is a link I recently did on 17 tweetchats worth checking out.http://www.socialmediatoday.com/SMC/195738
DawnV 05.24.10 at 3:23 pm
Thanks for this great list Cathy. Here's my addition:
#10 Attend a Twitter Chat to LEARN from others, SHARE your knowledge and CONNECT with new people- not to sell! Many of the tweetchats have time at the very end to promote whatever it is that you do, but do not promote during the chat. It's annoying and offensive to those that have come as experts to share with those who want to learn.
I can say that I have learned so much from tweetchats. Experts in their field come and share their knowledge and it has been an invaluable resource for a small biz owner like myself.
Natalie 05.24.10 at 7:30 pm
I absolutely love Twitter Chats. I run my own #dealchat and I've love meeting of ideas. Everyone who participates, even those who are there as experts and there to learn, gain from the experience.
You can find me at @frugalista and @dealchat
MediaCollective 05.24.10 at 8:36 pm
If chat is moving to fast, tweetgrid.com has a stop button to pause the stream. This comes in handy if you would like to reply to a poster or back track to a question or comment.. Hit stop again and your off running again.
Meryl K Evans 05.24.10 at 4:19 pm
I miss Twitter chats — I met a lot of great folks and learned many new things from the chats. My tips: (1) Mix it up: Offer insight, ask a question and retweet other people's insight and add a note of your own, if there's space. (2) Avoid dominating the conversation especially when there's an invited guest. (3) Some chats don't operate like most. First time you enter a specific #chat — sit by and watch. Get a feel for how it works.
Mark Alves 05.25.10 at 3:13 am
Thanks for including me in #1. Another tip is to find transcripts from previous chats by looking up hashtags onhttp://wthashtag.com.
@markalves
CASUDI 05.25.10 at 5:02 am
My tip relates to getting started participating in a chat ~ some people are naturals but many of us are not. Watching and learning is not the same as doing. So look around and find a friendly hat or savvy avatar and observe what they are discussing. Your very first tweet can be something like this ~ repeat in different words something already said ~ "@CathyWebSavvyPR I agree with what you say about small biz needing to focus on one thing well #" Then progress to asking a question "@CathyWebSavvyPR Do you really think it important to focus on only one thing ?#"
Once you have engaged a couple of people and had a direct conversation, you are well into gaining your chat legs and will not ever look back! I suspect we lose quite a few potential participants who would add value, but never get beyond the watching and lurking phase. So if you are new on twitter or chats and find me on one of my favorite chats, be sure and @CASUDI
Brenda Young 05.25.10 at 9:12 am
Tweetchats can also be a great way to involve people at a meeting or event who cannot attend. A little planning can make this a valuable part of the event and as curated information later. Send out a document describing the meeting or event with some topic questions to consider ahead of the event. It’s not exactly like being there but, it can give people an inside look at the event in real time and in many cases encourage knowledgeable participants to join in and add value to the conversation. @4byoung
kseniacoffman 05.25.10 at 7:00 pm
Cathy, thanks for including my tip ~ we just had a situation on one of the chats where a crazed (?) person was participating in our discussion. So people appreciated the ability to block them.
Chats are my favorite part of twitter. I use them as virtual round tables – to learn new trends, best practices, and interact with the great variety of people.
As Marc Meyer said in an earlier comment, there's nothing preventing you from starting your own chat, especially if there's none on the topic that interests you. That's why I (with a group of like-minded people) started #b2bchat (http://wthashtag.com/B2bchat)
Melina 06.30.10 at 9:03 am
Thanks for the great blog post Cathy! There's lots of great tips here. I'm just getting familiar with these chat features and they just keep reminding me of the AOL chatroom days, although we've come a long way from those days! But it's funny how it's essentially the same kind of idea, just much more evolved!
Swan 07.23.10 at 11:46 am
Thanks for the shoutout to the Twitter Chat Schedule. I am finding that many chats are starting to use http://twebevent.com as a homepage of sorts for their chat. It creates a page that merges the moderator's Twitter brand/avatar with the title and date/time of the chat with any overview info down the left side and of course the chat itself in the main part of the window. It even shows you how many views the page is getting.
twebevent is working on series functionality so that hosts will not have to keep coming in to update the date/time. twebevent is free so just enjoy. To create an event just put your hashtag without the "#" after http://twebevent.com/ eg. http://twebevent.com/MCRchat
AJ Wilcox 02.05.11 at 5:11 pm
Excellent tips. I have to say, I participate in a couple Twitter chats, and I absolutely hate being a follower of anyone who participates in them. Twitter is not conducive to chatting because it clogs followers' streams. The chats are infinitely valuable to those participating, but participating is sure to get you unfollowed. So, here are my 2 tips:
1. When joining a Twitter chat, let your followers know you are joining so that they can A. prepare to be flooded and B. join in if interested.
2. If you are participating or hosting, DO NOT retweet everything that has been said. If your followers are interested, they will join the chat. If they are not interested, they do not want to see your retweets. This is especially the case with those who miss the chat and want to read the transcript later. It's awful trying to read a transcript where everyone is repeating what everyone else said.