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Dear Gracie,
My company wants to start hosting Twitter chats. What should someone know about Twitter chats? What are the benefits? What's challenging or surprising? Which platform is the best? What's a good #hashtag? How do you generate buzz and build participation?
Chat Chick
***********
Dear Chat Chick,
Four ProfNet Connect experts offer their advice:
Hosting a Twitter chat can demonstrate topic expertise, develop new relationships and strengthen existing communities with participants in the chat, explains William J. Ward, social media professor at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
"The most surprising thing about a good Twitter chat is the quality of the content, the level of participant engagement, and how much you can learn in a short time," says Ward.
Getting Started
If you've never hosted or participated in a Twitter chat before, Mary Beth Huffman, owner and founder of IMPACT Marketing and Public Relations, advises you to watch one and take notes first. Be aware of the social media etiquette, she says. Pay attention to the way the moderator is addressing the audience and announcing topics. Note how the participants respond to questions.
"The tweets can stream by very quickly, so you need to plan ahead so you do not get overwhelmed with the rapid pace," adds Ward.
Formats for Twitter chats can vary, but the most successful ones include a moderator who directs the conversation and gives the participants a main person to follow, says Ward. "The moderator can guide the question and answers, manage interaction with a special guest and move the conversation along."
If you're just participating (versus hosting or moderating), then introduce yourself when entering a Twitter chat, welcome others joining the conversation, and thank participants and moderators, says Ward.
Just as you would at a friend's cocktail party, thank the moderator and participants for their conversation and retweets (RTs) of your comments or questions, says Huffman.
Participating in a Twitter chat allows you to connect and grow your network with like-minded people and also to learn about different industries, says Amanda Guralski, career coach and president of bizMe Consulting.
Platform
There are several platforms for managing Twitter chats. TweetChat is a good platform to get started with because it focuses the conversation stream around one #hashtag, says Ward. And TweetGrid allows you to follow multiple conversation streams, he adds.
"Once you get more skilled at Twitter chats, you can move up to Hootsuite and TweetDeck to allow simultaneous access to multiple social platforms," adds Ward.
Guralski, who hosts #CareerChat every Tuesday from 1-2 p.m. EST, uses TweetChat because it's the easiest way for her to follow the conversation and answer questions. There are fewer distractions when I am only looking at one column, she says.
But no matter which platform you choose, no social media management tool is perfect, says Huffman. "Use whatever is convenient and comfortable for you."
However, be prepared for technical challenges. Mikinzie Stuart, digital junior account executive at Peppercom, shares this story: "For one of our client's Twitter chats, the news of Steve Jobs' death broke 10 minutes before the chat was scheduled to start. Since the Twittersphere was overloaded with tweets about the breaking news, it was difficult for the host and attendees to tweet during the chat." But she notes that despite the difficulties, it was a successful chat because participants were enthusiastic about the topic.
Hosting: Topics
Hosting provides the opportunity to build your professional brand, establish yourself as an expert in your field and to become the go-to person on your respective topics," says Guralski.
If you're hosting, it's a good idea to warn followers when a Twitter chat is coming up, since you will be sending a lot of tweets during a short time, suggests Ward.
Have your questions, the points you want to make and the links you want to share on-hand, so you're not trying to multitask during the chat, says Stuart.
Also consider the timing of the questions and pace of the chat, she says.
"The topic has to be specific so that when people participate they know the discussion points. Don't try to cover too much information, you only have an hour!" says Guralski.
Guralski thinks topic creation is the most challenging part of hosting a Twitter chat. "Certain topics tend to get more participants than others," she says. "The challenge becomes finding the focus that will draw the most participants -- determining the trigger issues that are hot on a national basis."
Guralski finds topics by looking for trends online, considering questions from her clients or remembering questions from participants in her chats.
Consider who you're trying to reach, and what type of conversations and topics are important to them, says Guralski.
Guralski also notes that she changes the format of her chat depending on the topic. "Some topics work better when they are structured, while other topics work best when you allow the participants the opportunity to flow the conversation."
If the chat is structured, then Guralski asks three questions every 15 minutes, with the last question open for discussion or giving the participants an opportunity to ask questions.
"Your chat has to bring value to the participants," stresses Guralski. Your Twitter chat should teach, challenge the participants' mindsets, motivate them to take action or offer expert advice, she says.
So don't host a Twitter chat for the sake of hosting one, continues Guralski. There should be a goal, whether it is to build your brand, become an expert or bring people together to exchange ideas.
Hosting: Hashtags
The #hashtag for a Twitter chat should be named to help people understand what type of content to expect, says Ward.
"Used consistently, the hashtag helps participants to become familiar with the chat, similar to branding. Twitter chats should be scheduled at the same time -- weekly, monthly, etc. -- if possible, so people know how to find it again and can plan for it," says Ward.
Stuart notes that because you're only working with 140 characters, it's important that hashtag be as short as possible.
Also, make sure that no one else is using the same hashtag by doing a basic Twitter search, she says.
But if you find that someone has already used your hashtag, don't give up on it right away. Guralski says that when she chose the hashtag #CareerChat, she discovered it had already been taken. However, since the host no longer appeared to be using it, she asked if she could take it over, and ended up with the hashtag she wanted.
So that's why it's a good idea to try and make the hashtag as unique and identifiable to the brand as possible, says Stuart.
Promotion
Huffman says that since participating in Twitter chats, her reach and influence have increased by a whopping 200 percent.
It's not just about educational or social purposes, says Huffman. "Twitter chats allow you to establish corporate presence with your prospects, industry and brand influencers, customers and stakeholders. A company can directly reach, engage with and eventually influence followers and their connections."
"From a business perspective, Twitter chats can help generate buzz around a specific program or promotion; increase number of impressions, Twitter followers and/or Web traffic in a short amount of time; and can be a direct way to get feedback from your customers in real-time," explains Sutart.
Guralski notes that #CareerChat has helped increase her followers, but more importantly, has established her Web presence as the go-to career coach. "I have been able to build relationships with people all over the country and engage in conversations with many amazing people," she says. Her chat participants regularly include HR execs, job seekers, small-business owners, career coaches and consultants.
"It is important to promote the Twitter chat in advance," says Ward. Encourage participation by getting people you are connected with already to join the conversation, and by inviting and welcoming new participants with similar interests.
Targeting key people and inviting them to join in as experts adds a level of credibility and professionalism, says Guralski.
Stuart's company typically asks an online influencer to host the chats, so that the audience is extended. "The host promotes the chat by tweeting about it, writing blogs posts or putting an ad in their newsletter. Typically, the host will write a recap of the chat to highlight some of the key takeaways." They also get attention by offering giveaways during the chat.
"The best Twitter chats have special guests and even different moderators," says Ward. This keeps things interesting by helping ensure fresh content to attract new participants, and getting the regulars to return weekly.
Ward also recommends creating transcripts of the chat conversations to curate the content and to provide a record in case someone missed the live chat.
To find a Twitter chat in your industry, check out this great list, compiled by Eric Bryant, director of Gnosis Arts Media Group.
Or join us every other Tuesday for #ConnectChat, from 3-4:30 p.m. EST. #ConnectChat covers a variety of topics for PR- and media-related industries. Check out these recaps:
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Gracie
