How To Host A Successful Twitter Chat In 13 Easy Steps
1. How To Host
A Successful
Twitter Chat In
13 Easy Steps
By Ashani Mfuko, Social Media Strategist
www.ashanimfuko.com
2. You Can Do It!
If you’ve been wanting to host your own tweet chat,
but weren’t sure how to do it, these are the step-by-step
instructions you need to get it started.
Use these tips to start leading conversations on
Twitter, instead of just following them.
Don’t be a follower, be an innovator!
4. The Benefits Of Hosting
A Twitter Chat
Increase your Twitter followers.
Build lucrative business relationships and
opportunities for collaboration.
Highlight your expert status in your niche.
Build brand recognition and trust with your
target audience.
Establish your brand as a leading authority in
your industry.
5. Step 1: Engage With Your Followers Long Before
You Attempt To Host Your Tweetchat.
• You have to invest some time on Twitter before
you can start hosting successful Twitter chats.
• Take 15 minutes a day to interact with your
followers, and start and join a conversation.
• Participate in other Twitter chats to kick start
your interaction, and also connect with new
people to follow.
• Invest some time on Twitter, build your follower
numbers, and engage with your followers first,
then you can move to step two.
6. Step 2: Choose Your Topic.
• Choose the topic for your Tweetchat by
considering what is a hot topic in your
industry, or something your target audience
loves to chat about.
7. Step 3: Prepare In Advance.
• Come up with ten questions that you’d like to
ask during your tweet chat in advance (*Please
note: You may not get to ask all of the
questions, but it’s good to have them, just in
case).
• Choose specific, open-ended questions, that
your followers will be excited to respond to.
• Your questions will drive the chat, so make
sure they’re good ones.
8. Step 4: Choose Your Hashtag.
• A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by a
hash or pound sign (#) and is used to identify
messages on a specific topic.
• Choose a hashtag that is short, and not too
difficult to spell or remember.
• The topic that the hashtag relates to should be
obvious when people see it.
9. Step 5: Choose Your Day and Time.
• Pick a day and time that you will be able to
host the tweet chat in a calm and relaxed
atmosphere, and a time when you won’t feel
rushed.
• Most tweet chats happen in the evenings, on
Mondays, Tuesdays, or Wednesdays.
• Choose your day and time based on what
makes the most sense for you, and for your
specific audience.
10. Step 6: Invite your Twitter Followers Personally.
• Reach out to individual followers and invite
them to join your tweet chat.
• Do not spam them, or let this be the first time
they’re ever hearing from you on Twitter.
• Once you’ve established a rapport with some
of your followers, invite them to join your
tweet chat, and offer their input on your topic.
11. Step 7: Give Yourself Ample Time To Promote It.
• Start promoting it a few weeks in advance.
• As the date approaches, post reminders (not
spam) about it.
• The day of the chat, be sure to tweet some of
your followers individually, or group a few
people together, and remind them that the
tweet chat is happening that day.
12. Step 8: Post It On Your Blog and Share It
On ALL Of Your Social Media Profiles.
• Publish a blog post about your upcoming
tweet chat, and include specific instructions on
how to participate in the tweet chat, and what
hashtag to use.
• Share how often the tweet chat will happen
(weekly? monthly?), and be sure to include the
day, time, and your Twitter handle, so people
can follow you.
13. Step 9: Share It In Your E-Newsletter.
• Promote your tweet chat in every e-newsletter, as
a reminder to your subscribers.
14. Step 10: Use Tweetchat.com For Easy Hosting.
• Tweetchat.com is a free tool that allows you to
follow along with all of the tweets with your
hashtag, all in one place.
• You can post your tweets right from their
website, and they automatically add your
hashtag to your tweets.
• Reply to, re-tweet, favorite your followers’
tweets right from their site.
15. Step 11: Keep It Conversational & Interactive.
• The key to success during your tweet chat is to
keep the conversation going.
• When someone responds to one of your
tweets, ask them another question.
• Treat it as you would a conversation in real life,
and keep it going.
16. Step 12: Re-Tweet and Reply To Every Tweet
With Your Hashtag.
• This makes the tweet chat more personal, and
allows you to connect with each individual on
the chat, start a conversation, and keep that
conversation going.
• It also leads to more tweets with your hashtag
showing up in the twitter timeline.
• It is a great way to build a buzz, gain new
followers, and make your tweet chat more
popular.
17. Step 13: Use Storify to recap your Tweetchat.
• Storify is an incredible, free tool that
allows users to curate social media content,
and turn them into stories.
• You can create a full recap, made up of the
tweets connected to your hashtag, that
highlights the conversation from your tweet
chat.
• It’s a wonderful way to capture and archive a
live conversation on Twitter.
18. Final Step: Say Thank You!
Thank your followers for joining your chat, and
remind them of when the next tweet chat is.
19. Best Of Luck!
Have a question?
Tweet me @AshaniMfuko
I’m happy to help you!