How to Rock Your First Twitter Chat
I’ve seen Twitter chats around for awhile and have participated in a couple of them, but it wasn’t until recently that I really saw the value in them. And that’s because I previously wasn’t taking full advantage of all that a Twitter chat has to offer. I was still playing introvert and you can’t do that in a Twitter chat. You need to put yourself out there, talk your ass off, and really connect with new people.
For those of you who are also struggling to see the value of a Twitter chat, here are a few things that you will get out of a good chat:
Increased followers
I gain at least ten followers after every single Twitter chat that I participate in. And not only on Twitter–I’ve seen responses on both my blog and Facebook Page from people I “met” in a Twitter chat.
More opportunities
There’s hardly a better way to really talk and “meet” and get to know other bloggers than an hour of constant tweeting. I have made so many blogging friends and discovered new blogging opportunities through Twitter chats.
Loyal followers and friends
Rather than a follower who checks in every now and then, Twitter chats lead to loyal followers and friends. Like the kind who tweet me weekly asking how things have been going for me.
An amazing support group
The women that I have met in these Twitter chats have been some of the most supportive, genuine, and willing to help people ever and I will forever be grateful for them.
Never participated in a Twitter chat before? Your first time can really make or break your opinion of them, so let’s be sure that you’re adequately prepared so that you can really see the value and awesomeness that is a great Twitter chat.
1. Check in early
Make sure that you’re ready for the chat before it starts. Twitter chats move extremely quickly, so it’s better to get acquainted with your surroundings before you’re thrown into a stampede of tweets. I keep each Twitter chat I plan to attend that week in my calendar with an alert set for 10 minutes before the event. This allows me to get into the Twitter chat mindset and make sure that everything has been taken care of for the next hour.
(Because you will literally be incapacitated and stranded at your computer for the next hour.)
2. Sign up for/open TweetDeck
This is my favorite app for managing a Twitter chat. This interface allows you to open up a few different Twitter windows on one screen.
For each Twitter chat, I recommend:
- Open one window for your notifications so that you can see direct replies and easily respond.
- Open one window for the Twitter chat’s hashtag so that you see tweets dedicated only to this chat and can easily interact with other participants.
- Open a third window specifically for the chat’s host so that you don’t ever miss a question.
Maybe you’ll find a method that works for your own madness, but this is mine and I would suggest trying it for your first couple of times. If this works best for you, that’s awesome, but if not…well, no hard feelings. ;)
3. Set aside the full hour of time
Just like I mentioned earlier, you will need to dedicate the full hour of time to your Twitter chat or else you won’t get the whole experience. I had my sister over one time during a chat and she kept trying to talk to me and I didn’t hear one single word she said. That’s how intense these things are.
The first couple of chats that I participated in, I tried to multitask and complete other projects at the same time. You. can. not. do. this.
With how fast paced Twitter chats are, you really need to be paying attention the entire time or you could miss something.
The most important reason for paying full attention to the chat is for engagement potential. Sure, you could multitask and only chime in when it’s time to answer a question, but what are you getting from the chat? You want to see every else’s opinions and offer your own.
4. Don’t forget the hashtag!
^^ Exclamation mark necessary.
If you don’t include the Twitter chat’s hashtag in your tweets, then no one in the chat will actually get to see them. Which pretty much defeats the whole point of you tweeting or joining in on the chat.
5. Always, always engage with others’ responses
I touched on this in number three, but I want to elaborate a little bit more.
If someone says something interesting, ask for an elaboration. If someone says something awesome, let them know how awesome they are. If someone says something that you want to know more about, ask them about it. If someone is participating that you want to have as a connection, strike up a conversation based on one of their answers to a chat question. If someone has a question and you know the answer, offer up your help. If someone mentions their own business or blog success, congratulate them. If someone says something that you 100% agree with, tell them.
Basically, if you see a tweet that you like, freaking respond to it. Don’t worry about whether someone will think it’s strange that you’re reaching out because it’s not. It’s networking. It’s gaining connections and furthering your potential for opportunity.
Want to make sure that you never miss an epic Twitter chat again? Bookmark my Twitter chat calendar so that you always have times of Twitter chats in the creative niche right at your fingertips.
P.S. How to Gain More Twitter Followers & How to Use Hashtags to Promote Your Business
18 Comments
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Chloe
That is a good question, Cadry! I, personally, have never minded seeing Twitter chats in my feed, so this thought hadn't occurred to me. I have seen people suggest tweeting out a warning to your followers about your high-volume tweeting. Unfortunately there isn't a way to hide a hashtag, but if you are concerned about annoying your followers, tweeting out a warning tweet before the chat would be the way to go! I hope to see you participating in a Twitter chat soon. :)
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Sydney @ Modern Granola
Hey, Chloe! I loved this post because I'm still getting feel for twitter. I've participated in a few chats, and you are so right about them being intense! I was wondering if you had picked up on any chat etiquette, like what to do if you come late or have to leave early, or if you need to declare you are joining before entering the chat? I feel like there may be some unwritten rules that I'm unclear on. Thanks for such a great post! I'm loving your content!
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Chloe
Chat hosts usually love any participant, regardless of whether you're jumping in a little late or if you have to leave early! Typically the host will start off by having everyone introduce themselves and that's the best way to kind of "announce" that you'll be joining. Sometimes people will just start off by saying that they're going to have some high-volume tweeting during the next hour for such-and-such chat. I've stepped in a little late to a chat before and since they move so fast, you already feel like you've missed so much. If it's a favorite chat, I jump in anyways. Otherwise I'll make a point of saving the next one to my calendar so I can make it on time another time. It's definitely not rude by any means, but you don't want to miss out on anything! Also, if you have to leave early, you can just thank everyone and the host for a great chat and apologize but you have to dip out a little early. No hard feelings. :)
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Sydney @ Modern Granola
Thanks for your response! This is exactly what I was curious about. The loose format of the chats are a little confusing to me, so this helps me out a lot! Thanks!
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Jasmine
I have done 1 twitter chat which is for moms. I love it. But I'm also trying to find other twitter chats for blogging, how do you even do that? Find other twitter chats?
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Chloe
You can look up Twitter chat calendars and there are several. I actually just started my own as well (chloesocial.com/twitter-chat-calendar) just for the blogging/creatives niche!
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Kiersten
These are really great tips - thanks so much for sharing them! I've only participated in a few Twitter chats so far and you're right - you literally can't do ANYTHING else without missing several questions and answers. I'm curious - where do you find a good list of Twitter chats?
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Chloe
Hey Kiersten! I'm actually starting up a Twitter chat calendar (find it here: chloesocial.com/twitter-chat-calendar) so you can find some good ones for creatives! My personal favorite is #createlounge every Wednesday at 8PM EST.
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Emyii
Great post, ive started getting in on chats and i love it. I once let my dinner go cold just so i wouldnt miss anything haha =]
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Sandee
LOVE this post, Chloe. I used to participate in Twitter chats a lot, but now I only do it occasionally. Thanks for the reminder that I need to revisit them again. Love your chat calendar too!
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Chloe
I love Twitter chats! I really just have one favorite that I participate in every week, but I'll check out others if I'm interested in the topic. :) Thanks so much for your comment, Sandee!
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Marianne
Such great advice since starting out in a chat can be super overwhelming! I tried to use TweetDeck but it moved way too fast, so I am now using HootSuite because i can refresh the newest posts when i want. Buuut I love your idea of opening up the 3 windows, brilliant!
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Chloe
I've found that if you keep the window in TweetDeck scrolled down so that it's not up at the top, then it won't constantly refresh your window. So that definitely helps me out!
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Dia @ All the things I do
This is such a helpful post. I've been wanting to participate in some and eventually host one. Book marking these tips
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Comments are closed.
Cadry
Thanks for the primer on Twitter chat! I've never participated in one; although, many people I follow on Twitter do them. I have a question for you in regards to Twitter chats. How do you do them in a way that doesn't annoy your followers who aren't participating? I will have times when my feed is suddenly drowning in chats. I don't always know the question that they are responding to, and when it involves many other people in my feed, it can kind of take over. Is there a way to hide a chat - maybe using the hashtag involved? Because of this, I am hesitant to do a Twitter chat because I know how annoying it can be to those who aren't joining in. Thoughts?