How to start a twitter chat from scratch
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The document provides a comprehensive guide on hosting a Twitter chat, outlining 11 steps to engage followers, increase brand awareness, and generate content. Key steps include participating in other chats, choosing a unique hashtag, preparing discussion topics, and creating promotional content. The guide emphasizes interaction during the chat and following up with participants to maintain engagement and build community.
How to start a twitter chat from scratch
- 1. How to start a Twitter chat from scratch Quuu.co By Lucia Fontaina-Powell, Quuumunity Marketing Manager at Quuu
- 2. Quuu.co Want to build a large, engaged following on Twitter and beyond? Looking for fresh, original ideas for your blog? Then you should start a Twitter chat!
- 3. Quuu.co Every month, we host a #Qchat at @quuu_co. We’re going to show you how we plan, promote and create follow-up content for our Qchats in 11 simple steps.
- 5. Quuu.co What is a Twitter chat? A Twitter chat is a real-time conversation that takes place between a brand and its following on Twitter. Participants follow a unique hashtag (e.g. #Qchat) and the host live-Tweets questions on a particular topic or theme from their account. Their followers will tweet back their responses and chat among themselves, generating a productive and stimulating discussion for everyone involved :-)
- 6. Quuu.co Why should you host a Twitter chat? Engage your existing following by having genuine, real-time conversations with them Increase brand awareness and gain new followers Establish yourself as an authority or influencer in your industry Network with likeminded people to build valuable relationships Learn something new and improve your skills Share your own experience and knowledge Generate content ideas for your blog and social media platforms
- 8. How to host a Twitter chat in 11 steps Quuu.co
- 9. Quuu.co Step 1: Participate in other chats.
- 10. Quuu.co Join some popular chats in your industry to learn the ropes and work out what will set yours apart. Knowing what will provide value to your audience will be crucial to the success of your chat, so put in the time to find your niche.
- 11. Quuu.co Step 2: Choose your hashtag.
- 12. Quuu.co Pick a hashtag that’s short, snappy, easy to spell and incorporates your brand name, if possible. Your followers can then find your chat by searching for the hashtag, as well as including it in their answers so you can see them.
- 14. Quuu.co Step 3: Write a list of topic ideas
- 15. Quuu.co Other Twitter chats Trending topics in your industry Your own blog posts Customer FAQs Discussions in online forums Make sure you have something to say in your Twitter chats! Write up a list of potential topic ideas inspired by:
- 16. Quuu.co Step 4: Set the date.
- 17. Quuu.co Pick a time when your following is going to be active (take into account different timezones if you have an international audience). Sites like Tweet Reports or Twubs list Twitter chats that happen on a regular basis. Make sure your chat won’t clash with anyone else’s and register yours.
- 18. Quuu.co Step 5: Pick your theme and write up your questions.
- 19. Quuu.co Consult your list of ideas and pick a theme. Keep the title simple and try to lead with a question word (e.g. How to use video in your content marketing), so that your chat can provide the answers!
- 20. Quuu.co Next, come up with your questions. Our Qchats follow this pattern: Welcome Tweet Rules of the chat (politely remind your followers to include the question number and hashtag in their answers) Icebreaker question 7 questions Thank you Tweet Try to stir debate and always ask open questions that will lead to more than just a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.
- 21. Quuu.co Step 6: Create graphics to complement your Tweets.
- 24. Quuu.co Use visual content alongside your Tweets to engage your audience and make the chat easier to follow. Canva is a great tool for this. https://twitter.com/i/moments/836880585163423745
- 25. Quuu.co Step 7: Spread the word!
- 26. Quuu.co Hosting a Twitter chat is a bit like throwing a party; you want lots of your friends to come, so that you don’t feel sad and alone :-(
- 28. Quuu.co 1 week before the chat: Post a pinned tweet on Twitter Post on all other social channels Send out an email announcement Post in any relevant online communities
- 29. Quuu.co The week leading up to the chat: Tweet relevant content on the theme of the chat (we’re lucky to have access to a huge bank of curated content from Quuu.co) Work the chat into any weekly newsletters Send out personal invites to influencers
- 30. Quuu.co On the day of the chat: An email reminder a few hours before Post in online communities a few hours before Social posts throughout the day and as soon as the chat starts Search for relevant hashtags on Twitter or join other chats so that you can lead people to your chat
- 31. Quuu.co Step 8: Finalise your script and schedule Tweets.
- 32. Quuu.co Write up a full script of your Tweets to make sure the conversation runs smoothly on the day. Remember to include your hashtag in every Tweet, as well as the question numbers. Then work out a timeframe that will allow your chat to flow at a sensible pace. Schedule your Tweets in Buffer so that you can focus on interacting with your followers.
- 33. Quuu.co Step 9: Lights, camera action! The chat itself.
- 34. Quuu.co During the chat you should: Individually welcome anyone who joins Favourite all Tweets that use your hashtag Retweet the best answers Engage in discussion as much as possible Make sure people are following the rules and politely remind them to if they’re not :-)
- 35. Quuu.co Keep an eye on these three things during the chat: 1. Notifications and mentions. 2. The latest Tweets using your hashtag. 3. Your account’s feed (to make sure pre-scheduled tweets are sending out). You can use Tweetdeck or Hootsuite to manage these different streams.
- 36. Remember to have fun!
- 37. Quuu.co Step 10: Say thank you.
- 38. Quuu.co Send out a general thank you Tweet at the end of your chat. The next day, thank the biggest contributors individually with a Tweet, a DM or an email.
- 39. Quuu.co Step 11: Create follow-up content.
- 40. Quuu.co Twitter chats are content generation machines. Use Twitter Moments, Storify, Facebook SlideShow and LinkedIn SlideShare to create roundups of your chat. You could also send out an email recap or even create a blog post, video or podcast expanding on any interesting points.
- 41. Quuu.co All that’s left to do now is plan the next one!
- 42. Quuu.co You can read the full blog post on ‘How to start a Twitter chat from scratch’ here: http://blog.quuu.co/start-twitter-chat/
- 43. Quuu.co Fancy a slice of the action? Join our next #Qchat on Tuesday 28th March at 6pm GMT over @quuu_co, where we’ll be discussing how to work online communities like a pro with special guest Brian D Evans.