Twitter chat: Tips and tools
If you’re looking for a way to use Twitter to make connections in your industry and build followers I suggest you look into Twitter chats. Twitter or ‘Tweet’ chats are twitter conversations at a scheduled time, using a specific hashtag normally focused on a single topic. They have them for everything and my bet is there is one you could be participating to build your social reputation, gain followers and make new connections.
There are tons of places that just list different chats (like this) - but having to scroll through and research each one and try and figure out what a good fit for you can be time consuming and frankly, a little overwhelming. The easiest way is to use Google to search for your Industry name and the words ‘twitter chat’ or ‘tweet chat’ so you at least narrow it down to relevant chats.
For instance, for nonprofits, I would google “nonprofit twitter chat” and you immediately see links to information on some of the best nonprofit chats including #fundchat, #npmc and #npcons. On each website you can see past topics, future dates and topics and sign up for email newsletters so you can stay on top of the chat.
You can also search for twitter chats that are specific to your city. That can be a great way to connect
with businesses and services that are local.
Once you’ve found a few chats that you think are potentially worth your time, plan on listening in and maybe participating in the next scheduled chat that interests you, just find the right tool to follow along. If you are already using a program like Hootsuite to schedule tweets I’d recommend just setting up a stream for the chat you want to follow - like the one I did below for the Sacramento Social Media Club chat (#smcsacchat) and the Association Chat (#assnchat.)
You can also use a tool meant specifically for following hashtags like Twubs or TweetChat.
Participating in chats can really raise the bar on your Twitter experience. Know of a twitter chat you'd recommend to other nonprofits, special districts, associations or small businesses let me know via Twitter (@thesocialmartin) and I'll share it with my followers.
If you need social media or digital marketing assistance let me know how I can help.
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