Holding a Twitter Party can be a great way to engage with your audience on a subject that is of interest to you or them. It can even be used to leverage opinion or gather audience information. The key is to pick a topic that will get your audience joining in. However there is more than this to being an excellent Twitter party host, and we’re not talking hors d’oeuvre either. Follow our steps to having a great party and it all starts with your pre planning.
PRE PARTY
- Choose a theme for discussion and create a unique hashtag.
- Optional – Create an RSVP page on your website so you can get a feel for numbers.
- Pick a host to assist you in running the twitter party and get a team to follow.
- Create a list of questions to generate discussion.
- Create an exit plan or a response for negative tweets e.g. taking the answers offline is best.
- Choose a giveaway to incentivise people to join.
- Choose a time that is relevant to your audience for example if you are targeting Mums, you may be better off starting it after 8:30pm when their children have gone to bed.
Once you have all this sorted and it’s time for the party to begin make yourself comfy, grab a drink and maybe a biscuit and settle in for the party.
DURING PARTY
- Tweet to welcome those joining the party and get the host to tweet. This will also let you know if anyone is out there.
- Start generating questions and answering tweets. Keep an eye on your notifications and hashtag (here is where having an extra person is handy).
- Discussions should last up to an hour.
- If you are having a giveaway, roughly 30 minutes from the end begin this. This should provide enough time to join in and you will also have the party mid flow.
- Once the party has come to an end tweet to thank everyone for joining.
And rest! After the party it’s now time to do some evaluation of how it went.
POST PARTY
- Make a list of the number of followers gained during the Twitter party.
- Make a list of the discussions, the top influencers and companies as you may want to interact with them at a later date.
- Select a winner for the give away and notify them (if you did one).
No hangovers, no need to go shopping for a new outfit. But you have increased awareness and engagement for your brand along with new followers and insight.