How to start a Twitter chat

from scratch

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By Lucia Fontaina-Powell, Quuumunity Marketing Manager at Quuu 

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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! 

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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.

But first...

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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 :-)

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Why should you host a Twitter chat?

Engage your existing following by having genuine, real-time conversations with themIncrease 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

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Our last Qchat raked in over triple the reach 

we usually see in a day! 

How to host a Twitter chat in

11 steps 

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Step 1:

Participate in other chats.

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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.

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Step 2:

Choose your hashtag. 

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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.

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Step 3:

Write a list of topic ideas

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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:

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Step 4: 

Set the date.

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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.

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Step 5:

 Pick your theme and

write up your questions.

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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! 

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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. 

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Step 6:

Create graphics to

complement your Tweets.

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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

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Step 7:

 Spread the word!

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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 :-(

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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

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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

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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 

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Step 8:

Finalise your script

and schedule Tweets. 

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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. 

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Step 9:

Lights, camera action! The chat

itself. 

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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 :-)

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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. 

Remember to have fun!

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Step 10:

Say thank you.

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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.

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Step 11:

Create follow-up content. 

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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. 

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All that’s left to do now is plan the next one!

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You can read the full blog post on ‘How to start a Twitter

chat from scratch’ here:

http://blog.quuu.co/start-twitter-chat/

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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.