Experts Share Why They Love Twitter Chats and Why You Should, Too!

Twitter Chats

Clearly, Twitter Chats excite me. If they didn’t, I wouldn’t be providing Twitter Chat training to corporations and promoting my own Twitter Chat, the #SocialCafe Twitter Chat on Tuesday nights (6p PST/PDT; 9p EST/EDT).

I was curious if I was the only one out there and if others also found Twitter Chats fun, exciting, and rewarding.  So, I decided to use Ann Smarty’s new (one month old) MyBlogU system to do a group interview.  After all, it seems fitting that I use her system after I had suggested… correction, insisted… that Ann start her own Twitter Chat for branding purposes and after a couple months of suggesting, she did!  (And, how many years ago was that now?!) Out came the #MyBlogGuest Twitter Chat, as well as how-to articles throughout the ‘net, like this one on Social Media Examiner.

So, coming full circle, let’s ask the experts why they enjoy Twitter Chats and maybe this will help you to decide whether it is a good fit for you to participate, how often to participate, and whether you should start your own.

Questions we’ve been discussing:

• What makes a Twitter Chat irresistible, causing you to participate every time (i.e. 5 qualities that make the ultimate chat).

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A. Don Sturgill (Writer)

Things I most like about Twitter Chats:

1. Chats are an excellent way to meet others who have a common interest (i.e. excellent for networking)
2. Chats can help build your Twitter presence by gaining and adding followers
3. Twitter Chats are a free and excellent means of gathering (learning) state-of-the-art information
4. Leading a Chat is a powerful means of getting established as an authority in your niche
5. Chats allow me to ask questions directly to those who may otherwise be difficult to reach

My only regret about Chats is that my schedule doesn’t allow me to attend more of them. The new #myblogu chat is bound to be a blockbuster.

 

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A. Alan K’necht (Partner: Social & Analytics)

I host #SocialChat Monday’s at 9pm. After hosting 170+ #SocialChats and participating in many others I’ve come to the following conclusion what makes the ultimate chat

1. Hosts that create an effective form to faciliate the exchange views, observation and knowledge with peers

2. A chat that frequently brings in experts on a subject and where that expert is asked challenging questions.

3. Chat’s that are consistent in scheduling and don’t just happen soratically

4. A chat where great personalities come back on a regular basis.

5. A chat with hosts, that welcome newcommers and encourage them to participate.

6. A chat where all participants can ask additional questions to the group or the featured guest.

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A. tim capper (useful Info)

Hi, I dont really use twitter but read this the other day and it may be useful to you. It is about books being serialised in tweets, so this could be a handy example of the nature and exolution of twitter for you.

Hope it helps and good luck

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-28268869

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A. Ann Smarty (Founder)

Here are things that draw me back to Twitter chats:

1. Reminders 🙂 Yep, reminding past participants is so essential! People are busy! If I feel Twitter chats hosts care about me participating, I cannot usually resists!
2. New featured guests every time: I have found this to be a great connection discovery tool. When there’s a featured guest on a Twitter chat, I always learn something new!
3. Just natural attraction.. Sometimes you just cannot explain it: You love some communities or groups and you don’t get others. Sometimes the chats just stick!

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A. Greg Shuey (COO)

They are great for meeting new people in a specific industry.

they are great for building your credibility as a thought leader in a specific industry.

They are super great for getting mentions and links back tontine blog content.

And that’s all I can think of. Each of these have been critical for me, that is why we founded #seochat. Ash Buckles, Dan Patterson and I saw and opportunity, ran with it, and but paid off immensely.

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A. Sourav Saha (Web Consultant at Webaholic)

The reason why I love Twitter chat so much because it helps me and my business in many ways.

1. First and foremost it helps you to build relationships with new people, influencers, and probable customers and also builds your personal brand. When you tweet out a helpful information it might get retweeted by attendees which results as exposer to more people and you might get noticed by an influencer 🙂

2. Depending upon how you tackle problems/issues coming up in a twitter chat it shows your in-depth knowledge on that specific topic and builds authority. This might result in adding some clients in your box who were looking for experts in that area.

3. And if you are a business and hosting a twitter chat it surely helps you to promote your brand and getting in front of more probable customers.

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A. Philtrate (Entrepreneur)

1. People I know and respect participating
2. The probability of learning and acquiring new ideas and aproaches
3. Where I am confident that the atmosphere will be supportive and positive
4. A time that works for me. I am in Ireland and evening US time is too late for Europeans
5. The possibility of developing relationships that go beyond Twitter

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A. JacobkCurtis (Digital Marketing Strategist)

The Host – One of the most important aspects of an irristible Twitter Chat is the person moderating it. Without an experienced host guiding the conversation, whether its an open discussing or interview, a Twitter chat can tangent and digress from its main goal and become irrelevant off-topic noise.

The Members –  Twitter chats not only introduce you to new “highly relevant” users who you can connect with, but can also be strategically used to build (personal)brand awareness with influencers. For example, If there’s an influencer you are trying to get the attention of for an opportunity or partnership, check to see what Twitter chats they participate in. Or if they’re guest interviewed on a specific Twitter chat, you better make sure you’re there engaging. Understanding that you can connect with these influencers in real-time during a Twitter chat is a powerful method for building rapport outside of traditional outreach methods.

Optimized Hashtag – Another factor of an irresistible Twitter chat is the hashtag associated with it. Is it easily memorable? Is it short enough to still leave room for chatter? Would I mind my followers seeing that I’m participating in the chat as it will show their feed? Is the hashtag recognizable, (i.e. #CEOchat) and encourages others to check it out or participate? Or is it too ambiguous, (i.e. #CoolChat).

Reminders and Representation – The majority of popular Twitter chats tend to have a representation outside of Twitter. For example, #MediaChat is a weekly Twitter chat every Thurs at 10pm EST featuring guests on social and online media, new apps and anything media related and is hosted by @kilby76. Along with having a specific Twitter handle @MediaChat, there’s also a #MediaChat Facebook group and Google+ community that are used to keep people up-to-date on each week’s guest or topic. Having other outlets for participants to elaborate on ideas or connect with others in-between Twitter chats is always a good idea!

Recaps and Transcripts – The frequency of Twitter chats vary widely, with most being held weekly while others happening just once a month. While it’s unlikely users can commit to being there for each Twitter chat they participate in, it’s the chats that provide a transcript or recap of what was discussed or missed that are really irresistible. With transcripts or recaps, users can still benefit from key takeaways even though they weren’t there. Transcripts also helps with keeping participants engaged and retained, because they know if they miss a chat, there’s a resource available for them to catch up and attend the next round.

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A. Sandy (Writer and IT Project Manager)

I joined my first Twitter Chat today which happened to be for MBU and can say that I really enjoyed it! Why?….

First, it was an upbeat environment. Everyone who joined seemed to be having fun – at least that is the impression I got from watching the interactions. It’s always great to be a part of a group that is encouraging, respectful, and enjoyable to “be around”.

Second, being able to network with new people is always a plus! I started following others who joined and gained followers as well from the interactions. Making connections is a huge reason for social media networking to begin with!

Third, I believe it is a great display of support. For any Twitter Chat, attendance is an obvious show of  interest for the topic and the desire to be a part of something.

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There you have it.  The experts’ opinions on why Twitter Chats are so helpful (possibly even essential) in your social media strategy.  So, join us at our next Twitter Chat this coming Tuesday –> 9p EST/EDT with hashtag #SocialCafe and let’s reap those benefits, shall we?