The Power of the TwitterChat was an agenda item at the Socialize Toronto conference (#socializeconf) I attended recently. It was great to have this discussion in a very diverse group. I personally had not appreciated the value of TwitterChats until I attended them myself. Although I have spent significant time on-line, the idea of “140 character chats” did not really sit with me. “What can I possibly gain when I have to limit my opinions and thoughts to 140 characters in a TwitterChat?” Well, since that bias thinking, I have tweeted my way through countless conferences and have been totally engaged with both the presenters and other tweets. So what is the difference! As a result, I started to attend TwitterChats and now I am hooked! TwitterChats are so valuable- oh my! The selections are amazing. You get to meet new people in different sectors, functions and generations. I recently attended the GenYchat- fascinating. Now why are Twitterchats of value? I mined the richness of the conversation at the conference with my own thoughts.
Here are 10 reasons why TwitterChats are of value:
- Twitterchats generate new ideas to support your interest or business.
- You can collect answers or ideas to solve problems from a group of experts.
- You can learn about a new topic from a subject matter expert or Thought-Leader.
- You can build relationships within and outside your field – thereby increasing the size and reach of your network.
- You can build relationships with your target audience on a level that is more personal in a TwitterChat. Now that is powerful! Heelloo!
- You can increase your exposure- it could be your personal and/or business brand.
- You can use it as a resource to gather key information- a wealth of information is generated during TwitterChats which can be mined for valuable content.
- You can take the opportunity to listen to needs, wants which can potentially be leads.
- You can build a community by moderating your own TwitterChats.
- You can build credibility- you can increase awareness of the value you bring to the table (soft sell).
- You can build your own Thought-Leadership.
Ok that was 11. One extra pearl for reading my post! 
You must admit, these are all valuable points to succeed both as an entrepreneur or business. It is currently so under-rated. Big mistake.
Twebevent has a listing of a number of upcoming TwitterChats. There are excellent articles below that
highlight great chats that you could consider. I personally attend a number of TwitterChats they include #AtomicChat (Content Marketing) with @Atomic_Reach; #EAvchat (Empire Avenue) with @MQTodd; Toolschat (best of Twitter tools) with @MQTodd; more recently #GenYchat with @WriterChanelle and I have added #Bizforum with @SamFioella to my schedule.
So join a TwitterChat , or better still you why not consider moderating one.
Here are a few tips if you decide to join or moderate a TwitterChat:
- TwitterChats are about the community- so treat it accordingly
- Some TwitterChats have guidelines- so you may want to review prior to the chat by contacting the moderator.
- Advise your followers that you will be joining a TwitterChat (the same is true if you tweet at conferences)
- Introduce yourself with a hello at the beginning of a chat. Actually you should also introduce yourself if you are late too.
- Stay on topic with your contributions.
- Do not spam.
- Do not self promote (unless asked).
- If you are moderating- consider yourself a facilitator of the session.
- Be courteous.
Now it is your turn. Let me know the chats you would (or would not) recommend. Or if there are additional values you can think of – do share.
Cheers!
Shirley
Cartoon used with the permission of Cartoonist.
Twitter image by shirley williams
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Shirley, thank you for mentioning us in your chat, we are so honored to be in great company! And thank you for always attending #AtomicChat. You always produce great questions and comments, which always amps up our weekly discussions. Can’t wait to get you on as one of our guest speakers in the near future – if you’re still interested. Keep on the rockin’ the content marketing world, chat soon!
It is a pleasure! In such a short time your community has provided not only harvesting quality content on your site but the chats are great! Keep it up!…. so anyone reading this> join #AtomicChat on Mondays at 9pm EST
Thanks for sharing – tweet chat is relatively new to me, and I’m learning by participating. Hopefully, I’ll confirm every item listed in your summary.
Nicolas, it is good to see you here! As I mentioned above, I was a skeptic in the beginning and keeping up with the comments were a challenge but then I realized I got good at it. It really increased the breath of my audience and I certainly have made good connections because of it. I love learning – so I tend to choose those that I can learn from and ask questions. I also stick with the one’s where there is a sense of inclusion- which is very important for me. Let me know how you do. Would love to hear.
Excellent! I love the simple execution
And I am learning so much from tweet chat as well. Thanks for sharing these tips.
Hey! Thank you for passing by and providing feedback Val! So appreciated.
Shirley,
Thank you so much for including #GenYChat in your post. I hope it continues to be a place where you can both gain and share insight as we speak to issues that cut across all generations.
I’m so glad you made the statement about putting away the bias and allowing yourself to learn 140 characters at a time. Twitter chats can be educational because people are forced to cut the jargon. Whether you send one tweet or multiple tweets, you can get your point across in any style you choose. If a person is really paying attention to you, they won’t miss the point and will want to follow you because you share good conversation.
Chanelle!
How lovely to see you here! You are so welcome. I am thrilled to be part of your sessions.
You make a great point! You are absolutely right- you are forced to get to the point and heart of the matter with the 140 cut-off.
Thank you for visiting my “block” in social media!
I’d like to add 2 valuable resources to this great post. Check out Andrew Spong’s post How to host a tweet chat http://stwem.com/2011/08/31/how-to-host-a-tweet-chat/
For people interested in finding health-related chats be sure to reference this index by Symplur.com http://www.symplur.com/healthcare-hashtags/ There are tweet chats by disease, by health discipline, and of course the family of health care social media (#hcsm) chats by country or region.
Tweetchats are a great entry into understanding the value of Twitter and give you direct access to a ready-made group of people with a common interest to help you build your social capital.
Colleen
Thank you for visiting – providing addtional context and this resource. It is so much appreciated!