I have been on Twitter since May of 2008 and I have tweeted over 23,000 tweets (not sure if I should be proud, embarrased or ashamed!?) Some of you may just be getting on Twitter, so congratulations! While you’re at it, there is this other new thing called Pinterest, you might as well just jump on that bandwagon too. Go ahead take the plunge – get social media soaked!
I have built a business on leveraging social media and I get asked a lot of questions, so I thought maybe I should just write some of this stuff down. These are not wikipedia or google definitions and this is not the only way to do it – but it is the savvy sassy way.
What is a Twitter Party?
A twitter party is a conversation that takes place on twitter by using a # hashtag. A twitter party usually happens on a certain day and at a specific time. A twitter party is just like any other social engagement or get together you might attend in real life except you can be in your pajamas and fuzzy slippers. Usually there is a blog post that announces the party and acts like an invitation. The basic who, what, where, when, why still applies even for an online party. The conversation is guided by the twitter party host or hostesses. These twitter parties can also be called a twitter chat. Twitter parties can be just a fun conversation or they may have more of an agenda and can also be used for educational purposes.
Hashtags #: There are hashtags for a variety of topics and for many reasons. There are ongoing hashtags that you can search to find people that are talking about a topic you might be interested in or a certain trending topic, news story or even your favorite tv show. Examples: #breastfeeding, #savvyblogging, #travel, #fashion #kids #grammys #oscars and even hashtags just for fun like the popular #justsayin for when you have a random thought.
Hashtags for twitter parties are usually temporary unless it is a reoccurring party that happens weekly or monthly. Die hard fans of popular tv shows will use hashtags during the show to comment about the show or talk smack;) the #bachelor hashtag is a perfect example. Real life events will also have hashtags so that everyone attending that event, party or conference can communicate and share details or important information for that event.
Why are hashtags important?
They allow you to sort or clear your twitter stream so you will only see those tweets that are relavant to that conversation or topic. Another reason hashtags are important are so brands and companies can track the conversation and see the statistics of that hashtag.
How do you track a Twitter hashtag?
There are a few tools to track social media reach and hashtags. Three common ones are TweetReach, Social Report and Hashtracking.
How can I participate in a Twitter party?
You join a twitter party by simply searching the #hashtag in the twitter search box and follow what is being said and tweeted with that hashtag. You can join the conversation by just simply using that #hashtag in your tweet. These are public, so just jump in, reply to someone, click on articles or blog posts that relate to the party’s topic or just read and observe what is being said.
Twitter Party Tools: Tweedgrid, Hootsuite, Tweetdeck and Tweetchat. The tool I use for all my twitter parties is TweetGrid. It will divide your twitter stream into 3 neat columns so you don’t miss a thing during the party. Simply go to TweetGrid.com – click PARTY and then this form will appear and you just fill in the blanks!
*Important: TweetGrid will need you to login and connect to your twitter account before you can start tweeting. Click the BLUE Login. It will ask for you to authorize the twitter app with your twitter password. Then you are all set!
*The hashtag will automatically be attached to all your tweets so you do not have to keep re-typing it. 🙂
After you login / autorize the twitter app, you will see 3 columns:
Left Column: Tweets from anyone using the party #hashtag
Center Column: Are the Tweets from the twitter party host/hostess
Right Column: Is anyone that replies directly to @you
Sponsors: Yes, twitter parties and chats can be sponsored, but do not let that deter you from joining. Sponsors want to engage and join a conversation typically that is in aligned with their brand. Twitter parties are a perfect way to interact with products, brands and services, they should add to the party not control it.
Prizing:
During the twitter party there may be prizes to win! You can win by simply participating or answering certain questions attached to prizing. The host usually begins the tweets associated with the prizes with Q1, Q2, Q3 etc… and the winners are drawn randomly.
RSVP: Some twitter parties require an RSVP and all you need to do is link up your twitter handle. I use Simply-linked.com for all my twitter parties.
Example:
Link Title: Is your twitter handle @savvysassymoms
E-mail: Will not be displayed or distributed
URL: http://twitter.com/savvysassymoms
Now you are ready to Party!
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Comments
Very helpful! I am totally new to Twitter and just learned about the parties…. I googled about it and came across this, very insightful! Thank you so much 🙂