What is a Twitter Party?

First things first: Let’s make sure we’re all on the same page by defining “Twitter Party.” Twitter Parties ...

• Are an online gathering that takes place on Twitter where all attendees are tweeting about the same topic from their personal computers or smart phones and tablets, using a common hashtag (e.g., “#gno”).
• Typically last for one hour.
• While they can be in a physical location together, 99 percent of the time, Twitter Party attendees are gathered online (are not physically together) and can “see” each other, or rather each other’s tweets, by following the party hashtag.
• Are moderated by an agency, blogger/social media influencer, blogger/social media network, brand, and/or business person who is active and has reach on Twitter.
• Include guests made up of folks on Twitter interested in the Twitter Party’s topic, the sponsoring brand, and the moderators’/panelists’ friends.
• Pose a series of questions, directing the topic of conversation (e.g., “family mealtime,” “digital/tech tools to increase productivity,” “tips for planning the perfect vacation,” etc.).
• Welcome everyone and have a flat hierarchy (as opposed to a panel-type discussion or exclusive event) where guests can converse freely with other partygoers, including the sponsoring brand and the moderators.
• Include brand promotion about a product, service, and/or cause. (Optional)
• Include party favors—one or more prizes for party attendees

Who attends a Twitter Party?

A variety of people attend a Twitter Party, including all or some of the following:

• The brand. As many brand representatives as possible should attend a Twitter Party to allow more one-on-one interaction between the brand and target market attendees.
• The agency. If an agency is involved, representatives involved can include: Agency representatives who run the Twitter account for the brand and have authority to speak on behalf of the brand should also attend to ensure questions are answered in a timely manner, campaign message points are sent out, and key tweets are retweeted. Agency representatives who work with the brand and can represent their key message points well.
• The moderators. Party moderators typically come from the brand, the agency, blog/social media influencers, the blog/social media network a brand/agency partners with to run the event (such as Mom It Forward Media’s Social Media Influencer Network), a celebrity or spokesperson, or anyone who is versed in hosting a Twitter Party or who can get up-to-speed prior to the event.
• The panelists. Panelists are typically made up of a small group of people, including blog/social media influencers and celebrities and/or spokespeople who are passionate about or representatives of the brand and can speak in a loyal, enthusiastic way about the products, services, and/or cause.
• Party attendees. Anyone who joins by including the party’s hashtag(s) in tweets or who responds to the questions sent out during the party.

How do you join a Twitter Party?

All that you need to do is log into Twitter and follow the party hashtags. From there, you'll be able to see the tweets that are being sent out throughout the party. Our Twitter parties typically start at 9:00 p.m. ET and end at 10:00 p.m. ET.

How do you participate in a Twitter Party?

One helpful program we like to use is Tweetdeck (it's free!). If you have a Twitter account, then simply log into Tweetdeck and set up a column so that it tracks the party hashtag. During the party, follow that column and chime in as you see fit. Tweetdeck is a lifesaver during Twitter parties. Plus, you can use Tweetdeck to schedule tweets ahead of time if need be.

With that being said, ensure that all team members are setup on Twitter, know how to use whatever platform on which you’ll be hosting the party (e.g., Tweetdeck), and understand how to use Twitter, including retweeting, hashtags, @ replies, and the difference between public and direct messages.

Suggest to team members to prepare answers to the Twitter Party questions in advance. They can either schedule these to go out or can copy and paste them as soon as the questions are tweeted out during the Twitter Party. All crafted answers should:

• Include the Twitter Party hashtag(s).
• Include trimmed links to posts or your brand’s website as relevant.
• Be written in a way that generates further discussion (for example, by including a question at the end).
• Support your key message points and specific calls to action for the campaign.

Recommend that all team members, if they already haven’t, attend a Twitter Party or two before your brand’s online event to get the feel for the fast flowing nature of these events. Most Twitter Party newbies are not able to tweet as much during their first few parties. Engaging in an event or two before your event will help them get the practice and comfort that they need to tweet more during your event.

Also, it's helpful to prepare answers to the questions prior to the party. If team members didn’t or don’t prefer to preschedule their answers to the Twitter Party questions, encourage them to copy and paste those and tweet them out right as the questions are asked. Because they will have upwards of five or six minutes left between questions, instruct them to organically tweet during this time frame by doing the following:

• Reply to other attendees’ tweets, staying as on topic as possible.
• Encourage further discussion (and more tweets) by asking attendees follow-up questions in response to their answers.
• Favorite and/or retweet tweets that highlight the brand or provide awesome tips on the Twitter Party’s theme to get more eyeballs on these types of tweets.
• Engage in a conversation with an attendee about a specific tip he/she shares to gather more information and to keep the conversation going.
• Welcome people as they join by simply tweeting: “Glad you’ve joined us!” or other such salutations. Helping attendees feel as welcome and included as possible is a great way to generate more tweets.

What types of tweets should you send out during a Twitter Party?

Tweet as much as possible, including:

• All of the tweets on the Run of Show if not pre-scheduled Answers to every questions
• @ Replies to as many tweets as possible (varying your outreach and not focusing on only one or two people)
• Retweets as it makes sense
• Favorite tweets as it makes sense

The beauty of having FORWARD Influence manage the Twitter party is that we do all of the background and legwork for you. We'll line up the panelists, schedule the tweets based on the Run of Show (the scheduled tweets will be sent out from @momitforward), join the party and engage with the attendees, and prepare a metrics report at the end of the party.

In other words, all that you need to do is log into Twitter (preferably via Tweetdeck), follow the party hashtags, join the conversation (be sure to include the hashtags in your tweets), and have fun!