What I Learned From Hosting My First Twitter Chat
A couple of Wednesday’s back I hosted the first ever #jennypurrchat and it was so much fun to spend an hour connecting with the blogging community. It was also an opportunity for me to step out of my comfort zone as I’m usually pretty quiet on social media (mostly out of shyness and my super introverted ways). So many people joined in the conversation and at one point I was struggling to keep up, but I enjoyed it so much and I’m super excited to host another one soon.
Keep next Wednesday 25th from 9pm-10pm free for #jennypurrchat, a Twitter chat for bloggers & creatives.
If you’re new to Twitter chats, if they scare you a little like they did me, or if you’re thinking of hosting your own, today I’m sharing three lessons I learned to make the process as streamlined, fuss free, and fun as possible.
TweetDeck is your best friend TweetDeck is awesome for many things but especially helpful for when you’re joining in with a Twitter chat. You can view the hashtag, your notifications, and your own feed all at the same time which makes it so much easier to keep up and connect. It’s also great for catching up with a chat after it’s finished and I loved re-reading people’s answers and replies the following day.
Have some structure Lauren over at Elle & Company gave me the advice to have some structure beforehand so that the whole process could run as smoothly as possible. I had eight questions prepped and planned, all with their own visuals to go alongside the tweet, and my answers ready to go so that I could spend the majority of the chat focused on engaging with others instead of worrying about the logistics too much. Not only does this make the whole process much easier for you, but I also think it makes it more engaging for people joining in as well.
It’s a place to connect One of the things I really loved about hosting the first #jennypurrchat is that it really felt like a place to connect and engage with each other, instead of just an opportunity to network and self promote. I think going into Twitter chats with the intention of sharing your URL and shouting as loud as possible to be heard and seen is a little pointless these days, whereas making authentic connections and supporting and inspiring others within your niche can so fulfilling and fun. There’s nothing wrong with sharing who you are and what you do, but I think there’s so much more you can take away from a chat if you join in with the intention of just connecting with awesome likeminded people.
How about you? I'm still pretty new to the world of Twitter chats so I would love to know - what do you enjoy about them? Will you be joining in next Wednesday for #jennypurrchat?
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