Twitter Chats 101Lessons from #builtheritage in how to plan, promote, and implement a Twitter chat program to promote your organization or cause.

SARAH HEFFERN - @SMHEFFERN - APRIL 5, 2013

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Tweet this Presentation!

• Me: – @smheffern (Sarah Heffern)– From @PresNation (National Trust for Historic Preservation)

• Our Host:– @afshop (Anthony Shop) – From @SocialDriver (Social Driver)

• The Venue:– @PressClubDC (National Press Club)

• Hashtag it:– #GetItOnline

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What is #BuiltHeritage?

• Participants: – 50+ each month– Core group, plus newbies– International audience: US, Canada, UK, Turkey, Australia– Not just preservationists – tourism, sustainability, urban enthusiasts

• Volume:– 250-500 tweets per one-hour chat

• Has now become a non-chat hash tag

• Join us: first Wednesday of each month, 4pm ET

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What is #BuiltHeritage?

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Step 1: Tagging & Timing

• What is the chat about?

• Select a unique hashtag if possible.

• Brainstorm a lot of ideas – use Twitter searches to see what’s in use.

• Keep it consistent.

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Step 1: Tagging & Timing

• When is going to work best for your audience?

• “Same bat time, same bat channel.”

• If you need to change it, announce it early and often.

• (But seriously: keep it consistent.)

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Step 2: Select a Topic

• What issues are you already involved in?

• What do you want to be doing?

• Peg to already-planned events & announcements.

• Work with your partners.

• Crowdsource!

• Plan ahead.

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Step 3. Promote, Promote, Promote

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Step 4. Moderate

• Don’t go it alone!

• Before the chat starts:– Have questions pre-written and ready to go. – Make sure you have a ringer or two tuned in.

• Once the chat begins:– Set ground rules and explain the format.– Ask the questions at set intervals.– Retweet and star key responses.– Keep an eye on tangets.

• Pro tip: Use TweetChat! www.tweetchat.com

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Step 5. Follow Up

• Storify www.storify.com– Use starred tweets from the chat to build a recap.

• Tweet Archivist www.tweetarchivist.com– Download a transcript of the hashtag.– No longer free, but highly useful.

• IFTTT– Create a recipe to feed hashtag into Google Drive.

• Use recap to start promoting the next chat.

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The second annual #builtheritage tweetup at the National Preservation Conference.

Step 6. Take it Offline

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Questions?