Since launching in July 2006, Twitter has come a long way. It started as a way for people to share their personal opinions in 140 characters. As time went on, it became the next big marketing thing for businesses. Now, few businesses can’t go without it since it is a way to communicate with customers. Recently, I learned that Twitter can be used as more of a marketing tool though.
With the growing popularity of Twitter, it is no surprise that Twitter chats have also grown as time as gone on. I remember first learning about Twitter chats in college through PRSSA, but never participated in them. In fact, it wasn’t until recently that Account Manager Mike Hall and I started doing chats regularly as Netvantage. Since we have been doing these chats for a few months now, I have learned how powerful they can be and wanted to share why you or your business should be doing them too.
Improves Your Social Media Engagement
Kind of a no brainer, but the days when I look at analytics.twitter.com and look at stats from the days we participate in chats compared to the days we don’t, it is clear that we are doing something right by participating in these chats. Any social media manager will tell you that using a hashtag can improve your reach, but using the hashtag of a Twitter chat amplifies that reach even more.
The chat is a great way to meet new people. When doing a chat, we usually try to follow people we engage with and sometimes they follow us back. This in-turn leads to engagement down the line. If you are active on Twitter and continue to reply, favorite, or RT tweets of someone you met in a Twitter chat, you are likely to receive some Twitter love back.
Learn Something New
Twitter chats are also great for learning about new techniques and tools. I learned about one of my favorite new tools, Answer the Public, recently in a Twitter chat.
I’ll just be in my office playing with this new tool I learned about during the #SEOchat today: http://t.co/OBzu9IvCdd K, bye.
— Lexie Kimball (@LexieKimball) October 8, 2015
Twitter chats are a great learning tool for novices in the industry. After being in the industry for 4 years, I still learn from the chats. Some of the questions that the hosts ask, I don’t have answers to, but I sit back and read responses, ask responders questions, etc. and can learn from the experience.
Get a Fresh Perspective
Twitter chats also allow you to bounce ideas off of someone else in your industry and get a new perspective. Chances are you aren’t the only person in the industry experiencing a certain problem and if you can find out how a different industry expert was able to solve the issue, why not use the power of the internet to do so?
Are you Convinced?
If you are convinced and willing to give a Twitter chat a try, here are a few of my favorites. But first, I would highly suggest using tchat.io to participate or simply follow along for a chat. At times the chats can become overwhelming, especially when you are just starting out. If that’s the case, hide the retweets; I’ve found that it makes the feed a little cleaner.
#CMWorld
Host: Content Marketing
Time: Tuesdays at 12pm ET
What I like about the #CMWorld chat is they cover a variety of topics. Due to the range of topics, we don’t always participate, but when we do, we aren’t disappointed.
#SEMRushChat
Host: SEMrush
Time: Wednesdays at 11am ET
SEMrush hosted the first chat Mike and I ever participated in so I will always be partial to it. They have a very big Twitter chat following, which I think they have earned and deserve due to how great their chats are each week. The big following helps with engagement and really does help you learn a lot.
#OrganikChat
Host: Organik SEO
Time: Thursdays at 4:30pm ET
The #OrganikChat is one of the smaller chats we participate in. Sometimes due to the size, I feel like it is more personal, therefore better to tweet as myself as opposed to Netvantage. Their chat is great to get your feet wet since it is a very friendly group of people who participate each week.
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