A Tweet Chat is pre-organized event on Twitter using #Hashtags to group all tweets. It is a great way to host an online conference or promote an upcoming event. Twitter Chats are drop in events and are very casual. During a Tweet chat there is generally a moderator who welcomes the followers and keeps the conversation moving in the right direction. The Tweet Chat usually consists of questions and answers. All questions are regarded as Q1, Q2, Q3 and all answers are recorded as A1, A2, A3. Since this conference is taking place on Twitter all questions and answers must be less than 140 characters. Moderators generally ask participants to retweet all questions and answers. This helps spread the word of the event and helps gain new participants.

Tips for organizing a Tweet Chat:

• Set a date and time ( approx 1hr)
• Invite participants- consider inviting special guests who can both help draw attention to the event as well as can share a unique perspective of the topic ( ex. authors, industry experts, employees etc)
• Create a information page on your website, blog or Facebook group with Tweet Chat info including: date and time, topic, #hashtag, information on Tweet Chat, list of questions, instructions of how a Tweet Chat works
• Have the attendees use Tweet Chat to follow all responses in one simple location. Nice thing about Tweet Chat is it automatically adds the #hashtag into the post
• Create a #hashtag (keep it short) for the event and send it in the invite to each of the participants
• Create an agenda – Your welcome message, list of questions, your closing statements

Tips for participating in a Tweet Chat:

• Don’t be afraid jump in ask questions and post comments
• Remember to include the #hashtag with  each tweet ( unless you are using Tweetchat.com it automatically adds the #hashtag
• Remember to label Questions with a Q and Answers with a A