Twitter marketing trends come and go, but the Twitter party is here to stay. Like we mentioned last week, many big brands are hosting these virtual fiestas in honor of New York Fashion Week. But the appeal of the Twitter party stretches far beyond the catwalk. Bloggers, brand spokespeople, authors, actors and athletes have all gotten in on the action. Authors with how-to books, lawyers with legal services, makeup artists with their own line of cosmetics, etc. all use Twitter parties as a way to answer questions from the Twitterverse while selling their services and products. A Twitter party lasts no more than two hours, is well-promoted in the days leading up to the event and is relatively easy to organize. But just how do you throw a great Twitter party? And why should you bother in the first place?
Twitter parties, first and foremost, should be used by Twitter-for-business experts who really engage with their followers. If you’ve got over a thousand followers on Twitter whom interact with you and your brand, then a party can really be a lot of fun. If you’re just starting out, not huge on tweeting back and forth with your followers and don’t use Twitter regularly, then sorry — Twitter parties aren’t for you. The party in question is actually a real-time discussion hosted by a tweeter who gives the party a hashtag so all who want to attend can use the hashtag to be part of the action. When picking a hashtag for your Twitter party, make sure it reflects the topic or product you want to talk about. Also, the hashtag should be sweet, short and specific.
Once you’ve got what you want to talk about and your hashtag, you’re gonna want some guests. Give yourself a week to two weeks to get the word out about your party by sending out tweets with the time, theme and hashtag of your event. Use your other social networks and your blog to let people know about the party, too. Lastly, every party needs a good host — and that should be you. Make sure you’re using a dashboard like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck to keep track of all of the tweets and so you can answer questions quickly and keep the party going. Adding a co-host, a product giveaway and a game could help the time be more fun and really fly by.
Twitter parties are a fun way to talk with your following, gain more fans and get the word out about your company. So grab your laptop and your favorite beverage and get your Twitter party started!
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