The importance of Twitter as a business marketing and communications tool is well documented. More than 500 million tweets are generated daily by more than 300 million users. An estimated 80 percent of those users access Twitter on the go from their mobile devices. Twitter engagement in 2015 is only predicted to continue growing – which means if your company is not yet on Twitter, these four easy steps to hosting your own Twitter party should be next on your to-do list to boost your Twitter engagement in a matter of a day.
Step #1: Partner to Co-Host a Twitter Party
Whether your business is brand-new to building engagement on Twitter or you already have a built-in following, you only stand to gain from partnering up with a fellow business or organization for your Twitter party. You will both boost Twitter engagement and gain more Twitter followers fast by teaming up and pooling your connections. If you are brand new to Twitter and want to approach a partner who has a robust Twitter following, be sure you can answer the question, “Why should we partner with you?” (hint: because you have something complementary that their existing customers want!) As well, now that Twitter is launching curated event feeds to help followers find content they want and need, partnering with the right co-host can give both companies double the exposure to their target markets.
Step #2: Choose the Right Date and Time
The key to a successful Twitter party is simple – pick the right date and time for your audience. For example, if you want to reach busy moms, don’t plan to host your party during the dinner hours (in any time zone)! You may have to do some preliminary trials to discover what the ideal times and days are for your desired attendees, but don’t skip this step. The success of your Twitter party in being able to boost Twitter engagement literally depends on it!
Step #3: Promote the Heck Out of It Before, During, and After
If you’ve ever thrown a party and no one showed up, you already know the importance of pre-promotion. Let people know about your Twitter party – on Twitter, of course, but also elsewhere (especially if you are new to Twitter). Post it on your blog, on your Facebook page, and send out an email with a link to your Twitter page (bonus: this can also help you add more Twitter followers fast in advance of your party).
Step #4: Jump in and Participate!
It doesn’t make much sense to host a party you don’t plan to attend – if you don’t want to be there, why should anyone else? To generate fast twitter followers, engage with everyone who attends your Twitter party. To boost Twitter engagement in 2015, make your company’s presence known and felt, make sure every attendee knows they are recognized, and, to that end, try to ensure there are several company personnel in attendance to make sure everyone who attends your Twitter party is seen, heard, and responded to. Conduct question and answer sessions, ask partygoers for their feedback and ideas, and keep promoting the party all during the time it is happening live (this will help draw in other Twitter users who may be online but may not realize there is a party happening).
Some good tools to use for these events include TweetDeck and TweetChat.
When you invest the time to partner with the right co-host, plan your Twitter party to coincide with the best time your followers will likely engage, promote how fun it will be for attendees and participate throughout the party. For the best results, be sure to analyze your Twitter engagement and percentage of new followers right after the event, so you know what worked, what didn’t and what to try for next time. Then schedule another Twitter party right away, so your new followers have an immediate reason to stay engaged.
