Hosting your own Twitter Chat can be an excellent way to interact with your clients and other business professionals. It will give you the opportunity to get to know your community, as well as promote your brand and business though relationships and conversation!

First, allow me to clarify what a Twitter Chat actually is A Tweet Chat is a public conversation centered around one unique hashtag, which allows individuals to follow and participate in a discussion. Hosting a Tweet Chat for business purposes is an effective way to interact with clients and make you the CELEBRITY of your niche market!

Step #1: Pick a topic that generates buzz!

For your Tweet Chat, you can identify a topic in your industry that people are talking about, or even address some questions that your clients have about your company. What conversation do you want to have with your followers? What types of discussions could grow your business and promote your brand? Remember, when you do choose a topic, make sure you stick to it throughout your entire Twitter Chat!

Step #2: Choose a unique hashtag!

This step is important, because this is HOW clients will follow your conversational event. Once you’ve decided on a hashtag that is suitable for your event (this can also be your company hashtag if you have one), and researched to make sure it’s not already being used, it’s time to register it! This will give you ownership of the hashtag. I suggest going to http://twubs.com/ and registering Once on the site, click “Register Your Hashtag.” That’s it!

Step #3: Set up a day and time!

Next, let your clients know when your Tweet Chat “event” will be taking place, and don’t forget to address different time zones! You can advertise your Tweet Chat by writing a blog about it, emailing desired participants or promoting it on your other social media platforms. Tell your audience the time of your Tweet Chat “event,” the topic that will be discussed, your unique hashtag and why they should join the conversation!

Step #4: Run your Tweet Chat!

Remember this checklist when it comes time to run your Tweet Chat:

1. Start with a welcome (give your followers a few minutes to say hello)
2. Announce your chat topic
3. Tweet your own thoughts and ideas on that topic/ask your first question
4. Give at least 5 minutes for your chat participants to share their ideas
5. Retweet and summarize the best answers
6. Thank everyone for participating
7. Tweet the chat conclusions

Ok, so you have set up a hashtag on Twitter, set a date, invited your party and now it is time to run your Twitter Chat! Have your clients go to TweetChat.com and type in your unique hashtag at the very top. This will bring them to your Twitter Chat event! (It is also easiest to run your Tweet Chat from TweetChat.com because the site is set up specifically for Twitter Chats )

Also, when you use TweetChat.com you have the option to set up automated Tweets. For example, if you wanted to post a different question every 5 minutes, you can use TweetChat.com to do so The “style” of your Tweet Chat really depends on whether you need automated Tweets. Are you only posting questions? Do you prefer an open discussion? Are you running a contest?

Step #5: Remember, the Tweet Chat may be over, but the conversation continues!

Remember, when your Tweet Chat comes to a close, your followers can still continue to have discussions centered around your unique hashtag Make sure you check and see what conversations are going on about you and your business, and continue to build relationships! Tweet Chats are just one of the many social media marketing tactics that you can use to grow your business and become a true CELEBRITY!