Each day, we field lots of requests from companies and organizations to list their Twitter parties and chats on our calendar. About half the time, we get everything we need to make an informed post in our weekly e-newsletter or in a tweet.

However, often we find that the company or organization hosting the event makes the information difficult to locate. We end up having to do some detective work to get the facts straight.

So much work goes into planning and organizing a live Twitter event. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to draw more people to your party or chat by leaving out important information about your event or making it a challenge for people to find it. If prospective attendees have to dig to learn about it, they might end up skipping the event altogether.

Here are some tips to make your party or chat easy to learn about:

Information/Registration/Landing Page: Often upon hearing about your event, people who are interested want to know more. They have questions that they want quick, concise answers to: When is the party? How do I attend? Are there giveaways or guest hosts? Who is eligible? By including a link in your tweets or posts that directs people to a landing page listing complete event information, you’ll make it easy for them to learn about your event, and reduce the chance that you’ll field lots of questions beforehand. Simply tweeting the date, time and hashtag usually isn’t enough. A well laid-out info page will answer everyone’s questions and help entice people to attend. You can set up a page on your website or blog, create a Facebook event page to link to, or even use a third-party site such as Twtvite to create an ‘invitation’ page that can be shared across social networks.

The Five W’s: In creating an information page, don’t forget the who/what/where/when/why of your party or chat.

• Who: List who the hosts are and their Twitter IDs. Also, if you have giveaways with certain eligibility requirements or terms, be sure to list that information as well. If your giveaways are intended only for U.S. residents, make that clear on your info/landing page. You might want to link to a more detailed page with official rules for those who are interested in the fine print.
• What: List what exactly will happen during your event — what the theme is, topics/discussion points that will be covered, and any sponsors for the event or giveaways. The more details the better.
• Where: Letting people know what hashtag(s) are to be used — or how to find your party on Twitter — is a must.
• When: List the date. When listing the time, be sure to make it clear what time zone you are referring to.
• Why: Each party should have a theme, or purpose. Is it to inform people about a new company or product? To raise money or awareness for a non-profit? To network with other mompreneurs? To trade parenting tips and stories? To coincide with a trade show or conference taking place? Somewhere in your post, be sure to list a reason why the event is happening.
• How: Will your event require registration beforehand? If so, make it clear what an attendee needs to do to enter to win any prizes, if applicable. Also, some of those who want to attend your event might be new to Twitter and/or Twitter parties. Be sure to include information on how they can attend the event, whether it is by using Twitter’s search feature or through a third party application such as Tweet Chat, Tweet Grid or Tweet Deck. To make it easier for you, you can place a link on your info page to the TweeParties Beginner’s Guide to getting started.

Tweets (Short, Sweet & Complete): In tweeting about your event, it’s not enough to say, “Twitter party tonight at 8! Join us!” Be as complete as you can in 140 characters. At a minimum, list the name of the party, date, time, hashtag, and  a shortened link to your information page. If you can fit even more information than that (such as hosts, giveaways, etc.) then do so. The more info you can squeeze into your tweets, the more likely you will have others tweet about your event and follow your link to learn more.

Timing: Sometimes we get wind of a party the day of the event. If you decide at the last minute to have a party — or wait until the same day to announce it — you’re not giving it much of a chance to spread around social networks and be heard. Announce your event at least a few days before the date, to give it time to be tweeted about. With a little more time, you might even get some blogs to pick up the news and help spread the word to their followers.

Looking for a place to start to promote your party? List on our calendar by sending us an e-mail at [email protected]. We’ll list it and tweet about it, free of charge. If you need help in planning your party, we can help with all of your hosting needs! Visit our hosting page for more info and to request pricing.

Tags: hosting tips, twitter chat, Twitter party