You might have heard the term ‘Twitter Party’ tweeted about here & there on Twitter. But what are they and why should you consider having one?

Twitter parties are live, online events held on Twitter that are usually hosted by a company or organization that wants to introduce its products, services or cause to a social media-savvy audience. Twitter parties occur at a specific date and time, and people ‘attend’ the event by tweeting the party’s designated hashtag in each tweet they send. They also search for that specific tag to find others who are participating in the same conversation.

The terms Twitter ‘party’ and Twitter ‘chat’ are often used interchangeably. However, Twitter chats are typically seen as recurring events (weekly or monthly) that focus on a specific topic of interest to a special interest group, niche or industry (for example: #smallbizchat or #sewingchat). On the other hand, a Twitter party is usually a one-time event sponsored by a company or organization with the intent to market their products, services or as in the case of a non-profit-its mission.

Maybe you’ve attended a Twitter party or chat or perhaps you are a company thinking about throwing one? If so, here are ten reasons why you might want to consider setting a date and donning your Twitter party hat:

10. They’re inexpensive. Traditional advertising campaigns can cost thousands of dollars to set up and execute. By comparison, Twitter parties are inexpensive. You’ll have to pay for your time to organize the event-or for another company to set it up and run it-as well as the cost of prizes and fulfillment. But these costs are small compared with what it costs to run an ad in a magazine or other form of traditional media.

9. They’re newsworthy. A Twitter party is news: it becomes an event that you can promote by tweeting, posting, announcing via a press release, a Facebook ad, etc. It is something that people can attend from any place that has an available internet connection. It becomes something you can promote, announce or invite people to, just like an in-person event. We’ve even seen Twitter parties mentioned on news sites. Why? Because a party thrown by a company or organization — even a virtual one — that is open to everyone is, well…news!

8. You’ll build buzz for your brand. Tweets about Twitter parties get noticed, especially when prizes or guest celebrities are involved. People get excited about parties and like to tweet and retweet information about them. Sometimes companies will even have a pre-party tweeting contest to help build even more buzz for the party. When you throw a Twitter party, you will see many more tweets mentioning you and your brand. If you want to give your buzz factor a boost, try a Twitter party.

7. You just might become a trending topic. When you have many people tweeting one hasthag at the same time, you have a greater chance of trending. More and more chats and parties are becoming trending topics each day, which is valuable, since becoming a promoted tweet (the top spot in the left column) costs approximately $120K per day. People watch the left column to see what’s trending. If your hashtag trends, you’ll have a greater chance that more people will click on your topic and wonder what it’s all about (and in turn, learn more about your business).

6. You’ll open the lines of communication between you & your followers. By making yourself available for a live one-hour chat with your followers, you’ll lend some transparency to your brand and add a human element to your social media presence. People like to know they can talk to a brand — ask questions, have a conversation with the company and know that they are being heard. Once you start a conversation with those who attend, it’s likely to be one that will continue once the party is over.

5. You’ll gain followers. People who attend a Twitter party usually end up following the sponsor or hosts. Will they unfollow you afterward? Perhaps. But if you give them a great party to attend filled with helpful tips, links, and prizes, they’re more likely to stick around afterward and really listen and respond to what you have to say.

4. You just might learn something. Often companies ask for feedback about their products & services from atttendees. I’ve been surprised by how many clients have told us they really learned something about their customers or received valuable feedback during a party. The conversation might give you a fresh perspective on your business or insight into your audience’s wants and needs.

3. You’ll make friends. Why do we say ‘friends’ instead of ‘followers?’ When the party starts, you will gain new followers who follow you for the sake of following the chat. However, converse with them, answer their questions, give them helpful tips, and those followers will likely turn into friends — or people you’ve established a relationship with, who just might in turn like you enough to become advocates for your brand.

2. You’ll give your brand a boost. If you send out one tweet, how often does it get retweeted? Maybe by a few followers-if you’re lucky? As we mentioned above, a Twitter party becomes news: it’s an event anyone can participate in. There are prizes involved, which helps generate excitement on Twitter. A Twitter party is an event that often gets lots of buzz on Twitter: many retweets, mentions, posting of links with more information. If you would like to boost your brand’s social media presence, organize a Twitter party and make yourself newsworthy.

1. They’re fun. Who doesn’t like to go to a party? In-person parties are fun - - and virtual ones are no different. Sometimes there are celebrity spokespeople who drop in to chat, prizes to be won, special offers, coupons and helpful tips and advice to be learned by participants. Host a Twitter party, and you’re likely to develop a reputation as a truly fun company to follow social media.

So if you’ve thought about having a Twitter party or chat, what are you waiting for? Give it a try! And if you need some help getting started, check out our homepage at TweeParties.com.

Over the years, we have all seen the articles: Facebook Beats MySpace; Twitter Challenges Facebook; Will Google+ Take Over Social Media?-And so on. We are often left guessing which titan will fall, and when they do, who will be there to lay claim to the pieces.

However dominant Facebook may now seem, there appears to be a shift in the air: people are playing favorites. Not everyone logs into the same social network everyday. Some networks appear to be attracting certain demographics, turning many into ‘niche networks.’

For example, LinkedIn has positioned itself as the networking leader for business people, while Pinterest has really caught on with females, especially those who love crafting, cooking, decorating and family fun ideas. A jobseeker might log into LinkedIn first thing in the morning, eager to make new connections, while an avid Pinterest user might create a new board to pin ideas on while she enjoys her morning coffee.

New social networks that have cropped up recently are being described as new alternatives to the old standards: Pheed.com and App.net offer social media users a twist on the social network. Pheed.com allows those who create ‘channels’ either offer content for free or charge for it, which some believe might create more meaningful, worthwhile posts. App.net is a paid service that promises add-free content. We checked out Pheed recently, which seems to carry itself with an edgy, cool, ‘insiders’ feel, thanks to a soft launch that courted a number of celebs and musicians. While app.net has positioned itself as an alternative to Twitter, one for those who are serious about technology and  seriously opposed to advertisements.

Rather than seeing one social network replace another, it’s more likely that these networks and any others created hereafter will succeed if they can find — and retain — certain niches (we can’t lay claim to the idea; they’re already being called ‘niche networks’ by many). The idea here being that certain formats and online venues naturally attract certain people. Someone who logs into Pheed to check out his favorite independent artist is most likely not spending the rest of his day pinning pins on Pinterest, and vice versa.

How can this help your business when it comes to social media? Know that it might not pay to be everywhere. Social media is free in the sense that many sites don’t charge a fee to use them, but time really is money. Posting on every site out there might not be worth your time or effort. Instead, know your audience and find your niche. Where are your customers hanging out? On Twitter? Then focus more on tweeting and developing a conversation with them. Are your products visually appealing and likely to be pinned & repinned? Then concentrate more on creating fabulous photographs that will make their way across boards on Pinterest. Are you an up-and-coming brand whose future clients are teens who love hip hop? Then it would be worth setting up a channel on Pheed. Social media can be time consuming. Most of us can’t be everything to everyone. It’s best to find where your audience is and be there too; connect with them where they’re opening and willing to take part in a conversation.

Tags: app.net, pheed.com, social media segmentation

Ever want to know how to host your own live, interactive event on Twitter or how using social media can help give your business an edge?

Learn the ins and outs of planning and hosting a Twitter chat or party during our FREE Webinar this Tuesday, August 2nd at 1pm EST (10am PST)!

We are proud to be part of this weekly webinar series created by Mikaela Louve at Louve Notes Media. Mikaela has done a great job helping small businesses learn about how to best apply social media to their business marketing plans.

During the August 2nd webinar, TweeParties founder & president Erin Boudreau will take attendees through a step-by-step process of creating, promoting, hosting and analyzing a live Twitter event. Learn why Twitter parties and chats are a great way to ‘spread the word’ on Twitter and Facebook about your business, products and services, and to engage your followers in a meaningful, valuable, interactive event.

For more information and to register, please visit this Eventbrite page!

See you at the webinar!

Erin

Tweet

Most people agree that when it comes to social media, one post alone won’t likely boost your business. Instead, each tweet or post is just one small piece over the overall social media marketing puzzle. Just as it takes many bricks assembled together to make a house, each tweet builds on the others until all of our efforts add up to something in the long run. It’s about creating relationships and interest in our products and services and most of the time it’s not about making a quick sale.

But while one tweet cannot make your business, can it break it?

One such scenario that made the news recently was a tweet sent out by designer Kenneth Cole (@KennethCole) that many considered to be in very poor taste. Here’s the tweet that was later removed from Twitter:

Kenneth Cole later issued the following apology on the company’s Facebook page:

“I apologize to everyone who was offended by my insensitive tweet about the situation in Egypt. I’ve dedicated my life to raising awareness about serious social issues, and in hindsight my attempt at humor regarding a nation liberating themselves against oppression was poorly timed and absolutely inappropriate.” - Kenneth Cole, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer

It is unclear what impact-if any-this will have on Kenneth Cole’s business. Today the company still has over 10,000 followers. However, there were dozens of comments left on Kenneth Cole’s Facebook page, reactions ranging from expletives, outrage and promises of boycotts-the kind of publicity no company desires.

So how does one avoid such a mess? It’s easy to say, “Don’t post anything stupid,” but sometimes that might be easier said than done, especially if your business has multiple people manning the social media helm. Here are a few tips to help your company send tweets that don’t garner negative reactions:

Think Before You Tweet. Sounds easy, right? But Twitter is a medium that by its very nature compels people to tweet their latest thoughts and opinions. That’s fine if this is your personal account seen only by friends. But for a business, every tweet becomes part of your public image and might be scrutinized by followers and media alike. It’s good to be current and ‘in-the-moment’ at times, but be sure to think about what you’re tweeting and the impact it might have on your followers. Be sensitive. And when in doubt, leave it out.

Set Standards. If you have more than one person representing your company on Twitter or Facebook, set guidelines for what should and should not be posted. Be explicit about what is and what is not acceptable and make sure everyone understands what is expected of them when tweeting. Just as you want to keep the lines of communication open between you and your followers, do the same with your staff. Regularly meet and discuss what your social media objectives are, what feedback your account has received from followers and fans, and what gets the best reaction. Make social media a team effort. Your online presence should have one consistent voice that followers come to identify and trust, even if many people comprise that voice.

Be Wary of Humor. It’s good for a business to have a personable ‘voice’ on Twitter and Facebook-to let people see that the account is not an automated robot, but rather populated by real people with real personalities who can respond when asked a question. But be careful if you try to make your posts humorous. Everyone’s ‘sense of humor’ is different; what’s funny to one person, might not be so amusing to another. Sometimes written humor can be misconstrued by the readers. Keep in mind what your purpose is. Is it to entertain? Then by all means, crack jokes now and then. But is it to inform and to interact with consumers and provide them with some form of customer service? Then it just might be best to leave the rubber chicken at home.

Be Wary of Politics. Often companies get involved in charitable causes and tweet about fundraisers or organizations they support. But be careful of tweeting or positing about anything of a political nature, unless you want to take a stand or know that the majority of your followers would agree with you. There is evidence that people do not respond or click on links if they do not agree with the political statements being made in them. If you want to engage your followers in a conversation and keep them talking to you (and about you), leave out the politics, unless that type of dialogue complements your business.

Tags: business, etiquette, Facebook, Kenneth Cole, Twitter

I love a writer who not only writes well but also who inspires at the same time. For me, one such writer is Bob Hall. Mr. Hall is a printing industry veteran and every month he writes an insightful column that is published at the beginning of every Quick Printing magazine.

It just so happens, I picked up his magazine this morning, just as I was getting down.

With the beginning of every new year, the prognosticators come out in full force. This year, many forecasts have focused on social media, specifically how social media can or cannot help a business succeed in marketing. The entire concept of using Facebook or Twitter for marketing purposes is so new, no one is 100% certain what the long term gain might be, though some may think they know. A few experts are calling it a fad. Some are saying it’s a waste of time and resources. A big ol’ flash in the pan.

This month, Mr. Hall’s column focuses on past predictions from the experts of their time. Here are just a few the highlights:

• 1880: The lightbulb is a ‘conspicuous failure’
• 1897: Radio has no future
• 1904: Airplanes are interesting toys, but of no military value
• 1916: The cinema is little more than a fad
• 1936: A rocket will never be able to leave the Earth’s atmosphere
• 1961: There is no chance satellites will be used to improve telephone service in the U.S.
• 1962: Transmissions of documents via phone lines (fax) is possible, but not practical

There are so many experts out there who have formed opinions about social media. Some of these experts believe there is no value for a company to get involved in Twitter or Facebook. These experts want hard numbers-sales figures and ROI-and without them right now, they say venturing into social media for a business is pointless and a waste of time.

Some experts have also been critical of events such as Twitter parties, Twitter chats and Tweetups. They question the value of such events, once again claiming that these are a waste of time and money for a company to get involved in.

My prediction: I believe social media is here to stay, not just to interact with family and friends but also with businesses. I also believe that a company that does not get its feet wet now will be scrambling to catch up later. I believe in the power of social media to help us better connect with people whether they are acting as a friend or a consumer. I believe in the power social media can give a company to help it open doors and start conversations that one day will ‘pay off’ down the road.

Will sending one tweet today get you a big sale tomorrow? Probably not. Will throwing one Twitter party next week instantly give you thousands of followers? I doubt it. But this is about relationship-building, about long-term engagement. Isn’t that what I learned about years ago in a class about traditional selling? That it was not about a quick, one-time sale but rather about developing a long-term relationship with the consumer?

I think one of the points of Mr. Hall’s column was that none of us really knows what the future holds for social media. We can make all of the predictions we want, listen to ‘the experts,’ try to be experts ourselves, but until those predictions are proven or not, we really don’t know. That’s why we at TweeParties will continue to forge ahead with our goal of providing companies with the tools they need-at a fair and reasonable price-to hold events on Twitter and inform all of those users who are interested of the who, what, where and when of these events the best we can. Maybe I am a fool and someday the joke will be on me. Only time will tell.

In the meantime, I take all of the prognostications with a grain of salt. And I thank Mr. Hall for another dose of inspiration.

Tags: Facebook, social media marketing, Twitter

Yesterday, I spent a good portion of my day baking cookies with my 3-year-old daughter. Christmas cutouts in the shapes of gingerbread men, the making of which somehow dispersed sprinkles, flour and dough into nearly every nook and cranny of our home.

My daughter had a blast, and so did I. But this was the same recipe I have been making for dozens of years, since I was about her age. Tradition is great, comforting, and fun—but I have vowed to try something new this week and treat my family to a new recipe that will surprise them as long as it’s not burned (which, actually, would be no surprise!).

During the hours that we spent baking, I got to thinking: this principle could be used in the world of social media. So many businesses are trying to leave their mark on Twitter and Facebook. They set up accounts, send out some tweets or posts, and hope all of their efforts make an impact on the bottom line and generate sales.

But as social media marketers (which all business people are, these days), we should always be experimenting, adding new ingredients to our social recipe, and trying something new to keep our followers following. Here are some ideas to keep your Twitter kitchen churning out tweets worth viewing:

Keep it fresh: It takes the right mix of ingredients to make a good recipe. The same goes for social media. If you’re sending out the same tweet every day, people will start to overlook what you post. Keep your tweets interesting and timely. Mix it up! Don’t always tweet about the same subject matter. Make it interesting. Throughout the day, write a couple of tweets about your company. Then include a few informative tweets with tips or news. Have a special offer reserved only for your Twitter followers. Variety is the spice of life…and tweets!

Keep it frequent: The more you bake, the better baker you’ll be and the greater the chance someone will have to sample your offerings. Sending out one tweet per day or a few tweets within an hour might make not much of an impact nor reach many followers. It helps to spread your tweets out over the course of the day. There are programs out there that allow you to schedule tweets to help cover more hours. Sprout Social, Social Oomph and Twuffer are some examples of services that let you pre-program a tweet.

Make it fun: Baking Christmas cookies is all about fun—together! Don’t just send out one-way communiques. Engage your followers. Ask them questions. Get their feedback. Post a survey, hold a contest, a Twitter party or chat. Make your Twitter account fun and something people look forward to viewing. Get your followers talking and they’ll most likely help spread the word about your event and in turn, your company. Don’t talk to your followers. Have a conversation with them.

Make it stand out: Which one would you grab first: a plain cookie or one with frosting & sprinkles? Each tweet you send has the potential either to be overlooked or read. With so many tweets appearing each hour in our timeline, we look for ones that grab our attention either by whom they’re from or how they appear. Try to use language that will get your tweets noticed. Using caps can be effective if you use them sparingly. Write as if you’re talking to a friend (which your followers are!) not like you’re writing a memo. Be conversational. Make your tweets easy to read and succinct. Try to avoid too many abbreviations. The shorter, the better.

Give them something to tweet about: People like to share recipes that are fabulous! So give them tweets that they’ll find so interesting and helpful they will want to share them with their followers. If you just tweet about your own company, you might not generate much sustained interest or retweets. Tweet about what’s happening with you, but also tweet about news, topics and tips your followers might find interesting enough to retweet. Set up a blog and write informative, helpful posts then tweet a link to that post. Make your tweets worth reading and sharing.

The bottom line: Creating a great batch of cookies takes time. Social media won’t instantly bring in big sales. It’s more about creating and building relationships and gaining (and keeping) the attention of your followers. So experiment. Try new things. And alter your recipe now and then to learn what works and what does not. Keep it fresh and you just might find that your efforts lead to followers who are hungry for more.

Tags: business, social media, twitter tips

You probably already have a Twitter account for your business and regularly send out tweets that are informative and helpful to your followers. You might reply to all inquiries and use your Twitter account as a venue for Q&A, customer service or a mode to distribute news and information about your company. But is simply sending out tweets and replying to your followers enough?

One of your main goals for using Twitter for business should be interaction. That’s what social networking is all about: being social. So how do you get your followers to interact with you? Here are five easy, cost-effective steps you can take to convert your followers from being passive readers of tweets to active participants in a conversation.

Hold a Contest Nothing generates more buzz online than word that a company is giving something away. Have a contest and you’re sure to get people tweeting. Encourage your followers to take some sort of action to help spread the word about the contest, either by retweeting or posting the contest info on their Facebook page. Be sure to keep in mind any legal terms and conditions that you will need to adhere to for your contest to be legit. And remember to post your contest guidelines somewhere on your website and link to it in tweets so the rules are easy to follow and view.

Give a Special Offer Make your offer one that’s nearly impossible for a fan to refuse. And make exclusive to Twitter followers or Facebook fans only. With a special offer made just for them, you’ll make them feel special and glad that they’re ‘part of your club’ and following you. It might be a discount, a freebie or a ‘two-for one.’ Regardless, an offer distributed to Twitter or Facebook users alone might help you generate more followers or ‘likes’ and help create a buzz around your offer that can have far-reaching effects through social sites.

Have an Event Throw a Twitter party or a Tweetup as a way to open the lines of communication in a fun, interactive way. Pick a date, time and hashtag, as well as a theme. Invite an expert on the subject of the party to join you as a guest host to help answer questions of those in attendance. Give away some prizes during the party to generate more attention while promoting it and attracting more people to the event. A Twitter party can be a fun and informative event that not only gives your followers the opportunity to learn from you and interact with you in real time, but gets them talking about your business before, during and after the event. (For a guide to the differences between Twitter parties and Tweetups, click here).

Seek Opinions Another great way to engage your followers is to ask them for their input. Often TweeParties has asked our followers about what they like or don’t like about Twitter parties, things they would like to see change, what some of their favorite events have been like, etc.. The feedback we have received not only has shaped the way we host parties, but it also has helped us stay connected with our followers and better understand their needs and expectations. It’s a win/win situation: you engage your followers in a conversation, and you gain valuable feedback that you can apply to make your business even better. You’re also showing your followers that their opinions matter.

Make Them Feel Special People like to feel that they are part of something special. Everyone wants to be a VIP. This last point calls on you to make your followers feel that they are part of a select group or club. They’re your followers so they must be an awesome group of people, right? Make them feel that way by creating special offers or giveaways just for them; let them be the first to learn of any news or changes within your company or with your products or services; and always do what you can to respond to their tweets in a timely manner. Give them a peek at the ‘face’ or personality behind the Twitter avatar. Let them know that there’s a person (or persons) behind those tweets and that you’re hearing what they’re saying. Make a connection and you’re sure to feel the love in return. Or hopefully, feel the love in the form of more tweets and retweets about your business.

Tags: Engage followers, social media tips, Twitter, Twitter party

Every business that uses social media constantly looks for ways to measure the success of its marketing efforts. We check our follower counts and monitor hashtag performance to determine how many times our message is mentioned. Another statistic of interest to marketers is that of ‘reach,’ or ‘the maximum number of Twitter users who possibly could have seen our message.’

For example, say you have 100 followers. Send out one tweet and your reach is 100. If one of those followers retweets your tweet, and they too have 100 followers, your reach extends to 200 people.

Calculating reach can be difficult (if not impossible) to do alone. The more your hashtag is tweeted around the Twitterverse, the more adding up of recipients you would have to do. If you don’t like to be driven to the brink of insanity, then it’s best to leave it to the experts. Tweet Reach helps determine how far your hashtag, keyword or url spreads across Twitter. They can run reports not only to determine reach, but also to interpret how many times in total your message was received by all users (called ‘exposure’ — this number includes how many times one tweet was received multiple times by the same user), and  also who exactly tweeted or retweeted your message to their followers (for a more detailed description of these terms and their meanings, check out Tweet Reach’s definition page). By compiling these stats, you not only will learn how many times your keyword/hashtag/url was mentioned, but who was interested in it enough to mention it to their followers—which could help in determining who to contact for future campaigns.  

So just how important is a statistic like ‘reach?’ Just because your tweet had a reach of 200 doesn’t mean 200 sets of eyes actually saw and read your tweet. Reach is all about possibilities. ‘How many people did I reach?’ would then turn into ‘How many people actually read my tweet?’ followed by ‘How many people read my tweet and took action because of it?’

And that is the key here: we want to expose our tweets and share our information with as many people as possible. We want people to take notice of our messages and in turn, hopefully take notice of us and our products and services. If you have a specific goal in mind for a Twitter campaign, definitely keep an eye on reach, but also include a call to action. When we tweet about an upcoming Twitter party, we include a link to a party RSVP page. Our goal is to get as many people to sign up as possible. Another tweet might be to encourage people to take part in fundraiser for a non-profit. Or order something today and get free shipping with a special code that is included in the tweet. Here social media meets traditional marketing: having a call to action helps track how many people not only saw your message but reacted to it. 

I think of reach as being like the circulation of a magazine. Knowing the circulation of mags helps advertisers decide which one gets their ad business. However, with magazines it’s not strictly about the numbers, and it should not be in social media, either. Advertisers like big numbers, but they also look at the types of readers who comprise that circulation. No sense for a kayak manufacturer to place an ad in a magazine that reaches 500,000 subscribers who are into fashion (unless the fashion is limited to Teva sandals). Better for to place an ad in a paddling magazine that reaches 50,000 hard-core kayaking enthusiasts.

Monitoring a statistic like reach can help you modify your campaign so that you better target the audience you’re trying to, well…reach. For example, according to Tweet Reach, if you have a low reach rate but a high exposure rate, it could mean that a small group of people are tweeting your message too many times: not a good thing if you want to reach a more diverse group and not annoy the smaller group of users who might feel as if they’re being bombarded by your message. You might need to do some research and reach out to another group of users whom you haven’t targeted before who might find your tweets of interest and tweet it to a different pool of users.

Twitter stats can help you better guide your marketing campaign and fine-tune it. But remember that while the medium has changed, the basics of marketing hasn’t: you still need to utilize traditional tools such as including special offers and incentives to signup for lists or newsletters in your message to help determine how many people actually do turn that tweet into action.

Tags: hashtag, reach, social media marketing, tweet reach, twitter statistics