In requests for more information about our Twitter party and Twitter chat services, we are often asked, “How can I get my hashtag to become a trending topic on Twitter?”

The question’s frequency makes sense: To have your hashtag or brand name displayed along Twitter’s ‘trending topics’ column is a coveted position, with the top or ‘promoted’ trend costing an advertiser a reported $120K to achieve it. Trending topics are seen and monitored by millions of sets of eyes per day; to be one of them can be game-changing for a company. When a user clicks on a trending topic, they will see a list of all recently-tweeted tweets that contain that term. For companies, this means having more people learn about them and get introduced to their products and services. And free advertising that could be seen by millions is impossible to resist.

What exactly makes a topic trend?

According to Twitter, “an algorithm determines which topics are ‘trending’ in the location you’ve selected. This algorithm identifies topics that are immediately popular, rather than topics that have been popular for a while or on a daily basis.” What this means is, one million people each day might tweet Justin Bieber’s name, but sheer volume doesn’t make a topic trend. A trending topic usually represents a surge of tweets, even if the volume is less than that of a topic tweeted about regularly. It’s Twitter’s way of trying to keep is users aware of what is current and newsworthy. If sheer volume was the only factor, Justin Bieber might be the top trending topic every day for years, making the whole point of having trending topics useless.

How do I do it?

Often a trending topic is something that is newsworthy that suddenly becomes talked (or tweeted) about by a large number of people at the same time. For example, an event being watched on t.v., such as an awards show or sporting event, are likely to become part of a trending topic due to the number of people who are likely to tweet about it at or around the same time. So there is the element of timeliness as well as volume that seems to make for a trending topic. Your goal then should be to get a lot of people tweeting your hashtag at the same time. If you do not have a national stage to work with (such as a high profile t.v. show or event), then a great way to attempt to achieve this is a Twitter event, such as a Twitter chat or party. Twitter parties occur at a specific time, have a certain hashtag that people will tweet to be included in the event, and usually have a significant number of attendees online at the same time who will tweet using that tag. However, simply deciding to have an event and holding it won’t guarantee that your hashtag trends; you still have to put together a quality event with a skilled host, informative content, noteworthy or high-profile guest contributors and awesome prizes and special offers to really get some buzz. We’ve found that those elements are a big draw when it comes to Twitter parties, and are most likely to get tweeted about. However, there is a downside to becoming a trending topic during a chat: hashtag spam. Once you’re topic starts trending, beware of spammers hijacking your tag by using it to promote their own links completely unrelated to yours. Be prepared to offer followers of your chat an alternative hashtag to switch to for purposes of the chat, to steer clear of spammers and get the chat’s conversation back on track.

How not to do it.

Twitter has specific guidelines for hashtags and tweeting that, if not followed, could get your account flagged when trying get your hashtag to trend. If you see another topic trending and try to get your hashtag noticed by including it in a tweet along with the other trending topic’s hashtag, that is considered spammy and unacceptable (Twitter does not like unrelated hashtags in tweets; it’s misleading). Repeatedly tweeting you hashtag, or encouraging others to do as much as possible so as part of a tweeting contest, in an attempt to get it trending without adding value to the conversation the hashtag is part of is another no-no (tweeting contests are acceptable if limited to one tweet per day). Also, taking a trending topic hashtag and tweeting out links to your profile or website along with those trending tags is another way to get into trouble. On Twitter, like everywhere else on the web, organic is good. Create hashtag tweeting opportunities that are natural and not forced. While it’s great to get a topic to trend, it’s even better to provide excellent content to your followers, become a value to them, and remain in good standing with Twitter.

With ‘Tailored Trends,’ Are Trending Topics as Valuable as They Once Were?

Recently, Twitter allowed users to get ‘tailored trends’ — or to turn their list of trending topics into a column customized just for them. Twitter says this about tailored trends: “Trends offer a unique way to get closer to what you care about. Trends are tailored for you based on your location and who you follow.” To turn this setting off or on in your own account, go to the “change” button next to the trending topics column. Click on that, and you’ll get the option either to turn this feature off or on, depending on your current settings. The intent of this feature is to help users see trends related to those issues/places/people who matter most to them. Tailored trends takes into account a user’s location and those users he/she follows to come up with a list of trends that are relevant that user alone. With this feature turned on, the topics you see trending are no longer the same as what everyone else is seeing, but rather made just for you. What does this mean for trending topics in general? When your hashtag trends, it may not be seen by as many eyes as in the past, since everyone might not see the same trends. However, if you don’t succeed at making your hashtag trend on a worldwide (or countrywide/citywide scale), it still might have the ability to trend to your followers — or those who might really matter to you and who are already eager to hear what you have to say. Tailored trends might have put somewhat of a damper on widely-viewed trending topics, but on the flipside, the service might help topics that would normally have trouble trending on a large scale now get noticed more easily. On another note, if you are hosting a chat or party, and see your hashtag ‘trending,’ check to make sure whether or not you have tailored trends turned on. You just might be ‘trending’ to a limited audience, rather than citywide, nationwide, or worldwide.

Tags: hashtag, tailored trends, trending topic, Twitter, twitter chat, Twitter party

Tags: exposure, hashtags, impressions, reach, statistics, tweets, Twitter, twitter chat, Twitter party

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

Tags: blocked account, twitter chat, Twitter party, twitter search

Tweet

In theory, if you are an avid Twitter user, you can learn to plan and host your own Twitter party. I mean, we weren’t born hosting parties — it’s something we learned to do. At first glance, Twitter parties and chats are pretty simple: pick a date and time, a hashtag, and start promoting. However, while it sounds simple enough, there are many reasons why you should enlist the help of a professional.

Why go with a pro? Because putting together a party for the first time can be a challenge. If this is something you want to do regularly, then get help initially from someone who is experienced and learn from them. Here are some responses from clients we have helped with parties:

“I didn’t realize how much time it took to plan a party.” Twitter parties take a lot of planning. A host can help with brainstorming party ideas and themes, devising discussion topics, creating hashtags, setting up a registration page, writing legal copy, promoting the party, training new/guest hosts on how to best attend, e-mailing subscribers about the party, hosting the party, fulfilling prizes, writing press releases, creating a post-party recap post, and providing sponsors with post-party stats. If you have time in your schedule to do all of that on your own — great! If not, you might need some assistance from a host.

“I didn’t know how to promote it.” Sometimes a sponsor decides to have a party to increase their number of followers and fans. An experienced party host comes to the table with a following comprised of those users who like to attend parties and tweet about them. We promote parties via Twitter, Facebook, our subscriber list, blog, and even sometimes paid ads. If you do not already have a strong social media presence, you might want to consider working with someone who does to give your following a boost.

“I was nervous during the party and at times, didn’t know what to tweet.” Some people are a little anxious when hosting their first Twitter party. For an hour or two, you are the center of attention and you must lead others in what you hope will be a thought-provoking and entertaining discussion. You usually have to start discussions, field many questions, chat with attendees, giveaway prizes. An experienced host has done this many times before, knows what to expect and how to conduct a party. They are confortable with being a host and are good at conversing with attendees. It helps to have someone ‘emcee’ the event-start discussions, conduct giveaways-while the sponsor might remain on hand to answer questions and converse with attendees. If you don’t want to be overwhelmed for your first live event, it might help to go with a pro for peace of mind.

“I overlooked a key component of the party.” A regular party host knows everything you need to do to put together a successful party. If this is your first time hosting, you might forget something important. We have helped people remember to include important information on the info/registration page or in a promotional tweet, or to include disclaimers or other legal wording necessary for a giveaway. Someone who has ‘been there, done that’ with regard to planning a party will know what needs to be done to make the party a success.

If you are going to invest time and effort into planning and hosting an online event, consider having TweeParties help. For more information about our affordable Twitter party & chat hosting services, visit our hosting page at TweeParties.com!

Tags: plan Twitter event, social media marketing, TweeParties, Twitter party

Tweet

With more than 110 million tweets being sent per day, it’s easy for most messages venturing into the Twittersphere to get lost in the timeline shuffle. Unless you’re Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber or CNN, so much of what people tweet ends up being seen only by a few followers or goes unnoticed altogether. So how do you get your missives to stand out and get retweeted? Here are some tips:

Quality: Good writing gets noticed in part because it’s easy to read. Make good use of your 140 characters by making them good ones. Always spell correctly. Use proper grammar. Write using an active voice (such as “Jane shared her quilting tips”) rather than a passive voice (The quilting tips were shared by Jane). Don’t over-abbreviate—not everyone abbreviates words the same way and tweets containing too many abbreviations slows readers down as they try to decipher your words’ meanings. Always shorten links. Use all caps and punctuation sparingly and for emphasis. The easier you make it for people to read your tweets, the more likely they will want to read them and come to know that your tweets are worth reading when they see your avatar appear in their timeline.

Content: People follow you for a reason. Maybe you represent a company that specializes in search engine optimization, or you’re a long-time sewing expert who loves to tweet about quilting tips and fabric sales. When it comes to tweeting, create content that is appropriate for your account. If your followers follow you mainly because you said that you will tweet about basketball news and NBA players, you probably don’t want to start sending multiple paid tweets for Acai berry products. An offbeat tweet now and then is fine and acceptable, but remember to stay focused on your purpose for tweeting and why people follow you. You know the saying: “Give ‘em what they want.” Give them anything else, and your tweets might become a turn off. Even if people don’t begin to unfollow you, they might simply tune out and overlook your tweets whenever they appear.

Frequency: If you send out several tweets a day—great! However, if those several tweets are crammed into the same hour, you will be missing out on the opportunity to reach more of your followers who tune in throughout the day. If possible, spread out your tweets more so that you increase the odds that more eyes will see them. If your schedule does not allow for checking into Twitter more than once a day, consider assigning the task of sending tweets to someone other than yourself. Often companies manage social media accounts in shifts, which allows them to interact and be available more for customer service questions (some companies even post their ‘tweeting hours’ on their account bios). There is debate over whether or not people should use a service that allows them to schedule tweets. Some argue that if you tweet you should also be available to respond to comments about those tweets. I agree that conversing with your followers is imporant. However, if you do not have the staff to support extended time on social media, a compromise might be in order. Try a mix of real-time tweeting and scheduled tweets. Log in to Twitter when possible to send real-time tweets and monitor follower feedback. Some services that can help you get started in scheduling are Social Oomph and Twuffer.

Twitter is all about reading. The easier you make it for your followers to read your tweets, the more likely your message will get noticed…and retweeted. Happy tweeting! ~Erin

Tags: 140 characters, business, how to tweet, lesson, tweeting, Twitter, Twitter marketing, writing

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

Martin Luther King, Jr. would have loved Twitter.

He would have used it as another powerful means to inspire, mobilize and inform those in his movement on a level not possible during his time. In an age before text messaging, emails, blogs and Facebook, spreading a grassroots message often came in the form of phone calls, door-to-door visits, pulpits, and (if you were lucky) mentions on radio, t.v. or in the local paper. 

Some say that the Civil Rights Movement might not have progressed the way it did if it weren’t for images of protest and violence being broadcast via television. But if the internet and social media had existed in the mid-20th century, it could have taken the movement to the next level by increasing awareness, providing a forum for discussion and debate, coordinating and organizing events, and sharing people’s personal thoughts and experiences with the world. Social media could have injected the Civil Rights Movement with a high-level, virtual octane.

There’s a debate going on about the role Twitter has played in the Tunisian uprising. Some are even going as far as calling it the first “Twitter Revolution.” Others argue that Twitter didn’t cause a revolution, the Tunisian people did. However, there’s no doubt that Twitter has played a role in helping spread news and images about the goings-on in the African country. Twitter can put power in the hands of people who might be restricted by regimes that try to prevent them from having any.

And perhaps that’s the difference. Before social media, we had to rely on the professionals to disseminate news: print and broadcast journalists, photojournalists, wire services, writers. But in the internet age, anyone can disseminate news quickly and easily and without a lengthy resume: just take a pic with your phone, upload a photo, add a caption, and you just might have the next ‘tweet seen around the world.’ Or the tweet that might convince the world that your world desperately needs help or change.

Since I joined Twitter & Facebook for personal use in 2009, I have felt that those who use social media are an informed, socially conscious, aware, philanthropic group. Tweet an important cause-a bit of vital breaking news, a plea for help for a good cause, a newsworthy story-and watch it get retweeted more than your average post. Even Twitter itself has said that it sees itself not as a social network but more of a news and information network. We saw so many tweets from ‘regular people’ in Iran, in the southern U.S. during the Gulf Oil spill, in Haiti. We saw many photos that we might not have seen had ‘regular, non-news people’ not had the courage or ability to send them. 

Though some have criticized Twitter and Facebook as being ‘flashes in the pan’ that might not exist in a decade, if not those two, then something will take their place. We are all connected now, and now that we have it, that desire for connectivity won’t just disappear. People use social media to feel that they are a part of something larger than themselves: a group of friends, a shared interest or opinion, a cause, a movement, a moment in time. It’s up to those who use Twitter to advance their causes to figure out how to get our attention and get us to act.

Tags: Social Change, social media, Tunisia, Twitter Revolution