One aspect of planning a Twitter party or chat that people often seem to need help with is selecting a hashtag.

At first glance, it might seem to be one of the easier pieces of the Twitter chat puzzle: it’s usually no more than several characters in length — how tricky can it be, right? But if you want to get the most out of your hashtag during your next Twitter party or chat, here are a few things you might want to consider:

Length: It may seem like a ‘no-brainer’ but it’s true: the shorter the hashtag the better. Since you only have 140 characters to work with in a tweet, you need all of the real estate you can get. That doesn’t necessarily mean make it so short that it goes unnoticed. It’s one thing to tweet an abbreviation everyone recognizes (like #TGIF or #FF), but a hashtag that is abbreviated that stands for something very few people would know (like #ACTP for Acme Company Twitter Promotion) won’t garner many clicks. For brevity’s sake, you most likely will only want to use one hashtag as the Twitter party’s hashtag rather than cluttering up the event with two. However, if your company typically uses another hashtag in tweets, you might want to use both when promoting the Twitter chat.

Appeal: Hashtags are not case sensitive. If you type in #TGIF or #tgif in Twitter search you will get the same results. Mixing up lower and upper case letters can help with readability. Which hashtag is easier to read: #acmeconewyear or #AcmeCoNewYear? If you want your hashtag’s message as clear as possible, consider using both upper and lower cases to make each word stand out.

Best Practices: There are some things you cannot do with a hashtag. Hashtags cannot include spaces or punctuation — the minute you add either one, the hashtag ends (for example, if you type ‘#Acme Co’ or ‘#Acme-Co’, the hashtag would only be considered ‘#Acme’). You can start your hashtag with a number, as long as you include letters (it cannot be all numbers). Which means #2015 will not be searchable, but #2015Acme will). Also, if you accidentally put a number or letter immediately before your hashtag (like promo#AcmeCo), your hashtag (#AcmeCo) will not be searchable either (source: Twitter Help Center). Twitter also discourages hashtag ‘stuffing,’ or including as many hashtags as possible in a tweet with the hopes of getting noticed. You just might get noticed by Twitter — as a spammer.

Avoid Epic Fails: Occasionally, selecting the wrong hashtag has a way of backfiring on a promotion. Consider the infamous hashtag to promote singer Susan Boyle’s album: #SusanAlbumParty. The hashtag ended up trending, but mainly because tweets took the non-case sensitive tag, made a few new capitals and gave the tag a not-so-nice meaning (#SusAnalBumParty). Take a look at your hashtag from all angles and make sure it is incapable of being altered to create an unintended meaning.

For more information on planning a Twitter party or Twitter chat, get our eBook!

Tags: hashtags, Twitter, Twitter chat tips, twitter party tips

With Hurricane #Sandy barreling down in the East Coast and major power outages expected, @FEMA (The Federal Emergency Management Agency) issued a statement today urging people to stay connected via social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook when other modes of communication fail. One of many tweet reads:

People’s in Sandy’s path are also being urged to charge up their phones and to follow certain Twitter accounts, such as @FEMA, for updates, alerts and tips. Local governing agencies are also setting up or pointing people to certain Twitter accounts to keep people informed, since many might still be able to access social media sites via phone during the storm.

During many emergencies over the last few years — tornadoes, hurricanes and the tsunami in Japan — people who found themselves without a landline or land internet connection — were able to connect via smartphone. Many Twitter accounts, especially those for news services and government agencies, dedicated their Twitter accounts to posting information and updates about the disasters. People also were able to locate family members and friends via social sites.

Here’s a list of sites & accounts to follow during #Sandy:

National Hurricane Center - get text/email updates

@NHC_Atlantic - National Hurricane Center

@usNWSgov - NOAA’s National Weather Service

@WeatherChannel - The Weather Channel

@TWC_Hurricane - The Weather Channel Hurricane Updates

LIVE Updates/News from the New York Times

GOOGLE Map for Hurricane Sandy

GOOGLE Map Specifically for New York City

Tags: Facebook, Hurricane Sandy, Natural Disaster, social media, Twitter

Article by Lillian Sanders, Guest Contributor

If you are looking for a new job, you may be judged on your credit rating as well as your social media rating. For jobs that require a good understanding of social media, how often you update your Twitter and Facebook, as well as what you post, may help you get hired.

Third-party companies like Klout use data from many social networking sites to create a score that represents how much influence you have. The higher your score, the more people pay attention to what you have to say. Unfortunately, a high number of followers is not enough to raise your score. You must also engage your followers and influence them with your messages.

In 2009, noted blogger Anil Dash was on Twitter’s list of suggested people to follow. Although he gained upwards of 100 new followers per hour, this did not increase his website traffic, replies or retweets on Twitter. This is because these new followers were not listening to his messages, nor did he have any influence on them.

Twitter co-founder Evan Williams believes that retweets are more important than the number of followers. Retweets help you reach a larger audience, and since they trust the person who retweeted your message, they are likely to trust your message. Twitter does tell users when and who retweeted their message, but they do not display how many users saw your message.

Klout uses a complicated algorithm that is designed to measure how important social media users are. It gives each user a number from 1 to 100, with 100 being the most influential. Companies can use this number to help their customers. Hopefully, this number will not be used to tell how important a person is, but rather give ways the company can help the person.

Some hotels have already started upgrading a person’s room based on their Klout score in hopes the person will give a positive review on Twitter or Facebook. Instead of giving perks to only a select few, companies could use this information to suggest local restaurants and attractions based on the person’s interests on social media sites. In addition to a number score, Klout also gives a list of topics that the user tweets about regularly. This would help the company make suggestions, and the customer will be happy with their stay and have a positive opinion of the company.

This seems to be a better way to use Klout and social media influence. Since not everyone uses social media for their jobs or pleasure, it seems unfair to punish those with a low score. It is like picking the most popular person out of a room and offering them an upgrade.

Lillian Sanders is a creative writer from Michigan. She thanks TweeParties for the guest posting opportunity. As a writer, Lillian is contributes to CD Duplication in Orlando helping create marketing presentations.

Tags: influence, Klout, social media, Twitter

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

Tweet

Tags: all my children, Facebook, one life to live, reality tv, soap operas, social media, Twitter

When I was a kid, I lived and breathed golf. Not such an easy thing to do, living in a climate that sometimes resembles the arctic.

I loved to play and dreamed of becoming a pro. My dad also shared my passion, and whenever the pros came to town, we would go to the pre-tournament practice rounds together, which provided me with some of my best memories with my father.

It was 1989 and we were attending such a round at the PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes. My dad and I spent all day following around our favorites, many of whom drew big crowds even on a practice day. We were enjoying the event, lingering around on some far end of the course when we noticed the crowds were disappearing and most of the pros were heading back to the clubhouse. The summer sun was just entering its late-day golden hour. And ours turned out to be golden in more ways than one.

As we began our trek back to our car, sad that our time with the pros was ending, we looked down a fairway and saw a golfer and his caddy making their way toward the hole. We stopped and squinted, trying to figure out who it was. Maybe an amateur? There weren’t any other fans around, so that must have been it. If it was anyone accomplished, surely there would be more people flocking around the hole, more people than just us, the player and his caddy.

I think my dad and I figured it out at the same time.  As the pair approached, we realized that this last player on the course was none other than golf legend Jack Nicklaus.

We watched him hit his approaching shot, walk to the hole, then putt. He said something to his caddy, who was also his son. Then he left the green, walked right past us and proceeded to the next tee. The way I remember it, he quietly said hello to us and we said ‘hi’ back, and watched him go on his way. Apparently, as long as there was daylight, there was more golf to be played, even for the best player in the game.

Out of all of the tournaments I had seen—both in person and on t.v.—that memory sticks with me like no other. And why? Because I came thisclose to greatness. Thisclose to someone I truly admired. Thisclose to Jack. For a brief moment, it was just the four of us out there. It was like he played that shot just for me. It was like I was dreaming.

That’s one of the reasons I was drawn to Twitter. It has made me feel closer to people I admire and respect—and not just big names, but those from all walks of life: people to communicate with, trade ideas with, learn from, become informed by. Twitter really has made me feel better connected to people I might not have had any connection to at all in the past. Get a tweet from someone you admire, and you’ll feel they are talking to you and only you. That’s part of the allure: you feel special, like you’re in on a secret. Like you’re a VIP. Twitter has made people and organizations accessible in ways we could not have imagined years ago.

This story is also a testiment to the character and discipline of a true winner. By the time I had my encounter, Mr. Nicklaus was already a legend, already the winningest golf professional. And yet he was the last one on the course, still practicing after everyone else had packed it in. After all those years, all of that training and experience, he still felt the need to be out there. Maybe he just enjoyed being there and playing when everyone else had left. But to me, it looked like he was studying the course, trying different shots, analyzing his game.

I think throughout life, we all at one time or another have someone we dream of meeting one day. Back then, Jack Nicklaus probably topped my list. For me, all it took was to linger on the edge of a fairway after everyone else had gone home. Maybe nowadays, all it takes is a tweet.

Tags: Golf, Jack Nicklaus, PGA, Twitter

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

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