• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Social Media Examiner

Your Guide to the Marketing Jungle

  • 🔥 Free Newsletter
  • 🎙️ Podcasts
    • Social Media Marketing Podcast
    • AI Explored Podcast
    • Social Media Marketing Talk Show
    • Our YouTube Channel
  • 🌟 AI Society
  • 🗓️ Marketing Conference
  • đź‘‹ About Us
    • Marketing Events
  • Search
  • Embrace AI & MarketingGet Ongoing Training & SupportBEGIN YOUR JOURNEY NOW

    How to Host and Promote a Twitter Chat

    by Aaron Lee / July 21, 2015

    social media how toDo you use Twitter to market your business?

    Have you thought about hosting chats?

    Twitter chats are a great way to connect with customers and prospects, build authority and gain exposure for your business.

    In this article you'll discover how to prepare, promote and host a Twitter chat.

    host and promote twitter chat
    Discover how to host and promote Twitter chats.

    Listen to this article:

    Where to subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube Music | YouTube | Amazon Music | RSS

    #1: Define the Objective

    Always start by defining the objective of your Twitter chat. Find a topic that will appeal to your target audience.

    The chat needs to provide value to your audience to be successful. Don't make it just about your company; tailor it to how you can help your community. For example, if you're in the photography industry, invite guests to discuss photo editing tips, black-and-white photography, photography inspiration, etc.

    An added benefit is that you can repurpose all of the chat contributions into a future blog post. Those who participated in the chat will appreciate having a summary of it, and readers who missed it will enjoy the insight.

    #2: Identify Similar Chats

    Once you've established an objective for your chat, find at least five Twitter chats similar to yours to gather ideas. You can find Twitter chats with tools like TweetReports and Gnosisarts.

    list of tweet chats
    TweetReports shows the scheduled times for chats on various topics.

    Learn how these chats work. Observe how the host controls the flow of conversation and directs topics. Also find out which guests are invited, how many questions are posed, what times the chats are held and how they're promoted.

    Be sure to participate as well. Answer questions and engage with others. This allows you to build your expertise and gives you insight into what it's like to participate in a Twitter chat.

    #3: Set the Date and Time

    Choosing the date and time for your chat is important. Typically the best times to hold Twitter chats are between the hours of 6 pm ET and 10 pm ET.

    However, avoid scheduling your chat at a time that would clash with other popular chats. Write down the times that you won't be able to hold a chat. Next, list the scheduled times for the five Twitter chats that you followed earlier. Then search for a time slot that won't clash with them.

    #4: Choose a Hashtag

    Now comes the fun part: naming your Twitter chat. Typically every chat hashtag ends with “chat” (for example, #mediachat, #influencerchat and #blogchat). Adding the word “chat” signals to people that it's a Twitter chat instead of a regular hashtag or an event.

    AI Business Society

    Ready to Unlock AI Marketing Breakthroughs?

    If you’re like most of us, you are trying to figure out how to use AI in your marketing. Here's the solution: The AI Business Society—a new AI marketing community from your friends at Social Media Examiner.

    The AI Business Society is the place to discover how to apply AI in your work. When you join, you'll boost your productivity, unlock your creativity, and make connections with other marketers on a similar journey.

    I'M READY TO BECOME AN AI-POWERED MARKETER

    When choosing a hashtag, make sure it fits your brand. Also, check that it's not a Twitter username and hasn't been used as a hashtag previously.

    tweet chats hashtag search
    Use Twitter search to see if your chat hashtag has been used before.

    Brainstorm at least 15 chat names and then pick the best one. You might want to seek input from your co-workers.

    After you select a hashtag, make sure that you register the Twitter username. You can use this account to hold your chats.

    #5: Invite Guests

    Next, make a list of at least 20 guests you want to invite.

    Start securing guests at least two weeks prior to your chat. If it's your first Twitter chat, make sure you have a commitment from at least four guests a month in advance. Guests are often busy, so you need to secure them in advance.

    Ideally, you want someone who has experience being a guest and is interested in holding Twitter chats. If you have an influential user who loves your company, consider inviting that person to be a guest, too.

    Discover Proven Marketing Strategies and Tips

    Want to go even deeper with your marketing? Check out the Social Media Marketing Podcast! Publishing weekly since 2012, the Social Media Marketing Podcast helps you navigate the constantly changing marketing jungle, with expert interviews from marketing pros.

    But don’t let the name fool you. This show is about a lot more than just social media marketing. With over 600 episodes and millions of downloads each year, this show has been a trusted source for marketers for well over a decade.

    CHECK OUT THE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PODCAST NOW

    #6: Prepare Questions

    Once you have everything in place and have secured at least four guests in advance, start preparing questions. You'll need about 7 to 10 questions for your guests. Send these questions to them at least 72 hours prior to the chat so they can prepare their responses.

    question shutterstock 264466154
    Have questions ready in advance. Image: Shutterstock.

    During the chat, spread out the questions about 6 to 8 minutes apart. Ask your last question about 10 minutes before the end of the chat to allow time for the community to discuss it.

    #7: Promote the Chat

    The key to making your Twitter chat stand out is to promote it. Here are some ways to do that:

    Partner With Other Chats

    Consider partnering with another Twitter chat. For example, partner with a chat that is scheduled about an hour after yours. The other chat can ask their community to join your chat first. And when your chat is about to end, you can reciprocate by promoting the other chat to your participants. It's a win-win.

    tweet chats partner tweet
    Partner with other chats to co-promote your chats.

    Invite Fans

    Invite your biggest fans to the chat. Tweeting is the best way to promote a chat to your fans. Typically you should do it 12 to 24 hours before the chat, as people tend to be busy and are likely to forget.

    tweet chats invitation tweet
    Promote your chat 12 to 24 hours prior to the event.

    Send a Facebook event invite as another way to ask people to join your chat. This is a great way to make sure people will come and remember the date. You can also get word out by sending an email blast through your newsletter.

    #8: Run the Chat

    On the big day, you'll need an outline to work from. Here's a basic script for a Twitter chat.

    Five Minutes Before the Chat

    Our chat will start in a few minutes. In the meantime, please introduce yourself and what you do [#chatname].

    Start of the Chat

    It's time for our [#chatname]! Tonight's guest is @_____ from _____ who will share _____ with us.

    Everyone, please welcome our guest _____ from @_____ to our [#chatname] tonight!

    Two to Three Minutes Before the Chat Ends

    Everyone, please thank @_____ from _____ for adding so much value to our [#chatname].

    Next week we'll have @_____ from _____, who will be discussing _____. See you next week!

    Don't forget to join (other Twitter chat that you partnered with) now! They have @_____ as their guest.

    The easiest way to manage your chat is to use a tool like TweetChat. You can hide retweets so you see mentions only from people, which enables you to respond quickly. TweetChat also automatically adds the chat hashtag to your responses.

    #9: Track Results

    To track how well your chat is doing, use a tool like Hashtracking. It provides real-time insights into your Twitter chats so you can see how well they're performing. You get access to lots of information including the number of tweets, impressions, reach and contributors.

    tweet chats analytics in hashtracking
    Hashtracking tracks the performance of your Twitter chat.

    Use these insights to tweak your Twitter chat to make it better. This tool also identifies the best contributors during the chat. Be sure to reward them and consider inviting them to be guests for future chats.

    Conclusion

    Hosting a Twitter chat may sound like a daunting task, but once you get the hang of it, chats are easy to run. And you'll reap many great benefits for your business, such as more exposure and the opportunity to interact with customers and prospects.

    What do you think? Have you hosted a Twitter chat for your business? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

    Question Mark photo from Shutterstock.
    how to host and promote a twitter chat
    Tips for hosting and promoting Twitter chats.
    AI EXPLORED

    Curious About How to Use AI?

    Our newest show, AI Explored, might be just what you're looking for. It's for marketers, creators, and entrepreneurs who want to understand how to use AI in their business.

    It's hosted by Michael Stelzner and explores this exciting new frontier in easy-to-understand terms.

    Pull up your favorite podcast app and search for AI Explored. Or click the button below for more information.

    I WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT AI

    Tags: Twitter

    About the authorAaron Lee

    Aaron Lee founded AskAaronLee.com & Short of Height, a fashion blog that shares style for short men. Follow him on Twitter at @askaaronlee.
    Other posts by Aaron Lee »

    Get Social Media Examiner’s Future Articles in Your Inbox!

    Get our latest articles delivered to your email inbox and get the FREE Social Media Marketing Industry Report (43 pages, 50+ charts)!

    Industry Report Cover

    Worth Exploring:

    Facebook

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Instagram

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    YouTube

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Linkedin

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    AI

    Next Frontier Explore More →

    Social Media Marketing Industry Report

    Get Free Report →

    Social Marketing Trends

    The data you've been missing!

    Need a new plan? Discover how marketers plan to change their social activities in the 17th annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report. It reveals what marketers have planned for their social activities, content marketing, and more! Get this free report now and never miss another great article from us. Join more than 385,000 marketers!

    Simply click the button below to get the free report:

    Footer

    Your Guide to the Marketing Jungle
    Copyright © 2025 Social Media Examiner®
    All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy.

    Helpful Links

    • About us
    • Our content via email
    • Our podcasts
    • Our YouTube channel
    • Our live show
    • Our social media marketing industry report
    • Our generative AI marketing industry report
    • Sponsorship opportunities
    • RSS