Make the Most out of Twitter by Participating in Twitter Chats

Twitter Chats continue to gain popularity for those who are seeking more value out of the social platform. Participating in Twitter chats can be beneficial whether you are an individual, a small business or large corporation. One of the key elements of extracting the most value out of Twitter is either by hosting and/or participating in active, high-profile chats. And the best part? Joining and participating in a Twitter chat is fairly easy to do… once you get the hang of it! Be sure to check out our TOP PICKS FOR TWITTER CHATS which lists our favorite chats by day so you can jump right into the action! Here are five simple, yet insanely powerful, benefits of Twitter chats.

Top 5 Benefits of Twitter Chats

1. Learn Something New

Twitter Chats provide a great opportunity to LEARN! You can boost your knowledge about a particular topic or industry, the community that participates and/or the host. There are hundreds of topic-focused, event-driven and industry-specific Twitter Chats happening on any given day at any given time. Find the chats that match your interest and begin by doing one thing first: LISTEN! See what people have to say and how they engage with one another. It’s ok to be a lurker your first time in a chat. Sometimes, just absorbing all the knowledge that gets shared during a Twitter chat can be just as rewarding as participating in one. For active chats, you get multiple perspectives from a wide variety of participants, which can help expand your understanding and comprehension of a particular topic. This is applicable if you are a participant or a Twitter chat host. For hosts, Twitter chats provide a great resource for testing new ideas, getting customer perspectives or simply seeing what your audience responds to. It’s  a huge learning opportunity for those willing to be involved. 

2. Boost Your Engagement

Engaging in Twitter Chats allows you to connect with peers, potential customers, influencers and others who are active on Twitter. Getting to know those who are active in chats builds great community engagement inside and outside of the chat itself. This holds especially true if you host a Twitter chat or become a regular participant. When you consistently engage with others in Twitter chats, you build critical social relationships. People like to engage with those who they know, like and trust. And thus when you build those relationships via chats, others will be more inclined to engage with you (both during the chat and outside of it). It’s a great way to not only give your Twitter account a boost in retweets and likes, but to open the door for continued conversations outside of the chat as well.  

3. Build Your Community

Participating in Twitter Chats helps you pinpoint those who are highly engaged and provide value on Twitter. You can grow your network both on Twitter and offline by identifying those who share your interests. The key is to connect with your community… by providing value, collaboration, support, and engagement on a consistent basis. Twitter chats tend to have an “inner circle” of people who know each other, engage with each other and support each other. It may be intimidating to a first time participant… but here is the thing: If you participate in the same chat regularly and provide value in an engaging and friendly way… then in no time you become a part of that inner circle. That “inner circle” is the hub of another community you have the opportunity to build and grow on Twitter.  

4. Share Your Thought Leadership

Twitter chats offer you the opportunity to showcase your knowledge, expertise and understanding of a particular topic or industry. Whether you host a chat or participate in one, the platform allows you to answer questions, share your perspective, provide feedback to others and to be a source of value for the community. When you share your knowledge with others, you gain more exposure to you and/or your business. When you do this consistently, people begin to take notice. It’s this amazing little thing call “Influence.” The more value you provide, the more you begin to establish yourself as a thought leader. This is one of the easiest ways to get noticed and stand out on Twitter.  

5. Have Fun & Explore

Twitter Chats are exhilarating and can be loaded with value (in both content and connections). They are fast-paced, yet full of learnings. People are not only engaging on the topic, but engaging with each other in a supportive and collaborative manner. These are all great benefits of Twitter Chats… but one of the best reasons to participate is the amount of fun you will have. It’s a great way to boost your creativity, get your energy level up and to open your mind to new perspectives. With so many Twitter chats covering such a wide array of topics, there is sure to be something of interest to everyone. Don’t just focus on your business or industry. Change things up and explore new things. It’s a great way to step out of your comfort zone and see what lies outside of your wheel house.

Summary

There are so many great benefits of Twitter chats it’s hard to list them all. From growing your community and Twitter following to establishing yourself as an Influencer – the opportunities to learn, grow and connect with others is immense. It is the whole point of SOCIAL media… be social!  

Do you participate in Twitter Chats? What value do you derive from this? Be sure to check out our TOP TWITTER CHAT PICKS and I hope to see you on a chat soon! If you liked this article, we encourage you to sign up for our  weekly Newsletter for all our updates!  Thanks for reading our blog!