Live tweet tips inspired by #DrLisasHen

I've spent the last few weeks helping to organise my friend's hen do.

I tell you this not just because it's the best excuse I have for not updating my blog enough, but it's also relevant (sort of!).

Possibly because it seemed like a good idea, or maybe because of my aforementioned Twitter obsession I decided to live tweet the hen do. I wanted a way to capture the story as it unfolded, and I wanted it to be easy for everyone to get involved.

The other bridesmaids were slightly bemused.

"Does the bride use Twitter a lot?"  

"Not really."

"Are any of the other hens particularly into Twitter?"

"One or two." 

"Have you heard of other people doing this with great success?" 

"Not really - although I did hear recently that some hotels are now offering a social media concierge service for weddings, which sounds fun!" *

I Googled the idea and got a stream of forums telling me why it was a bad idea - embarrassing, drunken photos, people getting upset and never speaking to the bride again, yada yada yada...

I paused.

Closed the browser.

And then started to type an email…While keeping my fingers firmly crossed the bride still had some wedding guests left by the end of the hen do.

What’s my point?

Well, all this talk of live tweeting got me thinking what a great way this is for small businesses to get noticed on Twitter, attract new follows and contribute useful information to their audience.

Have you ever considered live tweeting?

While live tweeting a hen do is obviously not a business application, the process of organising a group of people to live tweet an event is the same, and needs careful consideration. 

So, if you have a product launch coming up, or a relevant industry conference, or even if you have a lengthy manufacturing or design process that is particularly interesting, why not consider tweeting updates as it happens? 

You might even enjoy it…

Tips for live tweeting an event:

1. Choose a hashtag wisely

A hashtag (#) is a way of linking conversations about the same topic on social media.

These could be news events like #Elections2014, or popular TV shows like #BBCQT or #BGTlive. Hastags allow audiences to converse with each other and to provide useful input and opinion. Many adverts use hashtags as a way of linking their print adverts to on-line media, these might be used for competitions and giveaways, or just to open up communication with their customers.

You will need to choose a hashtag for your event, you can then easily search for everything being tweeted, and keep on top of the conversation.

Tips for choosing a hashtag:

• Be short and sweet so you're using as few of the 140 characters as possible, and nothing too obscure. You want people to remember it and use it, not be stumped by long acronyms or complicated spellings.  

• Check that the hashtag is not already in use by searching for it on Twitter. You don't want your message to become mixed up with someone else's, or worse associated with something negative. Obviously you have no control over what other people tweet using ‘your’ hashtag, but choosing something closely related to your company name and including the year, for example, can reduce the risk.

• Check that the hashtag reads as you mean it to - Susan Boyle's agents learned this the hard way: #susanalbumparty and other hashtag fails via the Guardian newspaper

• Advertise the hashtag consistently - it can get confusing if people are tweeting using variations. Sometimes this can be difficult to control, but with a little upfront thought and communication to key tweeters you should be able to avoid any problems.

2. Think about the techie stuff

While it might seem easier to use a platform like TweetDeck or HootSuite to manage your tweets and keep track of everything, it's not practical if you’re out and about. Make sure you’re familiar with the workings of whichever Twitter app you have available on your phone. You don’t want to be trying to work it out mid-tweet.

Consider connectivity – Where are you going to be tweeting from? Is there Wifi available? Or if not, what is the phone signal like for your network? If you don’t think you'll have a strong enough signal, don’t commit to tweeting.

And lastly, this may sound obvious, but make sure you have enough battery life for the entire event – there is nothing worse than going off-line half way through because your iPhone has died.

3. Warn followers

If you have amassed a number of followers, it’s polite to give them a heads up that you are planning a live tweeting event. 

This gives them the opportunity to be a part of it they want to, or maybe even use the new Twitter function to mute you temporarily if they have no interest. 

At the very least followers should be more forgiving if they understand what it is that’s filling their timelines!

4. Make sure everyone tweets from the same sheet

I wrote some basic Twitter notes, for ‘non-Twits’, to get the hens started enough to join in.

Obviously in a business situation you would not be letting people loose on your Twitter account without at least some moderate tweeting experience, but it is still worth making sure they know what you are expecting of them.

Come up with a few guidance notes – this will vary depending on the event. Are you expecting constant coverage, or just a few choice tweets here and there? Will selfies be acceptable or are you expecting formal photos only?

Check that you're happy with the quality of the tweets throughout the event, and feedback likes and dislikes asap. That way your tweeters will quickly work out what you are after.

5. Have a live tweet plan

Preparation is key.

If there is a schedule in place for your event use this as the basis for your plan, and sketch out a few ideas for the kind of subjects you could focus on during the day. 

You might fancy informal photos of guests on arrival, and then photos or slides from a presentation along with direct quotes from speakers. You might then pick up any key questions and answers from the audience. Later you might interview some of the attendees to get some immediate responses and then wrap up with a summary of the event.

Your plan will very much depend on the type of event you choose to tweet.

If you have more than one person tweeting avoid duplication. Add names to the plan so everyone knows who is covering what, or alternatively ensure one person is the main tweeter and encourage others to contribute from personal accounts.

Check that the people tweeting are able to fulfil this role in addition to any other responsibilities they might have. You don’t want to find that everyone resents the extra workload – this will come across in their tweets. A decent, resourced, plan can help ensure this doesn’t happen.

If your event has speakers or special guests it might be worth having a crib sheet of names – just to make sure they’re spelt right. You could even note their Twitter handles, and  include these in relevant tweets to put your event in front of a new, potentially relevant, audience.

And finally, if you are considering scheduling posts, think carefully about it – if anything changes on the day, or a problem occurs, any scheduled tweets may no longer be relevant. It might be better to prepare a few tweets in advance, but post them manually when the time is right.

Just in case.

6. Pic ‘n’ mix tweets

Don't forget there are loads of different types of tweets, it will be far more interesting for your audience if you mix it up a bit:

• Schedule updates
• Informational
• Photos
• YouTube videos
• Direct quotes
• Pre-prepared infographics
• Links to other related products or events
• Links to further information
• Questions / Requests for feedback
• Straw polls
• Competitions / Giveaways

Many of these could even be planned out before the event.

I had some tweets ready to send with nice quotes about marriage etc., and used these during quiet moments. It was nice to feel I had a back-up plan if inspiration dried up.

7. Create some 'rules'

I came up with a few 'rules' (I'm an Aries, I'm bossy, alright?) which I hoped would stop the issues I was worried about:

Do you have a brand tone of voice? If so you could make reference to this, if not come up with a few guidelines. Where do you stand on slang or swearing? Where is the line in terms of risqué jokes? And are there any key industry terms or jargon you need to ensure are used correctly?

Social media is expected to be a little more informal by nature, but you need to be happy your brand is being accurately reflected in the language used.

8. Don't get overexcited

Use your tweets wisely - while it is tempting to tweet almost constantly, try to resist. Your tweets will be much more effective if they are well thought out. 

Don't retweet every little mention. That's the point of the hashtag. The conversation is trackable so there is no need to retweet. Save it for when someone says something nice about you.

And apart from anything else you want to be involved in the event too, don’t you? 

You should be aiming to capture the flavour, not provide a complete, unabridged version.

9. Don't let standards slip

Don't let your brand down by posting shoddy tweets in order to get them out quickly. Take an extra 30 seconds to check them through, use these proofreading tips, or ensure that all tweets go through an editor you trust.

Remember you can afford to be a little more relaxed on Twitter. Letting some of your own comments and opinions slip through is a good opportunity to show your personality. 

After all people buy from people, don’t they?

10. Use the opportunity to engage with your followers

Pause to listen regularly.

It’s quite easy in the clamour of live tweeting, to forget your followers. 

But don’t. 

The best way to build and grow a loyal army of followers is to engage and respond. Make sure that during the event you reply to @ mentions, and thank those who retweet your messages.

Ask pertinent questions to get your audience talking, and ask for feedback regularly.

11. Capitalise on the event

Remember that people may continue to use the hashtag for a little while after the event. Make sure you keep an eye on it and reply where necessary.

Take the opportunity to advertise further product launches, or next year's event, while you have a captive audience...

If you’re feeling adventurous you could even use Storify, or a similar digital curation tool, to capture the best of the social media coverage, and then embed it into your website or share across other sites.

It all helps to increase the buzz around your business and your products.

So, how did #DrLisasHen turn out?

The live tweeting worked brilliantly – it got everyone excited and familiar with eachother while travelling on the morning of the hen do, it offered a talking point, and kept the momentum going long after the end.

It created a buzz around the hen do and seemed to extend the length of it.

If you’re interested, you can see my Storify story here.

No drunken photos, and no falling out with the bride – you’d think it was 
completely civilised….;-)

Good luck with your live tweeting – let me know how it goes in the comments below.

Is there anything you would add to my list, from your own experience?


*Anyone interested in paying me to attend your wedding and tweet about it, please contact me via the comments below.

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