8 building blocks for a successful Twitter chat

That’s how Heather Whaling and I approach the #pr20chat, which we were lucky enough to take over when Beth Harte—the founder—handed over the reins to start her new venture, #imcchat. (That was probably Beth’s mentality, too.)

With that in mind, here are eight key building blocks anyone starting a Twitter chat needs to consider.

1. Fill a need. Just starting a chat to start a chat is fine, but it probably won’t be very successful. Some type of community exists around almost any common interest. Your job is to identify your passion and target others with the same passion. Organize a chat that can add value to the conversations you are having around that topic and that can bring like-minded people together to network.

2. Partner with a community leader. When I say community, I’m referring to the area of common interest that got you thinking about starting a chat. Two heads are better than one—and so are two networks. Find a partner that has as much passion about the topic as you and ask him or her to co-host the chat. It makes the time commitment more manageable and extends your reach.