10 Tips on How to Lead a "Live" Chat on Twitter

"The sower went out to sow. ...Some seeds fell on good soil." (Mark 4:3b, 8a)

I've been teaching the Bible on Twitter in recent days via a "live" chat. (For more information, click here.)

I have come to recognize a number of things that are helpful in leading / promoting a "live" chat.

I thought I might share them with you...

10 Tips on How to Lead a "Live" Chat on Twitter:

Tip 1: Write a blog post on the topic prior to. (You really should have a blog as a home base for all of your social media efforts.) Build momentum, anticipation. (To read: 7 Mistakes Christian Bloggers Can Make, click here.)

Tip 2: Have an outline of tweets beforehand. It doesn't have to be comprehensive (though mine always are ~ that's just me). Then you can offer a free download. (To read: How to Create a Free Download, click here.)

Tip 3: During the chat, don't just tweet with your friends. Be humble enough to leave the "clique" and communicate especially with the newbies. Prioritize them via retweets.

Tip 4: Build your own followership apart from the chat time. You will always have them as part of your chat audience.

Tip 5: (Goes with Tip 4) Don't worry about who's there and who's not. (I once taught a Bible study with only one in attendance ~ a large spider on the ceiling.) And always remember: You never know who's lurking (listening in, but not making their presence known).

Tip 6: Promote, promote, promote. And then after you've done all that, promote some more. Tweet your blog post (Tip 1) and the time of your chat often.

Tip 7: Pray, pray, pray for God to anoint (energize) you as a chat facilitator / teacher. Call upon the Lord to move upon those who are supposed to hear what you have to say. Leave the results up to Him.

Tip 8: Do your best to be present on Twitter as regularly as you can aside from your chat time (and the chat hashtag stream). Again, reach out beyond the friends / followers (Tip 3) that you already have.

Tip 9: Capitalize on the popularity of Pinterest. Create a "board" on the topic of your chat, then tweet it with the time of your chat. (To see my Escape from Egypt Pinterest board, click here.)

Tip 10: Add a level of podcasting to further personalize your chat. Use iTalk on the iPad. Keep it under a minute. (To listen to my first try, click here.)

You might also be interested in:

• 15 Social Media Mistakes You Might Make
• 10 Commandments of Blogging