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

5 Blogging, 5 Twitter and 5 Facebook Tips (for believers)

BLOGGING

1. What's your passion? (Marriage/family, end times/prophecy, Christian living, etc) That's what you need to write about. Sprinkle in your own life stories highlighting what God's done.

2. If you wait for perfection, you will never publish. (Nobody's perfect.)

3. Recycle blog posts via other technologies. Turn it into a video blog, too? Or slideshow? ( See slideshare.net) Or podcast?

4. Write as you talk. Pretend you're having a conversation with a friend. (Subscribe to the A Heart For God blog for examples: click here. Thanks for subscribing.)

5. Pray for Jesus to energize you. ~from 11 Tips About Blogging (plus one bonus)

TWITTER

1. See tweeting as a fulfillment of prophecy. (I do!) "'This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.'" (Matthew 24:14)

2. Don't miss the power of Twitter lists. There is an intimacy to them where you can spend time with a smaller group listening and learning. ~from 21 "More" Twitter Tips from @aheartforgod

3. So what if your Twitter stream is overwhelmed with Bible verses (use Biblegateway.com to post your own) and expressions of praise during #Tworship services, etc (9 pm Eastern Time USA, weeknights). After all, the world hammers us with their hashtags. :P

4. A plan to help you gain thousands of Twitter followers based on the acronym "T-W-E-E-T": T-ools, W-rite, E-ngage, E-ncourage, T-ime. ~from My Twitter Speech-Part 2 (140 Characters Conference ~ Twain Harte). (For: 5 tips to help you gain 50,000 followers on Twitter, click here.)

5. There are people out there (in the Twitter sphere) you will never know (until the next life?) that are hanging by a thread. With your every tweet give them hope.

FACEBOOK

1. Facebook is the latest whipping boy in some churches. (It is the past revival that persecutes the present.) Don't be stupid. Use it for God's glory.

2. Where does the Millennial generation ("Y") go when they have spiritual questions? The internet. Pose those questions yourself as status updates (Is there a God?, Why do good people suffer?, Is there a purpose to my life?, etc) and give answers, too. (You'd be surprised who's listening.) Respond to comments.

3. It is a marathon to gain an audience on Facebook (versus other social media platforms) and not a sprint. Pace yourself. ("Facebook is like playing football in the sand." ~A famous person once said)

4. To gain "Likes" on your Facebook page, offer an incentive (free eBook download; exclusive content via fan-only gate; prize raffle for the 1st so many "likes", etc). (To read about my surprise drawing, click here.)

5. Online relationships will never replace offline ones. (They were never meant to.) But there are real people with real needs on Facebook, too. Be a friend. Add value, interact, appreciate, pray for. Be led by the Spirit.

You might also be interested in:

• The 8 Don'ts of Twitter / Tweeting (plus 1 bonus)
• F-a-c-e-b-o-o-k (an approach to sharing the love of God)