Following is the second part of a four part series on how to implement a successful Q&A on Twitter from start to finish.
The series includes:
- Suggestions for building a stronger presence leading into the Q&A session
- Best practices for promoting and conducting the session
- Options for engaging the audience during the session
- Ways to keep the conversation going after the session
Part II: Best practices for Conducting and Promoting a Twitter Q&A session
Now that you’ve established a baseline Twitter presence where you are engaging with influencers, potential customers, and more, there’s an opportunity to move beyond that and host discussions via Twitter Q&A’s. This serves as a thought-leadership platform and, at the same time, engages key audiences on an even more interactive level
Now that you have the basics for building and strengthening your Twitter presence, it’s time to consider the logistics for your Q&A. Below are four steps to help you do just that:
1. Choosing a theme—controversy and other compelling content are great hooks
The Q&A should be centered on a specific topic that will be addressed, such as a controversial industry topic or something more informational like a new product release.
Example: Obama conducted a Q&A focused on issues dealing with the economy and health care. Only questions dealing with those issues were addressed in the session.
2. Choosing a hashtag (#Tag)—establishing a #Tag is as important as establishing a compelling theme
A #Tag should be chosen to complement the theme. The #Tag is very important as it provides participants a way to find and interact with the Q&A topic on Twitter. This is the best way to collect questions. Select a specific #Tag to set it apart from your day-to-day tweets and provide context for your followers. Try to pick something short that speaks to the topic you would like to address.
Also, while single Q&A sessions are beneficial, hosting tweet events on a regular and consistent basis (weekly, monthly, etc.), using the same #Tag, is a great way to build momentum.
Examples: #AskRichardBranson or #AskVirgin
3. Promoting the Q&A—getting the word out to influencers, media, and your customers
Your PR team can help you promote the Q&A with all the right press contacts and analysts. It will also be important to tap into established company relationships and social media channels to promote the Q&A. Alert established audiences to the Twitter Q&A on company blogs, Facebook pages, and Twitter handles to help drive engagement. Emailing key audiences with information on the Q&A, including partners and employees will also help get the word out.
Starting the outreach early will be important so people can reserve time on their calendars. Follow-up confirmations will also be key to keep the Q&A in the forefront as the date gets closer. All communications should provide background on the Q&A session topic and encourage those contacted to join and tweet about the Q&A (using the #Tag, of course).
Confirm thought leaders, also active on Twitter, are able to participate by having them post their questions on Twitter as early as possible with the Q&A hashtag. Peppering questions on Twitter from key influencers will improve the quality of questions and build buzz. This is also an opportunity to reach the influencers core followers by including their Twitter handles in your reply. Your followers will see the replies, as will all of their followers.
4. Shaping the Conversation— Collect Q’s Ahead of Time
The foundation has been laid, the session has been promoted, and now it is time to shape the conversation. Here are some tips:
– It is a good idea to point Twitter Q&A participants to supporting resources, identified by the company, to help them gain an understanding of the Q&A topic being discussed and appropriate questions to ask. Press releases, articles, case studies, and blog posts focusing on topics that tie into the Q&A are all great ways to help shape the scope of the discussion. Leading up to the event, a series of sample questions should be provided to help guide what is appropriate.
– Ask for questions ahead of time. Relying on live questions can be unpredictable; having some questions and answers prepared ahead of time is advisable. Asking for questions every week leading up to the session is also a great opportunity to promote the upcoming session.
Stay tuned for the third part of this series that will provide options for engaging the audience during the session.
