One of the things we have done as part of the AEJMC PRD social media committee is to initiate a Twitter chat series within the division. We have done two previous chats on different topics this past year, and both were very successful.
We initiated one for the fall semester last night and it focused on wearable technologies and new media. We had Rick Murray and Dana Coester come and join us virtually on the Twitter chat session.
We had probably the most engaged chat session yet! We had more users come on board and participate and we also extended the conversation to include not only professors and students, but also practitioners in the field as well, which was very cool to see.
However, to create an effective and dynamic Twitter chat session, you have to have a team in place for this to happen. Luckily, I am working with the best social media team out there – Dave, Geah, Melissa, Diana, Kelly, Carolyn, Nicole, and Patrick all have helped out tremendously this year with the PRD social media efforts. Geah was the one who organized and hosted the chat session last night and she truly did an amazing job.
There were a few lessons I was able to take away from participating in this chat last night and apply for future Twitter chat sessions. Here are some of the best practices I’ve learned from this experience:
- A Twitter chat session is a team effort: It’s really hard to pull off a chat session by yourself – so you want to make sure to have several people on board. More hands on various keyboards and mobile devices create light work. 🙂
- Have different roles on the Twitter chat session: What worked for us is the fact we were able to have multiple roles going on. Geah was the host, and Dave and I were actively engaged in communicating and commenting about the various topics on hand with the professionals and guests for the chat.
- Promote, promote, and promote: Before the chat even has happened – you want to have a content management plan ahead of time for how you are going to promote the event. We used infographics that were shared on all of our social media sites as well as sending out a notice to the PRD listserv to cover our bases.
- Create visual quotes from Twitter answers by the guests: This was new for me – but I think this was a neat discovery in the process. I had my laptop, iPad, and phone going during the Twitter chat session, and I realized both Dana and Rick were saying some great things that I thought were key to save and share with others in the chat session. However, do you favorite the tweet, or create a visual to illustrate this answer? I went with the second answer by creating visuals for each professional by using the app Word Swag – which can be shared, downloaded, and used in future presentations in classes and other places. I think for future chats – whether it is for the PRD or at conferences – you need to have at least one person who will be in charge of creating visual quotes from the speakers to share on social media for everyone.
In summary, the Twitter chat session for the AEJMC PRD this semester went off very well. Thank you to all of the PR professors, students, and practitioners who participated in the chat session.
Also, special thanks to Rick Murray and Dana Coester again for taking the time to chat with all of us last night. We really appreciated your time and having the opportunity to chat with you about emerging trends and media.
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen