BLOG: Live-tweeting connects you to your audience

We use Twitter to get our fill of the daily news and drama happening in this fast-paced world, but we love it even more when we can follow along with this entertainment in real time.

This, my friends, is what we call “live-tweeting.” Live-tweeting is our way to connect with our audience like never before.

Live-tweeting can tell a story. Since Twitter is real time, live-tweeting is a great resource for information and networking. The audience can feel like they’re actually at a concert or athletic event from their Twitter feed’s live-tweets.

To become a successful live-tweeter, here are five ways to actively involve your audience:

1. Create a clever, easy to remember hashtag. The hashtag will set the tone and help the audience find tweets easily. Keep it short so you still have room for your tweet, and don’t forget to use it every time.

2. Provide multimedia. Instead of just tweeting 140 characters or less, show the audience what they are missing out on. Provide visuals – take lots of pictures or videos to show what’s going on.

3. Pay attention. The whole essence of live-tweeting is providing all of the information that happens. Lose attention for even five minutes, and all of that information is lost; there may be gaps in your story. You should also keep in mind not everything is worth repeating.

4. Attribute as much as possible. If your event is a speaker, most of your tweets aren’t your words unless you are tweeting your opinion. Quote the speaker to avoid plagiarism.

5. Follow others that are live-tweeting the same event. Chances are they’ll have a viewpoint you never thought to include in your coverage. Retweeting their live-tweets will enrich your storyline, add a new voice or even give you a new perspective. It doesn’t hurt to gain new, quality Twitter interactions in the process.

Live-tweeting is underestimated and is one of the top ways to gain interaction and solid networks.

These tweets can either make or break the event or company in major ways. Throughout the semester, I will be providing you with examples of how live-tweeting has either ruined a company or how an event has thrived.

If you decide something is worthy to live-tweet about, remember to have fun with it.