6 Things You Need To Do Before You Live Tweet An Event

Whether you're a social media marketer responsible for covering your company's event, a journalist covering the latest Apple unveiling or a music blogger who owes it to your readers to live tweet an awesome concert, you need to know how to live tweet an event without a hitch. Running a live tweet for an event is a great way to connect with your audience. It can shows that you're interested in the latest news from your field or act as an attention-grabbing stunt. If you're ever in a situation where you need to cover an event live over Twitter, there's a lot to consider. Having live tweeted many events myself, I know a little bit about the things that can go wrong just as the event is about to start. By following these tips, you'll save yourself time (and a potential headache) as the event begins. 1) Tweet from the right accounts If you're using a smartphone, you need to be logged in to the correct account on whatever service you're using to tweet from. Whether it's the Twitter app, the Twitter web app, Hootsuite, Buffer or any other offering, you'll need to ensure you're not accidentally logged in to the wrong personal account - because then you'll be scrambling minutes into the live event you're trying to capture, and you could miss some crucial early info. 2) Charge your batteries It's obvious, but that doesn't mean you won't forget. Charge up your phone/laptop/Macbook and carry an extra battery if possible. If you're taking photo or video and uploading it, make sure you're aware of how much that activity can drain batteries. 3) Set up a saved search for the hashtags and @usernames You should know every hashtag and @username related to the event. That includes event sponsors, hosts, venue, key fans and personalities. That way you'll be able to keep an eye on the chatter in breaks from posting yourself. You'll want to retweet and reply to others' comments. 4) Create or find a list of the speakers/performers If you can't find an existing Twitter list of the speakers or performers, then go ahead and create one. 5) Pre-tweet and let people know Let your followers know you'll be tweeting about the event beforehand, and engage with the other people who are interested. If you look for people who you genuinely would love to converse with during the key event, it'll be interesting to the both of you and all your followers, too. Ideally let people know around 24 hours before the event then give them another reminder an hour before things kick off. 6) Figure out what to tweet Direct quotes from speakers or presentations always do well and a well-chosen quote can convey the essence of the talk to people who are listening in. The speaker may retweet it later when they see it, as well. Images and photos do well, especially on the new Twitter layout where graphical media gets more space. In any case, have some fun while live tweeting and that will translate through to the readers. What are your tips for live tweeting an event? (Tweet image via Shutterstock.)

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6 Things You Need To Do Before You Live Tweet An Event

Lauren Dugan

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Lauren Dugan