Yesterday saw the First Lady Margaret Kenyatta presided over the handing over of the Beyond Zero mobile clinic in Turkana. Her official Twitter account gave an account for the event by sharing tweets and pictures. This is all good, but a few people on social media had a few issues with how it was done. Their problem was that her social media manager live tweeted her whole speech, word for word.
@Mwanikih Not everybody understands the concept of live tweeting. @FirstLadyKenya @SirAlexas
— Naomi Mutua (@AKenyanGirl) October 30, 2014
This got me thinking about live tweeting. In this day and age where bloggers and social media bigwigs get invited to events on a daily basis, you need to know how to live tweet. Your attendance to some events will rely on how well you can tweet and create a buzz on social media about said event.
I don’t think live tweeting is something that can be taught. It’s all about trying it out and honing the skill over time. Never the less, a few tips could always come in handy on how to go about it. Here are a few tips to help you out.
Identify the hashtag
The first thing is to identify and know the hashtag for the event. Using a hashtag for an event will help you be able to track and see what else is being said around the topic. It will also help people reading your tweets know what it’s in reference to. Use a hashtag that’s simple and short. It should be short enough to allow you to have enough space for more words about the event so that your tweets make sense.
Pay attention
You need to pay attention during the event. It might seem redundant to have to say this, but it’s important to do so. You need to listen keenly and pay close attention to what the speakers say as well as the questions the audience asks. Paying attention will allow you to be able to pick out the most important and relevant statements to tweet about. You will be able to pick the statements worth thinking about deeply and that you think will be relevant to your followers.
Know your audience
It’s always good to know who follows you. Know their interests and why they follow you. It will help you know how to structure and phrase your tweets to appeal to your followers. Knowing who you are sharing your content to will help you know what part of the event to leave out of the tweets and what needs a lot of tweeting about.
Attribute statements
Always acknowledge who has made a statement. If possible, tag their twitter handles. You should ask who will be speaking in advance so you can search for their handles beforehand. Structure the tweets in the format of (Name) says (their statement) or (statement) – (Name). Attributing the statements will help you avoid confusion and misunderstandings. If people know who said the words, they are less likely to attack you for it since they know it isn’t your opinion.
Use media
Live tweeting shouldn’t just be about plain tweets. Include pictures and videos to your tweets as well. This well help people get a clearer picture of what is going on at the event. If the speaker mentions a link to something, open a new tab and share that with your follower. You should also reply to any queries being made by your followers to clarify issues. Retweet and favorite tweets form others in the event. Don’t let your whole timeline simply be about you tweeting what’s going on.
Live tweetng is an art. One that you hone over a specific period of time. It takes a lot of time and energy to be able to tweet ant an event while still paying attention to what is being said. You should always remember to keep it simple and interesting for your followers. It’s not advisable to tweet the whole speech being made as people will get tired of scrolling through the timeline to get the information they think interests them most. The most relevant thing you need to have in mind is that your followers need you to give them a brief run down of what is happening at the event. If your tweets capture this without being an overload of information, you’re good to go.