13 LIVE Tweeting Tips

I've LIVE tweeted for 22 events in the last 10 months.  I'm anxious to share with you, what I've learned...  through some interesting trial and error.

13 LIVE Tweeting Tips:

1. Create an easy short #hashtag for the event. Tweeple enjoying the LIVE tweets can play along simultaneously and you can track and interact with them.  Keep the #hashtag short, so there's more room for the meat of a tweet.
2. Give plenty of promotion to the fact the designated twitter account (yours or if you tweet for a biz or venue) will be posting LIVE from and during the event, what time it will begin and of course, the #hashtag.
3. Encourage others attending the event to also LIVE tweet from the event and promote the #hashtag to them.  Getting their attention early, setting the desired expectation and asking for participation well ahead of the event has worked well for me.
4. If possible, get the Twitter account name of key people you will be tweeting about ahead of time. (bands, members of the band, athletes, speakers, etc..)   
5. When you tweet about this upcoming event in the weeks/days before it, be sure to include the guest of honor Twitter accounts in your promotional posts.  The chances of them seeing, interacting and RTing your posts will increase dramatically and you'll build a relationship with them by the time the big event arrives.  This will help for tip # 6.
6. On the day of, introduce yourself and be sure to let the guest(s) of honor know you will be LIVE tweeting (for yourself or a client) and check to see if they have any concerns.  Overcome any objections and put their mind at ease by letting them know you are wanting this to be a positive experience for them, the venue and viewers alike.   You're root'n for them and that nothing compromising, or that could be misconstrued, will be posted. You're probably at the mercy of how they feel that day and at that moment, but your enthusiasm for what's about to happen, can help set the tone.  Historically, most have been grateful for the extra publicity.  Agree to any restrictions they may put in place and be sure to honor your word 100%.
7. Tweet frequently and consistently.  Remember, you want to virtually put the viewer there with you.  Personally, I prefer photos with the majority of my tweets.  It's a great way to gauge how many people viewing took the time to open a photo. You can see the number of views each photo received.  If the event is not too loud (near the speakers at a  concert and NASCAR are poor choices, trust me) then using TwitVid is a great option too. Short n sweet... tops, :30 second videos.  That's all anyone seems to want to commit to viewing these days for they don't want to miss a large chunk of the LIVE tweeting.
8. Encourage and actively RT! Retweeting quality posts or Twitpics (or whichever photo site you use for posting on Twitter) will draw more people in (people are by nature curious and visual) and make the audience interacting feel valued for their efforts too.
9. If possible, just before the event, take the viewers places they wouldn't normally be able to go, in order to maximize the uniqueness of what you're doing.  With permission, I show the green room at a concert venue where the bands are preparing to take the stage.  Sometimes they ham it up and some times they just go about their business... but it's special.  The people at the venue and behind their phone/laptop/monitor screens, rarely get to see it.  If you are to remain only in the audience, keep on tweeting.  That perspective is just as important.  Consider moving about the room/venue/facility during the event to get different angles for a variety of photos. 
10. Invite a Guest Tweeter to join you.  If someone has expressed a, dare I say, "fanatical" interest in the event you'll be tweeting from and better yet, they are an influencer with many followers in your client's demographics, by all means have them join you!  The more the merrier. They too will promote the #hashtag and your tweets to about the show.  See if the event you are tweeting for will provide a pass for that person too, in exchange for your guest's genuinely enthusiastic tweets.  (I would set some simple guidelines of no cursing, keeping the tweets positive
11. After the event and as soon as you can, search Twitter for the other tweets you may have originally missed (easy to do when there's lots to tweet).  Retweet the interesting one's and by all means, thank everyone who got involved and posted along with you.  Appreciation is... well... appreciated.
12. I like to capture all of the tweets on a document and post it a day or two later for everyone to enjoy.  They will.  I've even captured an entire season's worth of hilarious and thought provoking tweets for a team, and posted for all to see... It was a big hit and sparked even more conversation! 
13. In the end, you now have a nice archive of the event.  You can comment on any photos of particular interest to blast it out on Twitter again and retweet any posts you think viewers will find funny or informative.  It'll keep people talking long past the event.

LIVE tweeting works beautifully for a few simple reasons:  One being that if a consumer/fan cannot be there, they can still feel included.  On the flip side, if a consumer/fan CAN be there, it can create a sense of urgency and will enticed them to get to the event.  It's a great teaser.  A "you shoulda been here... better make the next one" taste of what they are missing.  Not to mention the high frequency of so many pairs of eyeballs seeing your/your client's name.  Can you say #BrandAwareness

Let me know if you're going to be LIVE tweeting this year.   It would be my pleasure to follow your tweets at the event.

Alexis

Social Media Mamapreneur

I Say West, You Say Side!

I recently had the rough assignment to live tweet at the Snoop Dogg & Ice Cube concert for Voodoo Lounge in Harrah's Casino, North Kansas City, MO.  Can you smell the sarcasm?  I was thrilled!  I'm a concert fanatic!

I love all kinds of music, but admittedly, I'm not a rap fan.  Short of Sugar Hill Gang's "Rappers Delight" and some goofy Will Smith stuff like "Parents Just Don't Understand", I am ashamed to admit I am not well versed in rap.  However, I do know a potentially good time. What wasn't going to be fun about this show?!   It had fun all over it from the git go!

I learned several new curse words, met rapper/actor Ice Cube, had a great time chatting it up with the entourage from both artists, opening DJ's, the site photographer Jeff Knights of Snap the Moment , the DJ at intermission JT Quick , security, the Voodoo staff, the cops and all the while, my husband who does like rap, and graciously joined me.

Here's a recap of the show from my perspective:
I'd been pumping the show on twitter for a few weeks before July 30th.  The pre-show tweets on Twitter are always interesting and people get excited...

People were jammed up to the stage from the moment the doors opened. There were no chairs on the main floor, thank gawd.  Unless you're Yanni, I will never understand why an artist would want seating on the main floor for their show.  If a person is standing, more than likely they will dance, at the least a little.  Sway.  That's far better than a bump on a log.  A.K.A.: a person in a chair.

I was backstage as Ice Cube was preparing to take the stage.  He was charming, funny, gracious, all smiles... just the way I wanted him to be.   As he was holding the microphone in his left hand, at the bottom of the few steps leading up to the stage, I said "Ice... one more before going on" and held up my camera phone. In what I guess is typical celebrity behavior, he struck a "bad ass" pose.  It's not indicative of the guy we were just talking to, but it really is a great shot.

This is a pathetic pic of he and I.  I was hot, sweaty and well... a little overly giddy.  Ice on the other hand looks like a baby doll.  I shouldn't even put it up, but it's too funny not to.

Those with "media passes", like  moi', could stand between the stage and the barrier/wall o' fans, and take pics, touch the artists shoes, get some sweat flung on us... and boy did we!  LOL!!!

Ice Cube was difficult to take photos of because he was always moving so fast. He was full of energy and so were the guys in his "crew" er "band" er, whatever you call them.   I did however, get a sweet shot of his sparkled glittery shoes each time he stood in front of me.  My 8 yr old daughter gave this a big thumbs up.  Ice Cube saw me snapping this shot and gave me a wink like "I know. They are so cool."   It's all about the BLING baby.

Ice did a full show. Truly... it was longer than most opening acts and the crowd was really engaged with him.  Ice Cube's energy and audience interaction made his performance, for me, the best of the night.

Right after he was done, a DJ from Hot 103 Jamz, TJQuick entertained the crowd.  I love how the computer and the turntable are so portable and he was amazing!  Kept the audience upbeat despite being jam packed to the stage waiting for Snoop Dogg.. (photo via Jeff Knight)

JT Quick is a super nice guy, confident and charming.  He was notified that afternoon he would be doing this intermission set and he did it like he had been planning for a month.  He also did the same thing Ice Cube did for me.  When I asked for a pic, this sweet faced smiley guy went from that .. to "Bad Ass"

It was getting warm and it was one of those days earlier with a heat of index of 110 degrees and humidity at 110%.  The security and cops came out and tossed out cases of bottled water to the concert goer's who started out boo'ing them... then realized what they were doing and cheered for them.

I didn't get to visit with Snoop Dogg like I did Ice Cube. He was M.I.A. backstage and the green room and when it was time for him to go on stage, BAM! There he was!  He was however, much easier to photograph. He doesn't sprint or jump across stage.  He uses his swagger to get from one side to the other.

Check out  his "ring" that says "Snoop Dogg". At least, that's what I think it says.  It's like a set of brass knuckles... really.   (via Jeff Knight)

He struck a lot of poses for the gazillion camera phones in everyone's hands... the crowd loved it!

and the crowd adored him! I mean really adored him!  And connecting gestures like shaking hands only fueled their love and frenzy for wanting to be closer to him...

Don't you love where I got to take photos from?   I know!!!!   The tweets from concert go-ers during and after the show were dynamite!  I love how social media can put even those who weren't there, almost there.

You can find more great photos from the club photographer, Jeff Knight,  HERE and you can find my tweets and photos HERE for date July 30th.   The best part of the evening was watching the crowd. They were so happy and diverse and you could feel the good mojo coming from everyone of them.

You can follow Voodoo on Twitter at @VoodooKC and HERE on Facebook.  You can follow me on Twitter at @AlexisCeule too.

Next blog.... on the incredible Los Lonely Boys concert the night after this one took place!  Same assignment.   I'm one lucky girl.