A somewhat new phenomenon, live-tweeting is growing to be a major part of modern events. In essence, live-tweeting is a newer form of real-time journalism. Live-tweeting is built around an event as it is happening (yes, that is where the “live comes from”) and from either participating in or offering a play-by-play commentary of the action. Some neophytes might consider it to be simply tweeting whatever strikes your fancy while an event is playing out; however this is not the case. If you are just at an event, passively listening, and then happen across a meaningful quote or announcement that you decide to tweet, that is not live-tweeting.
When live-tweeting, you are constantly and actively watching, listening, and searching for meaningful insights, quotes, announcements, and details to share with your followers. You are reporting in real time so your followers will (and should) expect you to tweet breaking developments and stand-out happenings at the event. The list does not stop there: while keeping your stream flowing with updates, you should be publishing not only announcements, but insightful, smart commentary for your followers. Once you start live-tweeting an event, you will have to finish the entire event, or your reputation will be severely damaged. You will be constantly creating commentary, timing it right, retweeting (more than usual), posting pictures (if you want to really be meaningful), and you will be fatigued.
In addition, not all tweeting rules apply when live-tweeting: it is a different beast. For example, you will be tweeting far more often than you normally would. At Mashable, one of their employees tweets at most once every 10 minutes (6 tweets an hour) on a regular day, but during a live-tweeting event, he can tweet up to 5 tweets a minute – roughly 300 tweets per hour. This is breaking the cardinal spam rule, but it is necessary when live tweeting.
Live-tweeting is not a laid-back task. One has to be constantly watching, analyzing, and publishing. Your goal is to catch the most important pieces of news, and then share your insights. A smart report, keen observation, or a well-timed tweet can go on to be reposted dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of time. For live tweeting to work, many aspects must be present: speed, accuracy, context, the right tools, a strong visual sense, and wit. Be forewarned that early attempts might go poorly.
Don’t expect to suddenly gain thousands of followers just because you start live-tweeting. In fact, probably the opposite will happen what with the sudden influx of tweets. However, don’t give it up just because you lose a few followers. Your priority should not be to gain more followers, but to as accurately and quickly as possible convey an event’s crucial details while it is happening.
Live-tweeting is not a pick-me-up hobby by any stretch of the imagination. But, it can be a fun approach at a new type of journalism to share breaking information and engage your followers. Doing it right takes practice, patience, and perseverance, but in the long-run, you can grow your follower numbers and become versed in this role of up-to-the-moment reporting.
Stay tuned for next week, when we will have an article explaining more of the technicalities and tools needed for optimal live-tweeting.
Source: Mashable