Local Chat Hours – your guide on how to join in
Online networking – a guide to Chat Hours on Twitter
A Chat Hour is a pre-determined time on Twitter, where a group of people join in using a hashtag to have a conversation.
Some chat hours are organised geographically, for example, in East Sussex we have:
- #BrightonHour Mondays 8.30-9.30pm
- #EBHour for Eastbourne on Thursdays 7.30-8.30pm
- #SussexHour Thursdays 8.30-9.30pm
Or there are sector or themed chat hours such as
- #smallbizhour
- #Charityhour
- #MotorHour
and so on.
Always worth checking the hashtags, to check the Chat Hour is still active and to make sure the Chat Hour is based in the UK as this may affect whether you join in or not.
How to get involved in a chat hour
- Log in to Twitter and then go to your search bar top right of the screen and type in the name of the chat hour with the hashtag e.g. #EBHour
- You will then be taken to a view which has two options – View Top tweets, and view all.
- You need to select View All or latest so you can see the conversation as it happens.
- If you intend to join in regularly you can save that search (top right of the screen – three dots)
- It’s a good idea to open a second browser screen and have that screen logged in for Twitter and select your notifications tab. This allows you to check if someone tweets you directly so you can reply quickly without going away from the search screen.
- Don’t feel you have to attend every week or stay the full hour – even a quick hello and brief chat can be beneficial.
It’s just businesses selling – right?
Wrong! Yes businesses are the predominant group in some chat hours, but they are there to develop relationships – just as with any networking event offline. Charities and other organisations also join in as do individuals!
Chat hours give people a chance to get to know each other as people, share stories, a laugh, and other experiences as well as a little bit of promotion what they may be doing.
If you are new to Twitter chat hours are a great way of getting to know people and build a network.
Top tip! Don’t forget the Chat Hour Hashtag in your tweets!
Twitter Accounts:
@EastbourneHour
@SussexHourUk
@Brighton_Hour
