With more than 200 million users on Twitter, it has become increasingly difficult for people and brands to break through the noise that exists between them and their target audience on this medium. While Twitter may not have a ‘groups’ functionally like LinkedIn or Facebook, communities across the platform are able to directly engage and collaborate with each other through regular Twitter chats.

Similar to other types of online chats and forums, a Twitter chat involves a group of online users who use a designated hashtag on a particular day and time to discuss various topics and trends. Whether you are participating as an individual or on behalf of a brand, these chats are an effective way to grow your following and increase engagement with thought leaders in your target community.

Although joining a Twitter chat may seem intimidating, it can really be a beneficial (and fun!) experience when done effectively.  For those of you who have never joined a Twitter chat before, here are 8 things should do to make the most out of your participation:

1)   Find the right chat. Each week, hundreds of groups and organizations host Twitter chats on a wide variety of topics. From event professionals to Justin Bieber fans, there is a chat out there for everyone. Not sure which chat is best for you? Check out this running public Google Doc that keeps track of all Twitter chat schedules.

2)   Do your homework. If you’ve never joined a particular chat before, it’s important to do you’re your due diligence in understanding the community you are joining. Many chat communities have established their own rules and best practices for participation, so you’ll want to make sure you are in the loop. It’s also a good idea to ‘silently’ observe a Twitter chat before you join it so that you can get a feel for the format and flow of the chat, as well as scope out the key contributors and thought leaders.

3)   Reach out to the chat’s moderator. If you plan on joining a Twitter chat, it’s extremely beneficial to reach out to the chat’s moderator beforehand to see what questions he/she plans on asking. Knowing the agenda of the conversation will help you to determine how you can best contribute to the discussion.

4)   Take the time to prepare. Although Twitter chat conversations happen in real time, the worst thing a person or brand can do is ‘wing it’. Prior to the chat, think about the message you want to get across and how you can do so using the chat’s topic and questions.

5)   Leverage a chat tool. There are several useful social media tools that are designed for participating in Twitter chats. For example, TweetChat and TweetGrid are just two of the many sites that allow you to monitor the chat’s hashtag in real time, while also posting tweets.

6)   Actively participate. Once you’ve introduced yourself to the chat’s participants, don’t just stand by and watch the conversation happen. Find a way to contribute to conversation consistently throughout the chat and take advantage of opportunities to engage with members of the community.

7)   Don’t abuse the hashtag. Keep in mind that the purpose of joining a Twitter chat is to increase engagement and expand your social network, not to promote your product or service. If you begin using the chat’s hashtag in a self-serving or irrelevant way, you will quickly lose credibility and respect among the community.

8)   Keep in touch. Although the chat may only last an hour, the new connections you make can last a lifetime. Therefore, it is important to follow up with those you’ve engaged with and thank them for their insight. If possible, try to take the conversation to another social media platform or offline at the next industry event.

9)   Moderate the next one! Once you have successfully participated in a Twitter chat, offer to be the moderator next time. Moderating a chat opens up even more opportunities for you and your brand (more to come on this in a later post!).