Being slightly more of a social media expertthan a commercial real estate maven, I easilyforget that not everyone in the industry spends half their day onTwitter. (And trust me, I wish it were to be reading funnyarticles, but that’s absolutely not the case.) So what is it that Ido there? I share our content, build community and connectwith industry folk to increase contacts, position GlobeSt as areputable, newsworthy brand, and expand its reach. That’s theCliff’s notes version, by the way.

I’ve seen lots of weird and wonderful things on this platform –many of which I will not share here – but one of the mostinteresting is found this blog’s title: the TweetChat. Being thatwe have an upcoming student housing-themed conference (a sector inwhich commercial real estate and social media are married well) wewill be hosting GlobeSt’s inaugural TweetChat on April 24. In arecent article, I explained how professionals can participate inthis “event” and ask questions of a pre-selected authority. Here, Iwant to go a little further and highlight just what a TweetChat is,and what it is most certainly is not.

For starters, a TweetChat is:

• A public forum for interested parties to post questions tosomeone knowledgeable about the topic on the table. For ourTweetChat, we’re highlighting whether student housing professionalsfind Facebook or Twitter more useful for networking, connectingtarget audiences, and conducting research.
• A learning opportunity. Whether or not you ask a questionduring the TweetChat is up to you. But anyone who searches for therelated hashtag can see the discussion. And hopefully learn a thingor two.
• The chance to see who else in your group is on Twitter, andmaybe find a couple of new relevant accounts to follow.
• The chance to display your expertise, depending on theTweetChat format. Some allow for open comments from participants.If this is the case, you can hop in and share your experiences witha given topic. However, even following the conversation can lead tonew ideas and insight.

On the other hand, a TweetChat is not:

• A place to self-promote. While your company and account maygain some visibility, don’t go into a TweetChat expecting to gainfollowers or push your agenda.
• An opportunity to sell. A TweetChat basically takes aninteresting discussion to a different format. If you want to reachout to new clients, push a product or otherwise look for revenue,this is not the place. However, if you think that there is anotherTwitter account – and related company - that may be interested insomething you have to offer, send them a direct message after thechat, or send them an “@” reply describing yourinterest.
• An instant message-like conversation. There is plenty ofopportunity to participate and ask questions, but don’t expect realtime responses. Moderators often have several participants to whichthey have to respond, so just be patient and enjoy reading thecommentary as you go.

Hopefully this presents a little more insight into whatconstitutes a TweetChat. Personally, I encourage first-timeTweetChatters to follow our discussion on April 24^th onthe aforementioned topic. The chat will run from 2 to 2:30 pm ESTand anyone can ask questions or follow along with the tag #FBvsTw,being that we will focus on which social media platform is betterfor student housing professionals.