This document provides guidance on live tweeting events to increase engagement and publicity. It recommends establishing a hashtag and promoting the live tweets in advance. During the event, tweet highlights and share links while engaging with others. After the event, thank participants and evaluate engagement metrics to improve future live tweets. An example exercise asks the reader to live tweet a teleconference using these best practices.
2. Why live tweet?
o More people can take part in an event
o To start a two-way conversation
o Gives more people the opportunity to ask questions
o People can access the tweets after the event
o More publicity for the next event
o To share what’s going on in the organisation
o To increase Twitter followers
4. Before the event
o What’s the #hashtag? What other relevant hashtags 

are there? Eg #LocalGov
o Find out the @usernames of speakers. 

What if they’re not on Twitter? Do they have a website?
o Who are the audience? What are their interests?
o Get hold of the speech or presentation in advance. 

Draft some tweets
o Promote it on other channels
o Encourage others to tweet along
5. o Let your follows know you’ll be live tweeting.
Give them the date, time and hashtag
7. During the event
o Ask a colleague to make notes
o Don’t try to tweet everything – only the highlights
o Don’t tweet the questions, tweet the answers
o Retweet other people
o Check your notifications for comments and questions
13. Mistakes will happen
What will you do?
o Delete
o Ignore
o Correct
o Clarify
o Apologise
o Use humour
!
o Think about your weaknesses, eg use a browser with a
spell check, ask someone to note down numbers
o Keep calm and carry on
16. After the event
o Get other people to help answer questions
o Don’t forget to thank people for taking part
o Evaluate
o Measure your engagement – retweets, replies, 

clicks on links, new followers
o Which tweets generated the most engagement 

and why?
o Use a free tool, eg Hashtracking, to measure the
reach of your hashtag
o Who responded to your tweets? Could they help
promote future events?
18. Exercise
You are live tweeting during the local government finance
settlement teleconference with @BrandonLewis
!
oWhat’s your hashtag?
oListen to the SoundCloud file. What would you tweet?