Twitter is a highly interactive and versatile social networking site. One of the main reasons Twitter has become so famous worldwide in such a short period is its various communities or groups.
A Twitter community works much like an online forum. People share their thoughts, ideas, and opinions on specific topics in real-time with other group members.
Instead of typing your feedback on a web page or blog, the only difference is that you post it directly on Twitter. Another upside to this system is how quickly information spreads around the globe; news breaks over Twitter updates very fast! Some say it’s even quicker than some TV stations.
It’s no wonder that more and more people join these Twitter communities every day as the online conversation grows and becomes more global.
Twitter community is a great place to:
- Express your views on politics and current events
- Follow ongoing discussions about books you’re interested in
- Access immediate news updates from your favorite celebrity or politician
- Discuss the inner workings of certain organizations with employees and members who are willing to share information about their behavior, strategies, etc.
- Participate in live chats with people who share similar interests. It’s an excellent way to broaden horizons without leaving home
Before joining any Twitter community, here are some things you might want to know:
How to Join A Community?
It is relatively easy to join a Twitter community. However, most of them are open only to members who have been invited or requested by current participants. So the chances of finding an active and thriving online forum devoted to your area of interest right away are pretty slim, especially if you want to converse with others about something obscure or niche-specific.
There are several ways of joining a community:
- Request membership in that group via direct messages. If their topic is public and they’re currently looking for new members, they’ll send you an invite.
- Search through popular hashtags [e.g., #football] and see if anyone is talking about what interests you. If many people discuss the same topic, they likely have a Twitter community devoted to it. You can engage in the conversation and join in when you feel ready.
- Some groups are organized around important dates or events related to their topic, so be sure to check out upcoming holiday hashtags [e.g., #Halloween]. Joining them will allow you to talk about your plans for Halloween.
- Some communities are closed groups, which means you need to request membership from their moderators before posting tweets there.
- If you’re serious about joining a specific Twitter community but aren’t having much luck finding one, don’t be afraid to ask the members of your existing groups for advice.
How to Tweet Inside Community and See Community Tweets?
If you’ve joined an online forum or Twitter community that posts updates related to that topic, then it’s likely that they have set up some rules regarding the use of hashtags within it (e.g., ‘#’ symbol preceding every post). This makes it easier for people who want to follow the conversation inside the group without prior knowledge about it.
If the group is public, any member can participate by simply following specific rules or conventions of hashtagging. There are several ways of doing that:
- If they’re using a hashtag to start every conversation [for example, #barcamp], you need to search for that hashtag on Twitter’s Search page and follow all tweets containing it. You can also choose a more specific one if there are several available.
- If their posts contain a few hashtags at the end of each tweet [e.g., #halloween = #partytime #dressedupwithnothingtodo], make sure you bookmark or favorite those hashtags and follow them on your own.
- Many communities use hashtags to identify their posts, like #twittercommunity, #ukchat, #edchat (for teachers), etc. So make sure you follow all hashtags that might be relevant to your interests.
How to Leave a Community or Got Removed By Moderator?
Sometimes people join Twitter communities without doing their research first and annoy the other participants by asking irrelevant questions, posting links to random sites, publishing profane or offensive content, etc. If users report these tweets as spam or abusive, moderators will usually delete them from the public conversation thread.
If you find yourself mistaken for a spammer, apologize and stop posting. Also, if you’re unlucky enough to annoy a moderator, they may delete your account from the group without warning.
For example, suppose a community’s moderators believe that you’re not following their topic closely enough or asking questions that have already been answered in the past. In that case, they may ask you politely to leave or ban your account from participating further.
Why Am I Not Allowed To Join A Community?
Some communities do not allow people who aren’t already members of their network to join them directly via Twitter [e.g., closed groups]. The process to join communities is just like Facebook groups. Usually, this is done because the existing participants don’t want new members to keep their circles small and exclusive.
If the public community has a strict policy regarding their topic and requires you to ask permission to join them, then be sure that you meet all of their requirements before filling out the application.
Some communities require participants to abide by specific rules or conditions. So you must be aware of these guidelines before joining. Otherwise, your account may get banned from the group.
How To Become A Moderator? What Are The Roles Of Moderators?
Usually, moderators are chosen among the most active members of a Twitter community because they tend to have extensive knowledge about its topic. If they’re running an online forum dedicated to discussing current events, for example, they would likely choose someone who reads the news every day to help them make decisions.
The primary role of moderators in Twitter communities is not just making sure there’s no spamming/trolling but also maintaining the quality of the conversations inside.
One way to do that is by filtering out ‘bad’ or off-topic tweets from being seen by all members. Some moderators use bots. So they don’t have to do it manually.
How To Start A Community of Your Own?
Twitter communities can be a great way to connect with others who share your interests, learn from others, and build relationships.
Creating your own Twitter community is relatively easy. All you need are several interested people that are willing to create an account of their own and start tweeting about a common topic. Once they’re comfortable with each other online, they’ll develop more ideas on how to keep the conversation going!
Before we discuss how to start a Twitter community of your own, there is something you need to know:
- DO NOT create communities for the sake of creating and growing the number of your followers. There’s nothing wrong with having more followers. But it’s not an excuse to indulge in spamming activities, such as inviting people indiscriminately to join your community.
- Building communities on Twitter requires you to deal with people. And because of this fact, it is of utmost importance for you to learn how to communicate the right way.
Here are some tips to help you get started with the community creation process if you’re interested.
1. Choose A Topic For Your Community
The first step is to choose a topic for your community. This could be anything from a specific interest or hobby to a profession or industry.
2. Create A Twitter Account For Your Community
Next, you’ll need to create a Twitter account for your community. This will be the primary account for the community and will be used to post updates, announcements, and discussion topics. You can create it easily from your Twitter app.
3. Choose A Name For Your Community
Next, you’ll need to choose a name for your community. This is the public-facing name that will be used in all updates and announcements. It should sound catchy but not too spammy or fake, so it doesn’t deter others from participating in the community.
4. Choose Topics For Discussion
Once you’ve created an account and named your community, you can start posting discussion topics for users to tweet about. This could be any topic relating to the theme of the community.
For example, with a cooking community named “Kitchen Chat,” possible conversation topics could include recipes, restaurants, local farmer’s markets, kitchen gadgets, etc.
You may also want to post prompts at certain times or on certain days of the week. For example, “What’s your favorite meal to cook on Sunday?” or “Do you prefer waffles or pancakes?”.
Also Check: How to Delete or Deactivate Your Twitter Account
5. Engage With Your Community
Once you have a topic and some discussion topics posted, it’s time to engage with your community. This is key – communities are meant to be interactive, so users will want to know that they’re interacting with other community members of the group rather than just talking into the abyss.
Be sure to thank people who take the time to tweet about your topic in their responses, and reply in kind if someone tweets at you directly in response to one of your discussion prompts. If someone requests an RT to join the community, feel free to approve it if you think they’ll add value to the community.
6. Invite Others To Join Your Community
Once you have a foundation of Twitter users in your community, other people will start finding out about it and possibly want to join the conversation! If someone’s just interested in viewing tweets from a specific hashtag, however, remember that you can filter out all replies that aren’t directed at your account by going into “Settings” > “Filters” and adding them as a “Custom” filter under the “Replies” section.
This way, they won’t get notifications for irrelevant tweets like normal users who don’t follow the hashtag. Feel free to ask if other users would like this functionality set up for their communities.
Remember, every feature of a community is built on mutual relationships and interactions, so all the more reason to be a good Twitter citizen.
7. Promote Your Community
Since it’s unfamiliar with most people, you’ll have to promote your community for people to find it. You can do this by tweeting about it from time to time, including #hashtags used in the community topic, and inviting new people to join whenever the opportunity arises.
It may also help to share milestones like when you hit specific follower numbers or milestones like announcing when someone reaches 1K followers. Whatever works!
8. Participate In Other Communities
It’s always a good idea to participate in other communities, especially if they’re similar in nature or theme. Many different groups use Twitter for their unique purposes, and the more you engage, the better. Since people care about what their peers think, incorporating your community into discussions that pertain to it (within reason) will grab attention.
You can even occasionally use hashtags where users mention others who would be great for new members to follow. But don’t spam these too much – there’s only one tweet per day allowed with this hashtag!
9. Keep An Eye On Your Community
There may be some discussion topics or members that don’t “fit” your community’s ethos, so you should monitor to ensure members stay on topic and be kind. If necessary, you can delete any explicitly offensive tweets, block users who violate the community rules too many times or even kick a user out permanently for repeated offenses.
If a member is usually responsible but made an honest mistake one time, consider giving them another chance.
10. Celebrate Milestones With Your Community
Once again, every twitter communities feature is according to mutual relationships and interactions. So feel free to celebrate milestones like getting 1K followers with your community by tweeting about it from time to time to thank everyone who follows along.
Conclusion
Twitter communities can be a great way to connect with people who share your interests and passions. Whether you’re looking for an open community where anyone can join or an invite-only community of like-minded individuals, there’s a Twitter community out there for you.
Just make sure to follow the etiquette of the community (and Twitter in general) and respect the rules set by the moderators. And if you want to start your community, do follow our steps to get started.
Maryam has been teaching IT as a school teacher for over a decade, and her main subject of choice is Internet safety, especially helping parents keep their families safe and secure online. When Maryam is not teaching or writing she is a big fan of the outdoors, the complete opposite of staring at a computer screen for hours.
