#SomosSocial: Bilingual Twitter Chats—How to Do Them Effectively

Editor's Note: Twitter Chats are a way to engage with your audience members on Twitter, in real-time. On January 5th, HIV.gov and others participated in a #SaludTues Twitter chat discussing the importance of Latino Americans obtaining health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Looking for more information about Twitter chats? Check out other HIV.gov blog posts about this type of engagement.

There are 11.7 million + reasons to be on Twitter—the approximate number of Hispanics in the U.S. who are using the platform. And out of those 11.7 million, 43% tweet in English and in Spanish. Hispanics over index their counterparts when it comes to digital technologies and services, but how do you reach them and target your messages via Twitter chats?

On December 9, USAGov led a DigitalGov University webinar to discuss how to organize, plan, and execute a successful bilingual Twitter chat. Like all social media events, good planning, coordination, and promotion are key. But what other elements make these successful?

• A focused and nuanced approach to topics covered
• Using data that informs you about your audience
• Partner and influencer amplification strategies
• Native Spanish speakers that are familiar with social media
• An integrated bilingual and bicultural team
• Using comments and questions to inform your content strategy by repurposing what you learned from the chat, for social media messages or website content

If you’re interested in learning more about how to connect with Hispanics on social media, follow #SomosSocialExit Disclaimer. If you’re a government employee who wants to join the #SomosSocial group, please email us and watch the recordingExit Disclaimer.

This post was originally published on the USAGov blog by Victoria Wales, an innovation specialist for USAGov.