By Amy Villarreal HERWriter Blogger August 22, 2011 - 1:56pm

Twitter chats are a great way to communicate directly with other tweeters who share similar interests with you. Participating in a chat is easy and there are many great tips to finding the right conversation for you.

Below is a list of important tips that can be directly related to #HERchat. Visit this article to learn more about creating a Twitter account and getting started: http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/43440.aspx

Great tips for beginners:

1. When people organize a tweet chat, they choose a hashtag related to the event and a time to hold the chat. (aka #HERchat)

2. They let as many people as possible know about it and ask them to spread the word. (Retweet any tweets about #HERchat and let your followers know when it is.)

3. Often they will assign a moderator to welcome participants, ask questions and generally keep the conversation on track. (Usually between 4 and 5 questions are asked by a moderator. The moderator will be introduced at the beginning of #HERchat.)

4. If there is a guest answering questions, they may be posed by the moderator or the participants.

5. When you join the chat, spend a moment to scan the tweets around the tag. Who is talking? If there is a host or a featured guest, what questions have been posted? What is the theme of the chat?

6. Feel free to share tweets from within the chat with your network, perhaps by re-tweeting or with comments, but don't forget to include the hashtag so people can follow along. (Please don't forget to include the hashtag. This will ensure everyone sees the tweet and you'll be included in the conversation.)

7. Re-tweeting the posts of another user in the chat is a common way to support statements from other tweeters and share them with your own networks.

8. If you ask a question or respond to someone in the chat, use the hashtag so everyone can be in on the conversation.

9. It's OK to greet your friends who are participating in the chat with a quick mention, but don't use the hashtag unless it's on topic.

10. If you have enough space in the tweet to share their post and comment, then great. If there isn't, you can re-tweet their comment intact and then @mention them with your feedback-and be sure to use the hashtag.

11. It is not OK (in most cases) to use a tweet chat stream to market your own product or services. This isn't about you.

12. You might want to let people know you'll be participating in a chat in advance. This is a nice way to support the host and let your network know you may be a bit noisy during that time. (EmpowHER loves to hear from tweeters who know they will be participating in the next #HERchat.)

This list was adapted from ragan.com. You can find more info at the link given here: http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/43440.aspx