You see the hashtag on Twitter every week: #famvin400. This tag can be used for a Twitter chat, one of the best examples of community building on Twitter. The topic of the chat: What are people saying about the 400th anniversary of the Vincentian charism?

These are the “post tags.”

As we approach the 400th anniversary of the charism, it would help your brothers and sisters in the Vincentian Family if you began to tweet using the hashtag #famvin400 with your plans, hopes and dreams for the upcoming year. I’m sure that you’ll remember that the Vincentian Family Office wants to collect these and share them. A twitter chat is the easiest way to do it!

This could include stories and articles about “welcoming the stranger.” It could be images or memes about the charism or the theme for the year. It could be retweets of things you read or saw on the ‘net. You’ll see on .famvin we’ve also used it as a post tag (those phrases in gray at the bottom of each post). Take a look at the articles that use the post tag famvin400.

Matt Diederichs of Hootsuite has published a pretty thorough guide: How to Run a Twitter Chat: The Complete Guide.” He says:

Before you get into the meat of starting your own Twitter chat, it’s important that you know what is involved. A Twitter chat, or Twitter live chat, is when an organization or individual uses Twitter to talk about a common interest with others during a predetermined time. A Twitter chat is led by a designated moderator who will ask questions and facilitate the discussion.

A Twitter chat will almost always include a designated hashtag so that members can find the chat and follow along easily. Each time you Tweet or respond to a Tweet within the chat, you simply have to ensure that you include that chat’s hashtag—that way it’s linked and easy for other chat participants to find. If you’d like to find a scheduled chat on a topic you’re interested in, you can check out the Tweet chat directory.

To set a hashtag for your brand’s Twitter chat, simply pick a hashtag that isn’t already used (just search the hashtag to see if anyone else is using it), and then promote it to your followers. Choose a time and topic and work on making sure that you won’t be the only one participating. Hootsuite’s own #HootChat is an example of the power of a Twitter chat hashtag.

In your own national family you could start a twitter chat. Just add your own unique hashtag like #famvin400Panama or #famvin400Australia to the international hashtag #famvin400 so everyone hears the good news! Remember, we’re less than a month away!!!