Dear Gracie: How to Enhance Your Twitter Profile
Posted on May 18, 2012 by Grace Lavigne | Leave a comment
Each week, Dear Gracie answers questions from ProfNet Connect readers with advice from our network of nearly 50,000 ProfNet experts. Has there been a question burning in your mind lately, something you’ve been wondering that none of your colleagues can answer? Please send it to grace.lavigne@prnewswire.com
Dear Gracie,
I need help designing my Twitter profile. I’m trying to increase my number of followers and am wondering how important the design of the profile itself matters. What should my bio say? What should the background look like (pattern vs. solid color)? What about my profile picture? How do I stand out without overdoing it? Any do’s or don’ts?
Profile Planner
*********
Dear Profile Planner,
Five ProfNet experts share their experience:
Bio: The Chance to Stand Out
“The bio for an individual should be ‘pro-fersonal,’” says Kelly Lux, the online communication and relationship manager for the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University. “Basically a mix of professional and personal.”
“People generally want to know what you do for a living or where you go to school, and what you’re passionate about,” Lux continues. “Strike an air of business acumen and friendliness, especially if you are job-searching.”
“Try to say as much about yourself with as few words as possible,” says Michael P. Grace, founder of Virallock, a social media monitoring and management service. “Be witty and creative without being corny or cliché. This is your chance to stand out.”
Maybe include some fun facts, suggests David Johnson, CEO of Strategic Vision. “We had a technology firm and one of the many things they included in their bio was that nobody who worked there was taller than 5’5″. People actually mentioned seeing that when they contacted the company.”
“If your bio says something to the effect of ‘father, coffee lover and social media addict,’ that doesn’t really set you apart from the crowd,” says Lux. Stay away from words like guru, ninja, rockstar, etc.
“Browse around and see how others describe themselves,” advises Grace. “Don’t copy others, but pay attention to users who have had a Twitter account for a longer timeframe.”
Hashtags, Handles, Links
“Use hashtags in your bio so people with similar interests can find you,” says Lux.
Jonathan Rick, digital and social media director at Levick Strategic Communications, says that if you want to be publicly associated with your employer, don’t write: Director at Levick Strategic Communications. Instead, write: Director at @Levick.
And if multiple people manage a company account, call them out either by their full handles or their initials, says Rick. For example:
■@Poynter‘s bio lists handles: School for journalism & democracy, with tweets by @juliemmoos, @myersnews, @mallarytenore, @jeffsonderman, @abeaujon
■@AmericanExpress‘ bio lists initials: Follow Amex’s Mona Hamouly (MLH), Matt Burton (MB) & Amy Tokarski (AT) for insider news, offers & more. Chk out our Favorites page to turn Tweets into savings!
Also, definitely include a link — not in your bio — but as part of your profile, says Lux. “Many people link to their personal website or blog, or LinkedIn profile.” The link allows people to find out more about you than they can from the 160 characters allowed in the Twitter bio.
Adding links helps describe and reinforce who you are, and drives traffic between all of your social media vehicles, agrees Grace.
Expert/Company Bios of the People Quoted in This Article:
Here is the text from the Twitter bios of the experts (or their companies) included in this article (links not included):
■@Levick: Levick Strategic Communications is the world’s leading crisis communications firm. We are unparalleled in building brand equity and protecting reputations.
■@KellyLux: #CMGR & SM Strategist @iSchoolSU / Borg Queen of #NEXIS / Co-founder #CMGRchat / Opinionated Wine Connoisseur and +1 Dog Lover / Instagram Fanatic
■@Virallock: Virallock evaluates, optimizes and monitors social media profiles to help students and young professionals avoid negative perceptions to their personal brand.
■@StratCommun: Communication consultant. Marketer. Social media explorer. HR/management coach. Teacher. Golfer. Reader.
■@DavidJohnsonSV: CEO of Strategic Vision | PR Professional | Republican consultant | Facebook: DavidJohnsonSV
Profile Picture: Say Cheese!
The profile picture is probably the most important component of your Twitter presence, says Lux. Your profile picture should be YOU — not a cartoon avatar; not a picture of your dog or the San Francisco skyline; and not a picture of you with your kids, spouse, pet, etc.
“You need to appear approachable, which, in this sense, means: smiling,” says Lux. The picture should be distinctive enough that people recognize it as they scroll by it in the stream.
“You want your Twitter avatar to reflect you as you write about yourself in the bio,” adds Lux. For example, unless you are a business consultant, stay away from the suit-and-tie look.
Johnson once worked with a romance author who wanted to be known as the “Queen of Naughty and Nice.” “She wanted to use a professional headshot from her Wall Street days, but we told her that her photo needed to convey the image she wanted branded in her book,” he says. “So we added a more racy photo.”
The picture should also remain fairly stable, says Lux. Don’t change it as often as your Facebook profile picture, but do change it often enough that the picture still actually looks like you (i.e., more than once every decade!).
Linda Pophal, CEO of Strategic Communications, notes that if a Twitter account is for an organization, rather than a person, then the company logo works well as the profile picture. For example: @ProfNet or @PRNewswire
Wallpaper: Keep It Simple
Trying to establish a perfect Twitter background shouldn’t be the main focus of designing your profile, says Grace.
“I don’t believe the Twitter background is all that important; I’ve never made a decision on who to follow or not follow based on their Twitter background,” agrees Lux.
“That being said, you don’t want to make it look like you’re selling too hard!” she continues. “If your Twitter background is a bunch of pictures of you, your latest book, your Facebook page, etc. — you’re trying too hard.”
“Use a consistent pattern that is not distracting,” says Grace. “Twitter provides a handful of design options that are decent, but feel free to explore colors, patterns and textures that may create a more pleasing aesthetic to viewers.”
Make sure that your wallpaper is consistent with all aspects of branding, like color schemes, adds Johnson.
Rick lists four approaches to wallpaper designs:
■The Visual Way: employs big pictures that immediately communicate the brand, a la @Disney, @Staples or @WWF
■The Logo Way: uses the company logo as the background, a la @Ford or @LinkedIn
■The Informative Way: lists contact info and links to other social channels in the wallpaper itself, a la @Intel or @mashable
■The Product Way: displays Photoshopped pictures of the company’s key wares, a la @Pepsi (can of Pepsi) or @LAYS (bag of Lay’s potato chips)
Overall Look and Feel: Be Consistent
Your Twitter profile should be designed for the audience you are trying to reach and the image you are attempting to convey to them, says Johnson.
Profiles should reflect the individual or organization’s brand identity and communication strategy, agrees Pophal.
Approach the profile from the standpoint of crafting an “elevator speech,” Pophal continues. What is it that you do that represents value to your target audience?
“Every profile on Twitter has a voice,” concludes Grace. “Always consider how you want your voice to be represented to those who haven’t met you, and let your personality shine through as much as possible.”
Gracie
Written by Grace Lavigne, senior editor of ProfNet, a service that helps journalists connect with expert sources. Dear Gracie is published weekly on ProfNet Connect, a free social networking site for communicators. To read more from Grace, check out her blog on ProfNet Connect.
