People use Twitter to keep their “followers” updated on their life. For instance, you might tweet about the conference you’re attending, your latest blog post, the project you’re working on, or you might ask your network a question. Twitterers (Twitter users) can choose to follow the Tweets (Twitter updates) of anyone they want to hear from: friends, family, colleagues; often they follow others whose Tweets they find useful, interesting or even just entertaining.
Twitter has become a valuable branding and networking tool for me and my business. I’ve met new contacts, pointed people to my web site, and am able to promote my business and services to an ever-increasing audience. All for free and in just a few minutes a day!
When people want to start using Twitter for marketing, they often ask questions like “how often should I tweet” and “what should I tweet about”. These are good questions and important in developing a plan of action. However, there is another important consideration…
What does your Twitter page look like?
Many Twitter pages don’t provide enough information or nothing has been done to customize the look of the page.
Here are some quick and easy ways to brand your Twitter page. You can make these changes from the “Settings” tab when logged into your Twitter account.
Twitter ID Use something that is catchy and memorable without being silly (unless of course being silly is part of your personal or business brand.) It could be your real name or something that is similar to your business name – mine is WebbWeaver.
Name Use your real name – mine is Debbie Gadbois. Don’t default to your User ID (unless that is your real name.) And stay away from using a nickname like “Pookie”. You can put your nickname in quotes inside of your real name if you want to include it. The important thing to remember is that you want people to know who you are if you care about your brand.
Location Use your town or nearest city that makes sense for you – mine is Ventura, CA, USA. Putting something like “the world” or “United States” can be off-putting to the more business-minded folks. Plus, the location is a good way to make local contacts.
Web This should be somewhere people can go to learn more about you and/or your business. It could be your company web site, your blog, a Facebook page. Mine is a page on my web site where I thank my Twitter friends for visiting and elaborate on the information in my Twitter Bio.
Bio This is where you say something about yourself or your business. You only get 160 characters and as a component of your branding, this section is critical. Don’t leave it blank, and stay away from simply listing attributes. Try to be descriptive and specific.
Mine is “WebbEntrepreneur::Web~Graphic~Email Marketing Services~Helping People & Businesses Build Better & More Personal Relationships with their Clients & Customers!”
Your Photo Don’t leave the default placeholder that Twitter provides. And stay away from using something clever (like karate cats – unless of course you teach karate to cats, in which case that would be perfect!) Using your photo helps create more of a personal connection. For those that Tweet on behalf of a business the logo is a good choice. Atlhough this depends on both the type of business and size of the business. In some cases multiple people Tweet for the business, in which case it’s appropriate that the branding be all about the business and not about one particular person behind the business.
Page Background Make sure you customize the look of your page. Twitter gives you the option to change the colors of the sections of your page as well as to change the background image. Twitter provides some background images, but these are used by many people and won’t really help with your branding. A better idea is to upload your own photo that reflects your brand, such as a photo of flowers for a florist or a great ocean photo for a surf shop. There are also many free services to create your own background image – an easy way find these is by looking at other Twitter pages. Something to keep in mind when creating your own page is that how much of that background is visible depends on the monitor size and resolution, and those viewing your Twitter page from a mobile device probably aren’t seeing any of the background image.
Don’t Protect Your Updates If you want to meet more people, gain more followers, and promote your brand, I suggest making your updates available to the world.
These changes are easy to do and are important for your personal and business brand. Whether you’re already on Twitter, or just getting started, take a few minutes to customize your page today.
Let’s Tweet! twitter.com/WebbWeaver
Do you have questions or would you like assistance getting started with Twitter, Facebook
or LinkedIn? Debbie is available for individual consultations, please contact her for more info.
