People are drinking the Twitter Kool-Aid like it’s the last day before Prohibition. It’s fantastic that so many are finding value in something so simple that can be so powerful.
But many in the latest wave (more like a tsunami) of Twitterers seem to be overlooking a fundamental premise of the Twitter follower/following paradigm, which is that people only know as much about you as you tell them.
Having a succinct, compelling profile is more critical on Twitter than anywhere else.
Your Personal Landing Page
Just as the landing page is the most important component of a PPC, email, or banner ad campaign, your Twitter profile is the most important landing page for your personal brand.
Every time you follow someone, they will be asked to make a decision on whether to follow you back. At scale, these decisions are made in increasingly large batches, and are made quickly.
I’m not Twitter royalty, but routinely get 50+ follow emails per day. For each of these, I visit the person’s profile page and decide whether to follow back. And just like on a landing page, I scan and make this follow/no follow decision in about 8 seconds or fewer.
7 Ingredients of the Perfect Twitter Profile
1. Use your real name (and don’t use underscore)
I realize your real name may not be available, but try to get as close as possible. This isn’t an AOL chat room circa 1997, this is business (at least partially).
Using made up names makes it very difficult to tie your Twitter profile to your Facebook, LinkedIn, blog comment and other profiles (unless Twitter adopts Facebook Connect). Further, five weeks from now when I see “@batgirl63″ in the tweet stream, it’s difficult to remember who you are.
Here’s one I got today from @vagobunny (no offense intended), who is apparently Chris Damitio from Hawaii. I’m not sure what @vagobunny is, and I suspect most Twitterers would be more likely to follow @chrisdamitio
2. Use a real picture (especially if it’s a real name)
Twitter is about human connections. Don’t use a cartoon, a dog, a tree or any other animate or inanimate object for your profile picture. A simple headshot is great. Preferably with some interest. Make sure you’re smiling. People don’t want to follow @captainbadattitude
Ideally, use the same photo on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn et al. Easier to remember that way. And I don’t encourage frequent changing of your photo, as many Twitterers have commented that they look at and remember profile photos more than usernames.
3. Treat your bio like SEO copy
Each Twitterer has multiple spheres in which they operate, sometimes intersecting and overlapping. You want to belong to as many spheres as are practical and relevant to your interests and expertise. It’s helpful if you define your spheres before jumping in, as it will make your following decisions and bio creation much easier.
I’ve defined my spheres as: Geographic (Flagstaff, AZ & Phoenix, AZ), Professional (Social Media, Email, Public Relations, Ad Agencies, Digital Marketing), and Recreational/Peripheral (Wine, Food, Sports, Restaurants, Kindle, iPhone, Mac). I have followers in each of these spheres, and I want to follow others that have interest/experience in one or more of these areas.
Just as you would when optimizing a Web page for search engines, when you write your Twitter bio think about your desired spheres and include words and phrases about them. A touch of personality is helpful, too.
Here’s a good example, from @bethharte You get a taste of her multiple spheres.
Here’s a bad example. I literally have no idea what this means and cannot make a logical following decision, so I’m not following.
4. Include a URL
Even if you don’t have a blog or a Web site, link to a more complete bio and profile of yourself on LinkedIn or elsewhere. @briansolis links to his Wikipedia page, which is useful.
5. Consider a custom background
Custom Twitter backgrounds are inexpensive (or free), and can convey important details and contact information. Providers of free or low cost Twitter backgrounds include Twitterbacks, Twitbacks, and TwitterImage (used by me, @chrisbrogan, @problogger, @chrispirillo and others)
Here’s a good expanded bio via background from @msherr
6. Don’t protect your updates
Seriously, what’s the point of being on Twitter if people have to jump through hoops to follow you? It completely runs counter to the spirit of community. If you don’t want people to see your tweets, maybe you should stick to LinkedIn and Facebook where your connections are typically your friends/associates in the real world.
7. Take it slow
Certain Twitterers’ following/followers ratio makes it seem like they are using Twitter inappropriately. When you are following 1,997 people, and have 57 following you back, it looks like you are randomly following as many as you can, hoping for follow backs. That’s essentially “follower spam” and it calls your motives into question. You’ll get fewer followers, not more, with that approach.
(photo by SocialIsBetter)
Any ingredients I missed? What are your experiences with your Twitter profile?
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Hi Jason,
I agree with all your points, and would expand on #7 (taking it slow). My approach to Twitter has been to add followers gradually as I find new people whose interests complement mine or from whom I think I can learn. I try to follow no more than a few new people at a time so that I can get listen to their conversation and, hopefully, add value of my own. As your 7 ingredients so aptly demonstrate, it’s not about numbers but people.
Best,
Daria
Daria Steigman’s last blog post..(This Will Go On) Your Permanent Record
I think that these are all important. You should definitely consider using all seven of these ingredients on your profile. Great thoughts.
a perfect twitter profile for what? People for a lot of different reasons. I guess the list above works if you are looking for sales or SEO changes in your site, however, that is not everyone’s goal. Some people are on having fun. Most of the Twitterati do not follow the rules set above.
Thats why I like Twitter, if people like you they can connect. No rules about how, when and where to tweet.
DR. Wright
The WRight Place TV Show
http://www.wrightplacetv.com
http://www.twitter.com/drwright1
Dr Wright’s last blog post..How to do a Sampling Campaign
@Daria – Good for you. I like the throttled back approach. Nice.
@blogexpert – Thanks as always for your comments on Convince & Convert.
@DrWright – I agree that people use Twitter for many different reasons. However, the Twitter profile is your landing page or business card in that realm. Thus, if you’re looking to connect with other people (and I’m assuming that regardless of your reasons for using Twitter, you want to connect with others), it’s very difficult for them to connect with you without any clear understanding of who you are or what you’re about.
I agree that most of the Twitterati do not follow these rules. That’s because people already know who they are, so they don’t need a “Twitter business card” in the form of a good profile page. But most of us do need a good calling card, which is why I took the time to write a long post about it.
Jason you nailed it! And thanks for the link love too. It’s understandable that not everyone uses Twitter the same way, but for those who are looking to network (regardless of their industry/job/etc.) should really take heed of your seven steps. They’ll thank you…
Beth Harte’s last blog post..For better or worse…seven things about me
It’s also important to think about potential followers when writing tweets.
Assuming I understand and am interested in the profile, you make some very good points about this, I review recent tweets. This gives me an idea about their personality and whether or not this person adds value or is just using Twitter for self promotion.
James (@JHipkin)’s last blog post..Effective Online Advertising – The Secret Revealed
This is an excellent list, well delivered, and includes the basics of what I always advise new (and not so) twitterers to do — and consciously choose not to do in my @TheGirlPie profile for specific reasons. It’s great advice, which made me sub to the blog, and will go looking to follow Jason. Good thinking.
I disagree with Wright’s comment, since these guidelines can enhance any use of twitter, be it to find local drinking buddies, global pen pals, true love or like-minded hobbyists — anyone. It’s representing you; it’s how you show up at the meet-up.
I also suggest that you do tell a potential follower who you are in your tweets (intentionally or not):
correct spelling/grammar (even in the new forms we accept within the 140 constraint),
descriptive tweets,
being useful, supportive, or entertaining,
and active tweeting that’s not all self-promo (begging for favrds, awards, linkbacks, etc.) all go into my follow decision. Most often I say: thanks, but no thanks. Actually listening and conversing and having these people in my day is key to who I follow and what I get from it. I keep it manageable, as Daria wisely suggests.
Thanks for the swell education that I wish more people would undertake. It’s made me realize that my bio (”a Type-A in real life, a follower on twitter”) isn’t true anymore — so yes, I’ll change it tonight. Thanks.
Hi Jason,
I found your post through a tweet by @BethHarte and wanted to say thanks for the great info – I’ve been meaning to customize my Twitter profile to make it more professional and this post had everything I needed. I definitely look forward to stopping by your blog more often!
Best,
Dominic
Dominic Garcia’s last blog post..Tips for Standing Out in an Interview
I think these are good suggestions. I was already able to direct a few people today towards your post for some help/ideas. Good post.
One huge point that I know you know (and expounds on #7) is the importance of content. I believe to make the most of Twitter you must be giving good content. In order to receive worthwhile content, you must give it. This is how you will build credibility and conversations with the Twitter community. And yes, this takes work.
@beth Thanks very much. Happy to point out to folks that you’re doing it right (as always).
@james Really good point about reviewing Tweet stream. I always do that when thinking about following. Hard to advise people about that, however, as usage of Twitter is a whole ‘nother topic!
@thegirlpie Thanks very much for the kind words. Happy to have you as a subscriber. And you are right, it’s 100% about helpfulness. If you can do that, the rest will take care of itself.
@dominic Thanks! Any follower of Beth’s is a friend of mine! She’s a genius.
@Drew I really appreciate the pass-along. Thank you. You are totally right about content. You and @james should co-author a guest post here at Convince & Convert about good Twitter content.
Cheers,
j