You finally set up that Twitter account huh?
So, now that you’re there, what are you gonna do? It’s like a ghost town, your profile is drowning in clouds, and you’re looking slightly eggy. Trust me when I say that nobody wants to befriend an egg, so really, you need to do something about that. But that’s not the only thing you’re going to need to do to blend in around these parts..
Optimising your Twitter profile can be key to gaining followers and giving off the impression that you want to give. Regardless of whether you’re running a company profile or a personal account, the design of your profile really does matter. First impressions count remember!
Not-so egg-cellent
As previously mentioned, one of the first and most important things you must do is de-egg yourself. When a Twitter account is first set up, your default profile display image is set to an egg, which screams ‘I’M AN INACTIVE ACCOUNT AND DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M DOING‘ to pretty much everyone else that’s lurking in the land of Twitter. There are also a lot of ‘fake’ accounts on twitter, which are used for spam purposes and to commit Twitter crimes. Some people buy their Twitter followers from third parties. A lot of these accounts will have been set up purely for the purpose of a fake follow, and therefore have a default profile theme set by Twitter with a lovely egg display picture to show for it. You are not an inactive spam account (sweeping statement, I hope you aren’t), and you don’t want people to think you are either. So please, for the sake of Twitter humanity and etiquette, don’t be an egg.
Twitter profile images can easily be changed through the ‘Edit Profile’ button in the right hand corner of your profile page. Once you’ve clicked that, Twitter makes it pretty simple and self explanatory. But if you don’t know what we’re talking about, the bit you need to find looks like this (just with an egg instead of a Silkstream logo).
What should I change my Twitter profile photo to?
For business: Your logo is your marker. For a lot of people, they see your logo and they see the company. It’s a way for them to easily recognise and remember who you are, which is why it’s a great idea to use your logo as your Twitter Profile photo. If you don’t have a logo, why not use a group photo of the team behind the business or account, it’s always good to show there’s actually real life people sitting behind the screen, wanting to and waiting to listen to you.
For a personal account: The world is your oyster! It would be advisable to set your profile picture to an image of yourself, a #Selfie, group family photo or even better, you doing something exciting! It could be that photo of you rock-climbing on holiday last year or about to dive in to a shark infested tank idk (not advising or recommending that), but the more exciting and interesting you make yourself seem, the more followers you are likely to attract. But hey, if you want to set your profile image to a picture of your cat stuck in your washing machine then go for it, what have you got to lose?
While you’re at it..
In the edit profile section, you can also change the colour theme of your profile. This means that any links on your profile or in your tweets will change to this colour. As well as obvious links such as links to a website in your bio, these also include the links in tabs on your profile such as ‘Tweets’, ‘Following’, ‘Followers’ and ‘Favourites’. If you’re a business, its a good idea to change this to your company colour.
You should also change your Twitter header. If you want to create your own custom Twitter header the sizing is 1500x500px. There are also sites which provide Twitter headers for you to use, or you can just upload a photo you already have saved and let Twitter readjust the sizing for you. If you do this without resizing the image first, be prepared for the image to go a bit blurry or deformed.
It’s awfully cloudy on Twitter today
Similar to the egg issue but not as frowned upon, Twitter will set a default background for your new account once it is set up. Twitter has its own pre-made themes, where users can pick one of their pre-styled profile appearances rather than styling their own. The first theme in the pack has the famous cloud background which pretty much all Twitter users will recognise. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with using Twitter themes. However, if you want potential followers to see you are dedicated to your account and actually put time and effort in to it to deserve a follow, then the clouds have gotta go.
Here is what the Silkstream Twitter account looks like when things get a little cloudy:
For business: If you are running a company/organisation account, it’s a good idea to change your Twitter background to your company colour scheme in order to be in theme with your business, the rest of your profile and if you have one, your website. Branding is all about consistency, and this is no exception when it comes to any Social Media platforms, Twitter included.
For a personal account: Similar to Profile images on a personal account, it doesn’t really matter. Your account is personal to you, so decorate it how you like with just about anything that screams your character. If you’re really stuck for ideas, change it to your favourite colour or have a look online and see if you can find any Twitter backgrounds which appeal to you.
Who are you interested in interacting with?
When you first sign in to Twitter, it will prompt you to follow some popular accounts. These are usually celebrities and influencers, but it will also give you categories to choose from where you can find accounts which may be more tailored to your interests. As you follow popular accounts, its likely that you’ll gain a few random followers where other people have found you whilst looking at their favourite celebrities followers section on their profile, but don’t worry if this doesn’t happen.
Attention businesses!: Using Twitter’s search bar, go through and search for other accounts that are in your field of work, or may be interested in the work you do. People with similar interests or who are interested in your work are more likely to follow you back, which increases the authority of your account and eventually engagement levels if your tweets remain relevant and useful.
Don’t forget to interact with these people’s tweets too, don’t wait for them to come to you! You can’t beat a good Twitter relationship to boost your interaction..
Who are you again?
Another thing which you need to remember to do is write a customised bio. Your bio really can be the selling point of your profile. It’s your opportunity to say ‘oi, you lot! This is who I am and this is why you should follow me.’ For someone to be reading your bio, they will have to have been nosing through your profile anyway, or have spotted you amongst other users, meaning they were interested enough to get that far in the first place. Don’t trip at the last hurdle and let them slip, keep them engaged and make them want to follow you by what your bio is telling them.
These are just some of the basic things you need to do when you first dive in to the world of Twitter. It can be scary at first, I know, but hang in there and I promise it will be worth it in the end, especially now you have a snazzy looking profile for everyone to admire! #TwitterEnvy
