1. Use an appropriate profile image

An appropriate twitter profile image can make a big difference when it comes to building trust and engaging with your followers, as well as attracting new followers. Many businesses use their logo in this space. If you have a very large organization with hundreds or thousands of employees, this is appropriate.  If you have a small business, you should seriously consider using a professional head shot of yourself.  This establishes that there is, in fact, another person at the other end of the line when someone engages with your brand via your twitter profile.  After all, what is the point of a social media profile if you are not using it to engage with your customers, prospects and other leaders in your industry? A profile image should be uploaded as a 400 x 400 px image.

Follow these steps to change your profile image:

  1. Sign in to twitter.com or open the Twitter app on your phone.
  2. Go to your profile.
  3. Click or tap the Edit profile button.
  4. Click or tap the camera icon where your profile image should be and select Change your profile photo.
  5. Choose the image from your computer.
  6. Click or tap Save changes.

Twitter Profile Image

2. Upload a high quality cover / header image

Your cover image is the first thing a visitor to your profile will see. The saying that you get only one chance at a first impression absolutely applies here.  A high quality image that is sized correctly and communicates the purpose and feel of your brand is very important.  Imagine that your cover image is the subject line of an email in your inbox.  If it doesn’t catch your attention and clearly communicate what it is about and interest you to look further, you would probably delete it without opening it, right? Treat your profile cover image the same way.  If it does not catch your visitors attention, prompting them to act or is not congruent with your brand’s message, people will leave your profile and not follow you.  Your Twitter cover image should be a minimum of 1500 x 500 px image.  Keep in mind the maximum file size of your cover image is 10 MB.

Follow these steps to change your cover / header image:

  1. Sign in to twitter.com or open the Twitter app on your phone.
  2. Go to your profile.
  3. Click or tap the Edit profile button.
  4. Click or tap the camera icon where your cover image should be and select Change your header photo.
  5. Choose the image from your computer.
  6. Click or tap Save changes.

3. Personalized name & username (@username)

Your username can only be 15 characters and is searchable on the Twitter website.  Generally, it should be your company name or attributable to your company, if your full name is not available. Your username is also included in your unique Twitter URL https://twitter.com/g5webconsulting as well as next to all of your tweets. For example we use @g5webconsulting, which is our company name. If that had been unavailable we would have used a username such as @g5websitedesign.

Follow these steps to change your username:

  1. Once Logged in to Twitter.com, click your profile image in the top right corner and click Settings from the dropdown menu.
  2. On your account settings page, change the username listed in your username field.
  3. If the username is taken, you’ll be prompted to choose another one.
  4. Click Save changes at the bottom of the page.

What’s the difference between your username and your name?

Your name is a located right above your username on your profile page.  For example our name is G5 Web Consulting and our username is @g5webconsulting.  Use this name to identify your business, especially if your business name could not be used as your username.

4. Write a bio with targeted keywords

Your bio is searchable and the most important part of your business profile as it relates to keywords and being found when users search a specific phrase or word within Twitter.  Your bio should include keywords related to your services and products and should explain to potential followers what you usually tweet about and why they should follow you. You only have 160 characters so be clear and concise.  To give you an example, we included multiple keywords that relate to the services we offer and topics we tweet about in our bio:

“A full service design studio that specializes in website design, internet marketing, brand development and logo design, as well as print and graphic design.”

5. Include a link to your website and location

Ensure you include the link to your website within your profile so that visitors to your profile can easily go to your site, if they wish. You may also choose to have your Twitter followers go to a page other than your homepage, such as a landing page specifically designed for your Twitter followers.

Your location is also important, particularly if you are a brick and mortar business or have a local clientele. People looking for your services or products may be looking for a company in their specific area, so you want to be clear about where you are located.

6. Keep your brand and message in mind

A business profile with an overall cohesive feel, will come across as more professional. Your profile image and cover photo should look good together and should reflect the feeling and message of your brand.  One last tip to round out your branding is to include your company colors in your profile by choosing a theme color.  This is done by clicking Edit Profile and choosing the Theme Color for your profile from the drop down list or putting in a custom color code.

Follow these steps to update your profile information:

  1. Sign in to twitter.com or open your Twitter app on your phone
  2. Go to your profile.
  3. Click or tap the Edit profile button and you’ll be able to edit your:
    • Name
    • Bio (maximum 160 characters)
    • Location
    • Website
    • Theme color (only editable on twitter.com)
  4. Click or tap into any of these areas and make your changes.
  5. Click or tap Save changes.

Optimizing your Twitter business profile is an effective way to boost the impact and professionalism of your digital branding. Understanding the elements that go into a Twitter profile and knowing how to replicate those best practices in your own Twitter presence are vital to increasing interest in your business and reaching Twitter performance goals.

What do you think? Have you used some of these tactics to optimize your Twitter profile? Do you have some other tips to share? Please let us know in the comments below!