Twitter allows people to interact with each other and share their experiences and thoughts in 140-character bursts. On Twitter, like on any other social media platform, your Profile is the face you put forward. As such, for a strong Twitter presence, you need to make sure that your profile looks good and appeals to the kind of audience you want to attract.
We’ve spent a lot of time on Twitter, and could probably write a novel about optimizing your presence. But today, we’ve narrowed it down to the five most actionable ways to make sure your Twitter profile is on point.
Components of a good profile
Your Twitter profile has different components such as profile picture, cover photo, and short bio. It’s important to have each of these, preferably with a unifying design theme that binds your profile’s aesthetic together. Not having any one of these can make your profile look sloppy, and makes following you seem less compelling. Likewise, having a full and developed profile helps people find you, and increases the likelihood of gaining followers.
Profile Picture – This is probably the most important component of a good profile. It is the first thing people look at, and if it isn’t up to the mark, chances are people will roll right past you.
A profile picture should be compelling – whether it’s you, your logo, or your dog. Remember that social media are most often accessed via mobile, so make sure that your profile picture is as clear at thumbnail size as it is at full size.
Being consistent across social media platforms is also helpful. Try to use the same clear image for your Facebook profile, your Instagram profile, your Twitter, etc. This helps you create a consistent and reliable online presence, and helps people remember you.
Cover Photo – The cover photo is one of the newer additions by Twitter. It’s a 1500x500px image that dominates the top of the page when someone clicks through to your profile. Cover photos are a great place for your call to action, and best Twitter profiles use that to their advantage. Covers are a great place to advertise something you want people to see, like an upcoming release date or your new blog. For example, the upcoming movie Deadpool has an optimized profile picture and cover photo – the profile pic is easy to see at any size, while the cover photo shows more information about the movie at a glance.
Bio – Your Twitter bio is your chance to share your story – who you are, what you do and why your Twitter profile is worth following. Just like with tweets, your bio has a low character limit, so you have to be compelling with just a few words. The key is to know your audience, clearly state your call to action, and compel people to want to follow you.
Pin your popular tweets
A pinned tweet is one that sits at the top of your profile feed, with your other tweets displayed below it. It’s like a sample of your tweets, and should be treated as such. Pins tweets that do best – something funny or clever, that drove engagements or new followers. People that are drawn to your profile and like your tweets will follow you, so pin tweets that people have liked.
Tweet out quality content
The point of Twitter is to share content that evokes a response. If Twitter is part of your online presence, you need to know who you’re trying to connect with, and make sure your tweets connect. Know which hashtags are used among your audience, and use them. Identify brand leaders and engage with them. Avoid posting promotional material too often, and instead look to provide value – whether that’s in the form of a joke, a picture, or a motivational quote.
Have strong numbers
Social media is just that – social. On Twitter, numbers tie popularity with presumed quality. For brands, metrics are a double-edged sword. The stronger your metrics are, the more your follower count grows. Conversely, having bad metrics can greatly impede your growth rate. Luckily, it’s possible for you to boost your follower count. Once you have built a great profile and start generating compelling content, give your profile a boost with followers, likes, or comments. However, always be careful to go with a quality provider, because low-quality followers can have a detrimental effect on your Twitter. Let us help guide you through it – check out our Top Providers.
Engage with your followers
After having built a strong profile, the next step is to make sure you engage your followers. Once you know exactly who it is you want to reach, and how to make them respond, tweet out content that will best resonate with them. There are lots of ways to engage followers, from polls to contests to jokes to advice. When followers reach out to you, always be sure to respond. This also encourages people to follow you.
Grow yourself on Twitter
Twitter is a great platform because it’s easy to find and engage with industry leaders and like-minded people. The best tweeters are those that know this, and create content that will draw in their audience. Follow our tips, and with some practice and common sense, you can have a great profile with a big Twitter following.
