Over the last few weeks we’ve looked at how you can boost your Twitter profile using an Image, by completing your bio, by injecting your personality and by sharing. This week we look at how to customise your profile and how conversation can help you build relationships.
5. Customise your profile
By customising both your colour scheme and background on Twitter you are enhancing your brand, when people visit your profile page it should fit in with the rest of your web presence. You can change the colouring of your sidebar and your text matching these to your website, Facebook page or logo. Changing your background to a photograph, your logo or simply your brand colouring like @BeatriceWhelan again drives home your branding.
Taking it one step forward you can add some information to your background like @thechurch_ie. It’s important to note however that depending on your screen resolution you may be able to view more or less of the background so if the information on your background is important; a phone number or a discount code make sure you add it to your bio as well.
6. Conversation
What makes you choose to follow someone on Facebook? For me I click through to their profile, have a look at their bio and have a quick scan of their tweets. If a lot of their tweets start with @ I know they are conversational. Conversation and engagement are the life blood of Twitter. Yes you can be successful if you don’t converse but it’s easier to build a following and become a part of the community if you do. Engaging on Twitter gives you the opportunity to prove your expertise and learn from others. It can get you noticed by people you want to connect with. Whereas someone may not reciprocate a follow engaging them in conversation can make more of an impact on them.
Ken McGuire does this well on all of his accounts but @AnyGivenFood is a great example of someone who converses and stays on topic. He not only joins in conversations with others but instigates conversations himself
Another great example is Carol Tallon @BuyersBrokersLtd, again plenty of conversation but all with a professional edge.
Do you have a number 7 or 8? I’d love to hear what you think the most important ways are to improve your Twitter presence. Maybe you disagree with my top 6. Let me know by leaving a comment below.
I rarely look at their twitter profile page, I tend to look at the bio and if it is still a bit questionable, I’d have a look at their tweets. I kind of figure if their tweets are objectionable, I can unfollow them but I tend to be quite relaxed about it! Having said that, I’m wondering do lots of other people also look at the profile (all I have behind mine is a picture of a lovely fabrics in a living room)
Good question Lorna. I think it’s important to carry your branding across all your social media channels. A default background just doesn’t look businessey. I like your background though!
I’m going to put the question to my Facebook community.
helpful post…I just changed my twitter background as a result – thanks 🙂
That’s great! I’m glad you found it helpful. What’s your Twitter id?
That reminds me to change my background as the New Twitter is bigger so hides most of my info. Another great post Amanda. I find that I will follow someone back if they chat to me – nicely of course. Then I’ll check their bio so I know a little bit more about them. I have also followed people from seeing them join in conversations with hashtags so I know they may be interested in the same thing as me then. To do this I add a column on my Tweetdeck for that hashtag and whether I am following or not I will see their tweets. And follow if I like the look of their tweets and bio. 🙂
I’m similar in my choices Sian, Great suggestions. Conversation is soo important. I mentioned it briefly in my last post too. ReTweet me (the old fashioned way) or talk to me and I’ll definitely check the profile and usually follow.
I’m similar in my choices Sian, Great suggestions. Conversation is soo important. I mentioned it briefly in my last post too. ReTweet me (the old fashioned way) or talk to me and I’ll definitely check the profile and usually follow.
Another good tip is effective use of Public Twitter Lists. Let people know why you value them by using Lists to categorise them.
Great tip Frank thanks 🙂 Would you go as far as to tell people you’ve added them to a list?
I wouldn’t go that far, however there are tools that tell you when you’ve been added or removed from a List. I use a service called Listwatcher, which sends me a DM when I’m added or removed from a list.
I don’t pay much attention to lists myself.. maybe I should! However I’ve seen it suggested by others that you should tell people you’ve added them. I feel it’s a little heavy handed myself.