We all know the basics of Twitter, right? Of course, we think we do. However, there’s always something we can improve on our profile. That’s the beauty of social media—you have to constantly upgrade your game or you’ll be left behind. That’s why we invited Eimer Duffy, social media trainer and consultant, to walk us through some of the key aspects of Twitter.
Here’s a summary of our chat.
Guest: Eimer Duffy
Topic: Optimizing Your Twitter Account
Format: Eight questions directed at the guest. Everyone’s welcome to share.
To optimize your Twitter account, you must first complete all required (and some optional) elements in your profile. As Eimer said, this includes,
Fully completing your account with a clear & relevant cover image highlighting what you offer, your profile image is either your headshot or logo, your business or your name on the account, relevant Twitter handle, a good bio, a sales funnel link & your location. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/KeaWukr5Hb
— FIT Social Media [Eimer Duffy] #Meath & Beyond (@FITsocialmedia_) August 6, 2020
Once you have all of that in place, you can play around with those elements to make it stronger. That’s what optimizing is all about. Keep an eye on what’s happening in your industry and update your bio and hashtags to remain relevant. As Christian pointed out, you can also use pinned tweets to achieve this. Pinning a tweet—and especially a media tweet—is a powerful way to engage your profile visitors. More on that in a bit.
A1: It means having a strong bio, and an even stronger pinned tweet. #TwitterSmarter
— Christian Lowery ??? (@clowerycontent) August 6, 2020
Sure, you can put your favorite baseball team’s logo in your cover image. But should you, though?
As our guest explained to us, use your cover image to talk about yourself and what you offer to your audience. Use a tool like Canva—or Photoshop, if you’re into that—to design a unique cover for your profile. The ideal size should be 1500 x 500 pixels.
Your Twitter cover image is valuable real estate that you should showcase who you are, who you help & what you can do for them. Use text overlays & shapes to stand out. Use software like @canva & an image that speaks to your audience, sized to 1500px X 1500px. ? #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/Mpsydu7dOI
— FIT Social Media [Eimer Duffy] #Meath & Beyond (@FITsocialmedia_) August 6, 2020
You can have both text and pictures in your cover image. But as Laura reminded us, be wary of using too much text. It is, after all, an image.
A2: A business may want to consider sharing their key services in their header image but be concise, not too many words.
Visually represent your business.#TwitterSmarter
— Laura Denny (@ldcreativemedia) August 6, 2020
As with any social media channel, your profile picture is the first thing people see. That’s why it’s important to have a high-quality, image, whether it’s your headshot or a brand logo. And the ideal size is 400 x 400 pixels.
It's the first thing people see, so if you are the face of your business, you should choose a high-quality headshot of you. If using a logo, ensure that it is high quality. Whichever you choose, ensure it fits in the profile image which is 400px X 400px. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/LQ2QL3QxJv
— FIT Social Media [Eimer Duffy] #Meath & Beyond (@FITsocialmedia_) August 6, 2020
Deb, from Agorapulse, explained how it works in larger businesses or agencies where multiple people tweet from the brand handle. Each person should try and sign off on their tweets, so that the audience can easily identify know who they’re talking to.
A3 The profile photo is super important because it lives alongside your tweet…people should immediately recognize it's you! For Agorapulse since several of us tweet we are using our logo, but then I always use -deb so people know when it's me tweeting! -deb #Twittersmarter https://t.co/aywLtE3T6H
— Agorapulse (@Agorapulse) August 6, 2020
The most important thing to remember when setting up social media is that your name on all profiles across channels should be same or highly similar. This makes it so much easier for your audience to search for you.
The name you choose on social media should match your brand name—whether it’s you or your business. You have a maximum of 50 characters for your Twitter name and 15 characters for your handle.
However, a common problem with Twitter is that your ideal name isn’t always available. In that case, try adding an underscore. More often than not, it’ll be available, like Eimer’s was.
Your Twitter account name (50 chars) should match your business name or your name, website domain & other social accounts. Your Twitter handle (15 chars) should be the same & if you can’t get the exact handle you want, try & use an underscore eg: FITsocialmedia_ #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/XCO3618I6H
— FIT Social Media [Eimer Duffy] #Meath & Beyond (@FITsocialmedia_) August 6, 2020
As Azad crudely pointed out, don’t make your handle and profile name obscure. Be as specific as possible, and remain relevant to what you do. Otherwise, you might come across as a random spammer or a bot account.
A4. What your goals are for having a Twitter handle?
If you want to bolster your professional presence, using anything other than a variation of your name can make it difficult.
If you want to troll or creating a burner account, make it obscure.
— Azad Yakatally (@AYakatally) August 6, 2020
With a maximum of 160 characters, you have a lot of opportunity to showcase who you are and who you cater to. Make sure you resonate with your ideal audience. You can add in your favorite emojis as well. If you have a branded hashtag, include that too.
You’ve got (160 chars) to stand out & make a good first impression. Have the right keywords, highlight who you are, who you help, what you do & if you've your own branded hashtag add that in & a have CTA. Emojis to attract the eye, show off your personality! ??☀️#TwitterSmarter https://t.co/oT4RRpku07
— FIT Social Media [Eimer Duffy] #Meath & Beyond (@FITsocialmedia_) August 6, 2020
As Iynette pointed out, your bio is an indicator of what people will find on your feed. That’s why it’s so important to clearly communicate your work and stance.
A5.
Let your twitter bio be a guide of what your audience will read on your timeline.
Through your bio your audience can characterise you thus appearing relatable.#TwitterSmarter
— lynette muthoni (@lyn_muthoni) August 6, 2020
That one link is a great chance to get heaps of referral traffic. That’s why it should be either your website or a specific landing page that clearly indicates what you want your visitors to do. See that you has distinct calls to action (CTAs) so that people who land on your page can easily convert—whether it’s signing up for your newsletter, purchasing something, or reading more.
I recommend having this one link going to a designated website page or landing page with a choice of brightly coloured CTA buttons linked to offerings for your visitors to choose from, click on & find out more about you, your business & how you can help them. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/B5XgpNlbLZ
— FIT Social Media [Eimer Duffy] #Meath & Beyond (@FITsocialmedia_) August 6, 2020
It’s worth remembering that you can change that link frequently. This gives you a lot of flexibility. So you can update your links, depending on your current goals or campaigns. For example, Jen said she recently changed her link to direct people to the latest episode of a podcast she’s working on.
A6. In my opinion, it should take people to whatever is most important to YOU at the time. I recently just changed mine to lead folks to our @MakeAMarketer podcast episodes because that's what is super important to my goals right now. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/fZ6Xo9RQSg
— Jen Cole (@jencoleICT) August 6, 2020
This often depends on the type of business you run. If you have a physical office or a storefront, you need to be specific so that people can locate you easily. For example, add the city followed by state, as in Buffalo, New York.
Although, large-scale franchise businesses like KFC and Domino’s don’t have a single location. In that case, they might either have a broad one, or separate regional accounts.
Make sure your location is relevant. If you're business & in eg: New York, USA or Dublin, Ireland be specific. If you're a business with multiple addresses then select the country you're in or if you are in lots of countries or work anywhere then select worldwide. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/0d6JNTHbGS
— FIT Social Media [Eimer Duffy] #Meath & Beyond (@FITsocialmedia_) August 6, 2020
For personal brands, there’s more leeway. Most of our community members suggested using slightly broad locations. As Lance explained, that way, people know approximately where you’re from and your time zone, but not enough for trolls to try and trace you.
#TwitterSmarter A7: Do not give away your exact location, unless you're driving traffic to a physical location, such as a brick and mortar store. Your SM location should be "regional". I don't live IN Chicago, but I'm close; which is close enough for you and crazed trolls to care
— Lance A Schart (@LanceASchart) August 6, 2020
Just as the case with the link in your bio, it’s a good idea also to update your pinned tweet quite regularly. Use that as a space to promote new content, news, and any events you’re hosting, attending, or even causes you’re supporting. Add visual elements, relevant hashtags, and a targeted link in your pinned tweet to maximize your reach.
Update your pinned tweet regularly, don’t leave one there for years eg: latest news, a new blog, an offer, if you’re supporting a charity etc. Have a relevant hashtag, a shortened working link, a good image/video & emojis! And tag relevant accounts if possible. #TwitterSmarter ? https://t.co/gc2XbDHCUb
— FIT Social Media [Eimer Duffy] #Meath & Beyond (@FITsocialmedia_) August 6, 2020
Another great way to use pinned tweets is to make it an extension of your bio. As Masooma told us, you can tweet a video explaining your work, your priorities, and introduce yourself to the Twitterverse. You can then pin that tweet so that that’s the immediate next thing people see after they land on your profile and read your bio.
A8. You can make the most of pinned tweets by either sharing an introductory video/tweet to instantly tell profile visitors what you’re about. Or, you can pin your work to learn more about you (like I’ve done) #twittersmarter
— Masooma | Content Writer (@inkandcopy) August 6, 2020
Well folks, that’s all from me this week. Thanks for reading, and for more great insights from our chat with Eimer, check out this Twitter Moment that Joana put together.
And if you’ve got some spare time next Thursday, join us for #TwitterSmarter at 1pm ET.
About me, Narmadhaa:
I write all things—technical and marketing copy to fill the pocket; haiku and short stories to fill the soul. A social media enthusiast, I’m a member of the #TwitterSmarter chat crew, and always happy to take on writing gigs.
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