Your Guide to Twitter Professional Accounts
If you haven’t heard the news, Twitter has officially made their new Professional Accounts available to all users. This feature allows you to switch from having a standard account to one that’s designed for businesses or creators, depending on which one fits how you use the platform. While this may not seem like a big deal, it does bring some extra functionality that many Twitter users will want to take advantage of.
In this post, you’ll learn what Twitter Professional Accounts are. Plus, it walks you through how to convert your profile to either a business or creator account. Let’s dive in!
What’s the Deal With Twitter Professional Accounts?
Twitter launched their initial test run of these “Professional Profiles” back in April of 2021. The premise was that these profiles would allow users to to present themselves in a new way on the platform. It would also offer dedicated tools and features that would be enticing to brands, public figures, influencers, and more. It’s kind of like how Instagram offers the option to have a business or creator profile.
By switching over to one of the Twitter Professional Accounts, you’re able to display specific information related to your business. For example, you can add a category to reflect the field you’re in (which you’ll see in the screenshot of my profile below), which can then be displayed on your profile. You also gain the ability to add other details such as an address, business hours, email, and phone number.
Professional Accounts also get access to certain tools that aren’t accessible by average Twitter users. Those include the following: the Ads Ecosystem (including Quick Promote) and future products (such as Twitter Shopping).
There’s no cost for switching to one of the Twitter Professional Accounts should you find it to be the right move for your presence on the platform.
Who Can Use a Professional Account?
Although these accounts are available for everyone to switch to, there are a few requirements you must adhere to in order to be eligible. They are as follows:
- You cannot have a history of repeatedly violating Twitter’s User Agreement.
- You need to have a complete profile with an account name, bio, and profile picture.
- Your authentic identity must be clear on your profile, which means you cannot pretend to be another person, brand, or organization. Nor can you use any sort of fake identity. Under this rule, it also disqualifies profiles that feature animals or fictional characters unless they’re affiliated with your brand or organization. Parody and fan accounts are also ineligible.
How to Switch to One of the Twitter Professional Accounts
To make the switch, you can use either the mobile app or desktop website. Both give you the ability to change your account type. And the first thing you’ll need to do is locate “Twitter for Professionals” in the navigation menu. On the desktop site, you’ll need to click “More” to access this option. From there, the steps are pretty straight-forward once you’ve agreed to their terms.
The first thing you’re asked to do when setting up Twitter Professional Accounts is to select a category. This will be displayed on your profile, so you’ll want to choose the option that best describes your account. As you can see in the screenshot below, there are tons of options including: Entertainment & Recreation, Automotive, Education, Restaurant, and More. To make it easier on yourself, search for a relevant keyword to pull up options available to you.
Next, Twitter asks you to select between a Business or Creator account. This can be changed later should you feel you made the wrong decision, so don’t stress. Here’s what Twitter says about each type of Professional Account:
- Business: Best fit for brands, retail shops, service providers, and organizations.
- Creator: Best fit for public figures, artists, and influencers.
Now, you’ve officially set up your Twitter for Professionals account! As you can see in the screenshot below, you’ll be presented with a couple different options on mobile. Twitter will allow you to customize your profile by adding new information specific to these account types. That’s where you’ll add business hours, address, etc. They also encourage you to find topics to follow. If you’re following these steps on the desktop website, you’ll also see the option to promote a tweet.
The Future of Twitter Professional Accounts
At this point, only time will tell what other features are added to Twitter for Professionals profiles. With more capabilities coming soon, it’ll be exciting to see what Twitter does next. So, it seems worthwhile to make the switch if you’re a brand of any sort using the platform.
However, there’s always the concern that organic reach may decline for Twitter Professional Accounts. After all, this has been the case for business pages on Facebook with their organic reach at about 5.20%. With reach declining, it encourages brands to spend more money on ads. Luckily, this doesn’t seem to be a concern for Twitter accounts that make the switch.
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