Are you maximizing Twitter’s unique business potential or wasting and damaging your reputation?
Twitter is instrumental in hirings, firings, revolutions, public outcry, networking, and connecting you with the newest celebrity fad, yet few people take it seriously. So, why haven’t you pulled a Regis and given your account a facelift with a new biography and photo? The image that you put out, the things you say, and words people associate with you will follow for life.
Does your account look like this? Or even worse, is it blank?
“Life, laugh, love. It’s all about Anchorman and going to the movies. Missing my girls from school, but blogging about my children. Love everything social media”
Twitter allots users 160 characters for searchable biographies. Those that want to interact and network use keywords to search through biographies on search.twitter.com . Additionally, there are plenty of Twitter applications that allow for user searches by keywords (Tweetspinner, etc,). How would someone find you?
Too many Twitter accounts profess to be used by social media fanatics and yet don’t understand the power of brevity. It takes 4 seconds for someone to read your biography and make a judgment call. Don’t worry about complete grammatical correctness as users understand space limitations. Additionally, if it’s an acronym or abbreviation that no one would understand, stay away from it.
So, what should you do to craft a compelling biography and leave space for future additions?
- Think of six things that you love to Tweet about. Do you love fashion? Television? Desperate Housewives? Do you love fantasy sports?
- Are you an athlete, dancer, musician or guru of any sort?
- Are you a single parent looking to bond with others? Or perhaps a Mom blogger?
- Does your business have a social media strategy that requires you to post that “I flip burgers @GenericBurger but my thoughts are my own”?
- Do you host any sort of Twitter chat?
- Are you proud of your alma mater?
- *Optional* Use # for keywords instead of commas to separate
So what sort of formula should you follow?
c + b + a + f + e + d – (1/6 a) – filler words. Or, less confusingly…
Single Mom, Coffepreneur and Dancer. Fashion, TV, Movies, Wine, and Body Building. Marist Alum and proud host of #genericchat. VP @GenericBurger. I own my tweets
Finally, make sure you have a semi-professional headshot. Many believe that you should invest in professional head-shots, but that isn’t necessary. Instead, ask your friend to take a shot of you (preferably not when you’re taking a shot). Make sure to use this as your base photo for different professional accounts; consistency across social networks is key.
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