Top Ten Tips to Create a Twitter Image That Attracts More Business
1. Creating the right image on Twitter
I don’t know about you, but if truth be told, I find it really annoying when I discover a follower that hasn’t made any effort to upload their photograph to their Twitter profile. To be honest, I’m not really interested in building any kind of business relationship on Twitter with someone who can’t be bothered to upload their photo, in fact I find myself wondering “Why are you here?”…. On the other hand, if you don’t know how to upload your photograph to Twitter, click here and I’ll show you how!
2. Make first impressions count on Twitter
As those of you who have attended my Social Networking seminars will know, Twitter is nothing more than a Social Networking tool and should be used to communicate with your followers in a similar way as you would by attending a face-to-face network meeting. The first thing people see of you on Twitter is your profile image. People form instant impressions, you only have those first few valuable seconds before people form opinions about you and your business. It’s all down to you to ensure you influence the correct opinions people have of you – in fact you could make it (or break it) if you’re not careful with how you present yourself with your Twitter account.
3. Killer Twitter bio – And tell us where you are
Who are you, what do you do, what do you like and why should I click your follow button? Whether you think you’re a sales person or not, to gain Twitter followers you need a bio that makes people want to click your follow button and interact with you, and that means you have to sell yourself. There’s no point in following a “Bored mum of 3” or someone who’s “Watchin’ the world go by…”, that sounds totally uninteresting. If you can’t think of anything interesting to say about yourself on your Twitter bio then it’s far better to say what you love doing, what inspires you and what you’re looking for in life. That gives people something they can get their teeth into, interact with and get to know you better. It’s also interesting to know where you’re from, “Somewhere on the galactic InterWeb…” may sound amusing (the first time) but it’s really not! I want to know where my Twitter followers are in the world and it adds a lot more weight, meaning and colour to Tweets when you know whereabouts in the world they’re coming from.
4. Use a nice friendly Twitter photograph of yourself
You wouldn’t go networking with a paper bag on your head would you? No! Why don’t you upload your photograph? It really is important!! It’s not as though it’s rocket science or really complicated. If you haven’t already uploaded your photo to Twitter then what are you waiting for? It will only take you a few moments to find a half decent photo of yourself, crop it to size with your desktop paint application and upload it to Twitter. We want to get to know you! If you would like to learn how to know how simple it is to upload your photograph to Twitter, click here and I’ll show you just how easy it is
5. Your appearance on Twitter
When I’m at a network meeting and I meet people who haven’t bothered about their appearance I’m left with the impression that they’re disorganised or lazy, or both. I for one wouldn’t recommend someone like that to my fellow networkers, or entrust them with work for my clients. I’m not saying that they have to be in designer clothes and dripping with expensive bling, just as long as they’ve made an effort to make themselves presentable. After all, they may have to accompany me on a client visit and I don’t want to have my reputation damaged by someone else’s lack of attention to their appearance as this comes across as unprofessional. Having a decent photograph of yourself on your Twitter account makes all the difference to attracting new business leads, it goes a long way to creating the right impression to people visiting your profile.
6. Don’t use your logo – People buy from people!
One of the most common questions I’m asked at my seminars is “Is it OK to use my logo?” If you’re a huge anonymous organisation like the BBC, I think that’s fine. However, you have to remember that Twitter is a Social Networking tool that can be used for business, but the keyword here is “Social”. Just take a moment to imagine this… You’re at a social network meeting and someone comes up to you and shoves their business card in your face and then proceeds to give you their five minute elevator pitch – Would you be impressed? No! Would you continue a conversation with them after that? Probably not, you’re more likely to smile politely and move on to someone who’s less uptight about selling you their business. I enjoy finding people I can work with, who are fun and likeable and who have things in common with me and what I’m trying to achieve. When using Twitter in my business I never build relationships with “businesses”; I build relationships with the people who work in them.
7. Don’t use a photo with dark glasses, unless you have to
The first thing I look at when I meet someone is their eyes, so make sure everyone can see yours in your online profile photograph. I find that people wearing dark sunglasses make me feel uneasy, that’s because sunglasses hide the eyes and create a barrier. Don’t wear them in your Twitter photo unless you need to for medical reasons, or they’re actually part of your online business persona.
8. Don’t change your Twitter photo too frequently
I hate it when I get used to interacting with someone and they keep changing their photograph every week, I lose track of them too easily.
By all means, if you really have to change it to update your seasonal dress (because you look silly wearing a scarf and bobble hat in the middle of summer) that’s fine! It’s not a good idea to get too finicky with your photograph and keep changing it every five minutes because people lose track of who you are, particularly if they already follow a lot of people.
Your Twitter photograph is part of your business brand on Twitter and you should build your business reputation on it, and change it only when it’s absolutely necessary.
9. Make your Twitter image “up close” and personal
Your photograph should be up to date and your face should be prominent, in fact the closer the better as it comes across as much more personable. If at all possible, your Twitter photograph should also reflect your character and personality. If you’re an approachable, laid back happy person then make sure this is reflected. It should say as much as possible about you so that the right people are attracted to you and it makes it easier for them to interact with you.
10. Be careful your Twitter photo doesn’t contain private information
Take a careful look at any photos you upload to your online profile. There are some really unscrupulous people out there who will do anything to get hold of your personal information, so just check that your photograph doesn’t contain any, and doesn’t give too much information away. I’ve heard horror stories where children have posted photographs of themselves onto the internet which were taken outside their house, with their door number clearly showing! Just as you wouldn’t put that nice new PlayStation 3 in your window for any passing burglar to see, make sure that no private information is featured in your online photo for the world to see either, you could be inviting trouble!
Photographs taken with many brands of mobile phone, PDA device, tablet, or modern digital cameras will embed Geo-Location information about where the photo was taken. For more information on how this can impact your privacy here’s a link to an article I wrote on protecting your privacy when uploading photos
If you want to find out more tips and tricks to improve your social networking activities have a look at the training courses available on our site HERE>>>
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Have your say
What observations do you have about the images used by people and businesses to market themselves over Twitter? How abut sharing your feedback using the comments below – Many thanks
Next Steps:
If you would like help with your social media policy development, or social media training for your staff and management teams on how to use social media effectively while protecting your brand and reputation, or would like to book Ian to speak at your next event then:
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About Ian McKendrick
Ian is a social media and IT Strategist, Broadcaster, and Keynote Speaker on IT Strategy, Social Media and Information Security. Connect with Ian on Google+
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Great article and good advice! People are the key! When people get that, that’s when Twitter will come alive for them.
Thanks. I’ve been meaning to put a pic on for ages!! Might be simple to most people, but if you don’t know how to do it, you don’t know how to do it. Thanks again.
You’re welcome Lorraine, i’m glad you found it useful. I’ve been asked about this so many times when I’m presenting at seminars that I thought it might be helpful to people if I wrote something that made it easy for them!
This was really helpful to me, and (bonus!) entertaining and well-written besides. I’ve been reading a lot about Twitter and social networking… most of it not nearly as fun (or informative). Thanks!
Not interested in selling anything on twitter thanks, but sensible human interaction stuff.
I agree.
If you want to be loved – be lovable.
Reggie
That’s such a refreshing comment Reggie!
Too often I see people who are so wrapped up in selling their business that they forget they are dealing with people – and fail to win over their hearts and minds. I’m a huge advocate of “spreading the love” and as they say, what goes around comes around!
Hey Ian, this top ten list is fantastic. Really great advice on how to use the images correctly. It’s interesting to see the variety that is out there, and how some images are much more effective than other. I wonder what you think of ours @toptentopten. You can post this to our site http://www.toptentopten.com/ and link back to your site. We are trying to create a directory for top ten lists where people can find your site. The coolest feature is you can let other people vote on the rankings of your list.
@admin
Just joined up here…great advice,well written,easy to read and well set out. Looking forward to reading more articles from you.
Thanks Ian, Great article. I was doing a little bit of this by accident but you have helped to fill in some gaps 🙂 Looking forward to reading more.
Thank you for your comment and I’m glad you found it useful!
I’m working on building quite a selection of hints and tips, as well as a series of step-by-step walk throughs for everyday desktop apps.
If there’s anything you’d especially like to see just let me know and I’ll try to include it 🙂
Thanks alot sir ur 10 ways towards posting ur image realy help me alot