Building your brand on Twitter is all about making the best first impression.
What do people see, read and perceive in the first seven seconds when they come across your Twitter bio?
That first glance could make or break your brand. It’s the difference between whether someone follows, or clicks in another direction. Be boring or leave the space blank and your Twitter bio could be driving customers away. The mantra to be repeating as you create (or re-create) your bio is now this: Always be attracting.
Anatomy of a Twitter Profile
1. Name & Username
You will most likely use your brand name (or real name, if this is an account for your personal brand) so that people on Twitter will know you right away. Avoid using anything other than the full, proper name of your company.
You want to be as easy to search and spot as possible. Your @name has a character limit too. If you need to have multiple Twitter accounts, lets say for different locations or employees, make sure that the differing details can added within the 20 character limit.
2. Your Bio
This is the big one because its the first thing people read when searching your name or delving into your account. If someone mentioned you in a tweet and someone taps on your profile, this is where their eyes are landing. It also appears in Google search results.
3. Your Location
If location means something to your brand – if you’re a pub, which makes it difficult to ship pints of beer – include your geographical location. Doing so also provides context for your followers, like if you’re using national slang, cheering local teams or spouting geo-specific terminology.
4. Your Website
Social media drives 31% of all website referral traffic, so please do include a URL in your Twitter profile so you can attract people to your landing page, products or portfolio.
If you can, use a trackable link, through Bitly or goog.gl so you can see traffic and keep your URL short because, like everything on Twitter, character count is limited.
5. Your Birthday
This isn’t typically a huge deal but it is part of your profile, so it should be addressed. Filling out your birthday impacts the kind of ads Twitter is allowed to deliver to you; alcohol marketers, for instance. If your brand relies on alcohol content—the kind of content delivered to you, not the kind that’s in your blood right now—then include this.
Building The Perfect Twitter Bio
1. Be Informative
Your bio is the place for followers—and potential clients and customers—to gather the important aspects of your brand and business. Explain with accuracy who you are, what you do, and what makes you different. Give viewers an idea about the kind of content they can expect from you and other aspects of your brick-and-mortar presence, like your location and hours of operation.
2. Be Personable
If your Twitter is managed by an employee, introduce them by their @username. This shows that your brand’s account has a real person choosing content and replying to tweet. This is a form of customer service, so make sure it’s run by someone who generally cares about customers, not just about getting the most favorites and re-tweets.
Another option is to keep the bio light, fun and true to your brand culture. Leave people wanting more and they’ll click that Follow button.
3. Be Strategic
Twitter bios are searchable, so make sure everything about yours is designed around attracting your ideal audience. Ask what that audience is looking for and make sure their queries will be satisfied just by skimming your bio. Do not overload your bio with keywords and hashtags.
4. Be Action Oriented
A well laid out Twitter bio doesn’t just dispense information, it gives readers a task or action to take. Can users contribute to your content with a brand hashtag or can they participate in a weekly chat? Add that info in your bio and get them involved right away.
When you’re looking for more information, do a search of competitor businesses or brands that you like. Make a note of what works for them in their Twitter bio and try them out. Bios can be updated or changed any time, so don’t be afraid to experiement with layouts. When all else fails, and you’re feeling lucky, there’s always the Twitter Bio Generator.
