How to Optimize Your Twitter Profile to Attract Followers and More Business

Twitter is still a powerful marketing and lead generation tool. Did you notice which social media platform Apple used to launch the iPhone 7?  They chose Twitter! They get it. But Apple is a big brand with a large and loyal fan base.

To grow your small business using Twitter, you’ll need to attract engaged, quality followers, which you can achieve if you optimize your Twitter profile.

So, what’s the big deal about your profile? Why does it matter so darn much?

Your Twitter profile is a 24×7, online version of you. A Twitter profile is a business card on steroids!  It’s on the internet representing you every time someone views it.  Part of your profile also appears in Google when people do searches.

Your Twitter profile components create an introduction opportunity that I call “The Virtual Handshake.”

Let me explain…

Imagine you’re at a networking event. What do you say and do when you meet a new person? You shake hands, introduce yourself, make eye-to-eye contact, and discuss a little about what you do and who you are.

Well, when people visit your Twitter profile for the first time, it’s similar. Through your profile, you are telling the person about yourself and making an introduction. Obviously, it’s online and not face-to-face. But it’s like a meet-and-greet without the physical handshake. Make sense?

So, how do you optimize your Twitter profile so that people are attracted to you? It’s not hard. Let’s dig in!

How to Optimize Your Twitter Profile to Boost Your Business

Header Photo

Your header photo is prime real estate and one of the first things people see when they visit your profile. It’s your chance to impress, communicate, and form a connection.

There are many options for your header photo, and Twitter has given you a lot of space to use. Don’t waste it! Try to include a few of these ideas in your header photo:

• brand yourself;
• promote an offer;
• highlight a problem you solve;
• express your uniqueness;
• show off your personality;
• drive traffic to your website;
• introduce your service or product; and,
• display your social proof.

Mike Kawula’s header photo is a nice example that combines business acumen with personal flair. As an experienced entrepreneur, Mike knows how to appeal to his audience. He uses a descriptive personal tagline, logo, social proof, and personal photos that show off his personality and the fact that his family is important.

If you aren’t great at creating graphics, no worries! You can try Canva or Relay for free. Canva has templates that will work for your header image. And Relay will create a header image for you after you’ve uploaded your assets.

While using the header image is one of the easiest tasks to do, many accounts are still getting it wrong. Make sure you avoid these common header image pitfalls:

• Leaving it blank
• Displaying a random, unrelated photo
• Using a graphic that is not sized properly
• Showing only your logo
• Communicating a vague tagline or concept
• Coming across as too “salesy” (free stuff is okay to promote, though!)
• Overcrowding it with too much text
• Not accounting for mobile devices

Profile Photo

People want to engage and interact with other people. These days, business is about H2H (Human to Human) interaction. Forget B2C and B2B on social media, and give your brand a face by using a picture of yourself as your profile photo.

When you have the chance to interact with others as yourself, take it!

Building relationships online is much easier as yourself because the interaction is more personal. As a result, engaging as one human to another can be far more efficient in attracting more followers.

Using a logo as the profile picture is an option for larger businesses. You can always use the header photo to include team members’ faces.

Hootsuite does a great job of this with their customer care-specific Twitter account. Their modified logo visually establishes the concept of “help” with the stethoscope. And the header photo of the Help Desk team solidifies that there are real people there to assist customers.

Remember, though, that people don’t usually go to your profile page to see your header image. When you use your logo, it appears in the news feed and is what people see when interacting with your account.

Here are some final tips about your profile photo when it comes to the image itself. Make sure the image is:

• High quality
• Recognizable
• Bright (not too dark)
• Easy to see

Remember that most people will be seeing your profile photo in the news feed where it is very small!

Account Name and Username (@ Name)

Make it easy for people to find you. Follow that advice for whatever industry you’re in, and you’ll be covered.

Back to my analogy of meeting someone for the first time and shaking their hand. You’d introduce yourself using your name, right? 😉 Back to the H2H concept…people want to connect with other people. Use your name if it works for your business.

Have you tried to find someone on Twitter who didn’t use their personal name? It can be challenging. You don’t want people to have to work to find you. They will give up quickly, so make it simple.

Being clever can work. But if you’re starting out on Twitter or don’t have much clout yet, consider keeping your account and @ names similar to each other and close to your personal name.

Remember this too: you take your personal brand with you wherever you go. Businesses come and go, but you don’t!

NOTE: Duplicate account names are permitted but not duplicate @ names.

Bio

Your entire Twitter profile is essential to gaining followers and helping your business. However, your bio has extra value.

• Did you know that Google indexes your bio? This means that Google shows your bio in search engine results pages (SERPs).
• Your bio is searchable on Twitter, so use relevant keywords to attract your ideal audience.
• People look at your bio to decide whether they want to follow you.

Think about your bio as a shortened version of what you’d tell a person or what you’d want to convey about yourself when first meeting. You could use your elevator speech as your bio. However, adding a bit of personal data makes it easier for people to “talk” to you online. Also, it gives your followers a chance to know more about you, not just your business. The idea of social media is to be social, right? 😉

Social selling expert Kim Garst uses a nice mix of credentials, social proof, and personal information. It’d be easy to strike up a conversation with her on Twitter!

With only 160 characters to use, your bio is a brief but meaningful collection of facts that represent you. How do you want others to see you? What do you want them to know?

Neil Patel’s advice about how to write a great bio can help you. His seven ingredients of a great Twitter bio from the Buffer blog offer a good framework to follow:

1. It’s accurate. One professional description.
2. It’s exciting. One word that is not boring.
3. It’s targeted. One niche descriptor.
4. It’s flattering. One accomplishment.
5. It’s humanizing. One hobby.
6. It’s intriguing. One interesting fact or feature about yourself.
7. It’s connected. Your company or another social profile.

Pinned Tweet

Don’t underestimate the value of a pinned tweet. It’s another opportunity to highlight something about you or something you care about sharing.

People see a pinned Tweet only when the visit your profile, which is typically when they are first following you. Again, this is your chance to convey what’s most important, don’t blow it. 🙂

In my experience, new followers visit my profile and frequently retweet my pinned tweet. If you’re trying to add value, promote an offer, send traffic to a link, or announce a message, then the pinned tweet is a terrific free resource.

A pinned tweet could be content that demonstrates who you are, what you do, the value you provide, or the message you want to be noticed, emphasized, and retweeted. Be sure to add an image to your pinned Tweet for maximum impact and engagement!

When I go to a person’s account to thank them for retweeting or mentioning me, I look for their pinned tweet. I want to reciprocate and share the love, so a pinned tweet makes this easier and faster. If I have to search through their feed, then I often will only thank them rather than also retweeting them.

For more detailed information on this topic, check out my post why you should use a pinned tweet and how to create one.

Location and URL

Don’t forget about including your location and URL! These are self-explanatory, although I see accounts with these fields left blank.

Including your geographic location gives you something to talk about and possibly discuss. I don’t know about you, but when I notice a follower is local or lives in a place I’ve visited or want to go, I mention it.

Do not underestimate how using a location could connect you with others and build bonds. It’s all about finding ways to connect and build that relationship!

Also, I appreciate those Twitter users who have included a location. I certainly don’t want to tweet “Good morning!” if it’s evening where the other person lives.

If you have a business—and that’s what we’re discussing here, so I’m assuming you do—then for certain you want to include a URL. Increasing your web traffic is one of the biggest reasons to use social media for business.

Using your website’s main URL is an okay option. You might want to send Twitter followers to a specific page on your site, such as your blog. Or, even better, consider using an opt-in landing page specific to your Twitter audience and using its URL in your profile.

Over To You

Now that you know why and how to optimize your Twitter profile to increase your followers and grow your business, will you be making any changes to your account? 😉