Laying the right foundation…
I’ve just been making some bite size training videos for Social Media Marketing just for those people who don’t have time to complete full courses and need to take baby steps. Today was setting up your Twitter profile to lay a good foundation. I thought it might be useful to list the very basics of how to go about setting up your Twitter account so that you don’t do anything to trip yourself up down the line.
So here you go; my 10 tips for laying a great foundation for maximum success on Twitter.
Full Name ::
This is a directory listing. When people type your name to search for you they will put a space between first and last names so you should set your name likewise. If you don’t have you are risking not being found.
User Name ::
This is the name people see when you Tweet. If you are Blogging or generally branding yourself as an expert in your field then I strongly suggest you use your name here. It’s a social platform. People want to interact with real people.
If your name isn’t available then get creative with verbs – I use SazBaileyTweets. I advise against using numbers as this is what spammers do. People are wary and take a milli second to decide not to click.
Make it easy to read and connect with you by capitalise each word or placing an underscore between them. Many user names blend together so difficult to read and get passed by.
Profile Picture ::
Again if you are positioning yourself as your brand then you need a good picture of you looking directly at he camera. People will feel they connect with you if they can see your eyes. This equals more followers and more re-tweets!
Bio ::
Remember this is a fast paced social space. People need to be given reasons to connect with you. Be fresh, get creative. You can take inspiration from other people in your field. The more thought you give to this the more likely you are to connect with the people who are a good match for you. Again, more matched followers and more re-tweets!
Protect my Tweets ::
I know this sounds obvious but don’t check this as it locks your profile away from view!!!!
Mobile phone ::
It’s great idea to set up your phone to use apps or text to send tweets and pictures across from your phone. It will help you keep on the pulse and enable you to be more responsive and productive when away from your computer. We are after all in a mobile, virtual business!
Location ::
Some Twitter applications use your location so you need to consider if this is relevant to your venture.
Your website URL ::
Twitter only displays 18 characters. I suggest you drop the www and capitalise any individual words to massively increase click throughs. Twitter is a very skeleton service so you get little opportuntiy to promote your identity. Make sure your domain is as visible as possible.
Don’t use a shortened link like bit.ly or tiny URL. Again, spammers use this and people can be afraid of clicking through them.
Scheme ::
Make the effort to change the background of your Twitter Home page. Remember this is a people place, so show your character. The more authentic you are in setting up your whole profile, the more engaging you will be. If you don’t make the effort it looks like you don’t really care when others go to such an effort.
Don’t change the colour of your links. People are now pre-programmed to expect them to be blue. Don’t mess with them or you’ll risk hijacking your click throughs!
Direct Message new followers ::
It’s a good idea to send a Direct Message to your new followers. This is a good thing to do for two reasons; 1- it’s good relationship building, first contact sets a good impression and sets an expectation of your standards, 2 – it’s an opportunity to automate a message with a link to drive traffic to your Blog.
Now you’re set to leverage all the interaction you’ll be having in the Twittersphere!
Short and sweet but hopefully useful. If it has been helpful then be sure to RT! – Re-Tweet!
Thanks, I appreciate your interaction.
I am a UK Internet Entrepreneur Coach:
Manchester