5 Twitter Profile Tips

I've just looked at the Twitter profiles of several people who have just started to follow me in order to evaluate whether I want to follow these people back. And, as always, I see the same Twitter profile errors over and over again.

Thus I'm again going to share some basic Twitter tips to help people who are making these errors.

Premise: The effective use of Twitter revolves around connecting 1) with people who share information that interests you and 2) with people who are interested in the information you share. People need to know about theses interests before following you.

Problem: You are brand new on Twitter. What are the basics you should do for your profile before you start following people? (In other words, the Twitter profile errors I spot are of people NOT doing the following.)

1. Upload a headshot of yourself with no sunglasses or hat blocking your eyes. FYI — If you put yourself in a bikini (just saw this), I'm not following you because, regardless of what you share, you have chosen to use a photo that I feel is not appropriate for Twitter. And while you can use a corporate logo or a scenery photo instead of a headshot, people connect more with faces.

2. Include a bio about yourself that gives the kind of information that would encourage people interested in your brand to follow you. I don't mind knowing how many children you have and whether you're married or not IF I also know what you'll be sharing on Twitter. If you can't fit all that in your 160-character bio limit, leave out the children and spouse. FYI – If you have no bio, and even if you have a link that I may check, I'm probably not going to follow you because you didn't make the effort to include a bio.

3. Post at least two interesting tweets (NOT "I just joined Twitter") on your profile before you start following people. These tweets should indicate the kind of information you're interested in sharing.

4. Do use a color for your links that people can actually read. (I just saw baby blue links that I found almost impossible to read.) People like to know what they are clicking on before they click.

5. If you don't have a website to link to from your Twitter profile, use a link to your LinkedIn profile or your profile on some other social media site rather than passing up the opportunity to share a link on your profile.

After all, if I'm taking the time to personally check out your Twitter profile, I do want to find information there that helps me decide whether our interests are similar. If you have no photo, no bio, no link or only an unreadable link, and no tweets, how can I evaluate what you are about?



If you want help with setting up an effective Twitter profile, see the Miller Mosaic FREE report at www.MillerMosaicPowerof3.com with step-by-step explanations.

© 2011 Miller Mosaic LLC

Phyllis Zimbler Miller (@ZimblerMiller on Twitter) is the co-founder of the social media marketing company Miller Mosaic LLC.

Get the free information "8 Social Media Marketing Mistakes" and "Social Media Marketing Does Not Magically Work; You Have to Work It" at www.facebook.com/millermosaicsocialmedia