A twitter header for your account is a great way to express yourself visually. The first three things a user will see when they view your twitter account are your display picture, your twitter header and finally your bio. In this article I will be giving you a guide on how to perfect the look of your social media account.
We’ll start off with your display picture. If the twitter account is for your business, I would recommend having your business logo as your display picture simply because that makes the most sense. But why not be different? Add a background to your logo then continue the theme with your header. It is important to get your display picture right and make it stand out as when you send a tweet, a smaller version of your display picture will be visible next to your tweet. If your display picture stands out, users are more likely to see your tweet.
Onto your twitter header. Your twitter header gives you a chance to let your imagination run wild. There is no correct way to have a twitter header, there are so many different styles that work, it really depends on your brand and your target audience. Some users have a simple image that they have taken as their header whilst some use their header to include more contact info such as a website and a telephone contact number whilst others use it to promote any deals they currently have. Below are some example designs I have created.
The first design (above) is the one I currently use for my ZC Social Media twitter account. As you can see, I have kept a consistent theme throughout the display feature and header. To do this, I simply used the same text design and the same colour theme. The only information displayed is the most important information, a link to the ZC Social Media website. This design is smart and simple and just gets to the point. It has my name, the company I am part of and a link to the website of the company I am a part of. It is basic yet effective.
Example number two is the design I have for an account I run as a hobby, ‘@whufcphotos’ – on this account I simply upload West Ham match photos. For this, as you can see there are no links to a website. There is simply a photo of a stadium. There is reason for that though, the stadium is one the club will move into in July. The reason that I have chosen a picture that includes snow is because it’s winter so it fits the season in the UK. In Spring, I will change this to a slightly brighter image to fit the season and so on. The logo also doesn’t include much information and the two do not blend in together. I am basically going back on all that I have just said but there is reason for it. As I have just said, the header is seasonal so it fits in in that sense. The display picture is unique which makes it grab the attention of anyone scrolling down their timeline as they will click on the profile to see what it is which attracts more people to my profile which will then in turn, grow followers. We will save the followers for another day. Back to where we were, the logo is a wordart I have created of a West Ham legend, inside that wordart is my twitter handle. The two examples above are completely different but are equally as effective.
My final example is a promotional offer. Just to make it clear, this is not an offer ZC Social Media are currently running, it was just something I quickly created on Photoshop as an example. If you wanted to use your twitter header to help a promotion that you are running get some more exposure, something like the one above but a bit more eye catching would be perfect. The header isn’t too overcrowded and there isn’t any unnecessary information there. The only information there is the information that is important and relevant: What month the promotion is running through, what the promotion is offering, the company running the promotion and then finally a link to the website so a user can find the promotion and make use of it. You may also be able to nice that the background has a texture to it. This something really simple to do even if you are a beginner with photoshop. All you need to do is put your texture underneath your layer, select ‘Multiply’ on the drop down menu, click back on your layer above (usually a blank layer that consists of a colour, like purple in this case) then set the opacity to anywhere between 60% and 80%. It is a small touch that adds a lot to your design. One key thing with a promotional header is that you must not overcrowd it with too much information as a user looking at it will not have the time to read through a lot of text on a header unless it really grabs their attention. Just keep it simple, smart and informative.
Now finally, onto your bio. Your twitter bio gives you 160 characters to sum up what your account is about. You can either keep it short and sweet or go slightly in depth. You may want to include an achievement in there. An example of this could be ‘Kent Wedding Awards Winner 2015’, this will really show off your business to a new user. Like a header, you cannot go wrong with a bio. There are many different ways users write their bio’s. Below are the three examples of bio’s.
First up is the ZC Social Media twitter account. This bio is very similar to other twitter account’s bio’s. It explains what the business is about and the services it offers along with a link to the website. It also includes hashtags, which means if you type in that hashtag and then go to ‘Accounts’, the twitter account will show up. This is also another great way of building followers, but as I said earlier, we will save that for another day.
Next up is my ZC Social Media twitter account. It is short and simple. It simply explains my job role and a bit about myself. I am the Social Media manager at ZC Social Media and I support West Ham. That’s all you need to know at first, if a user wanted to know more they could follow. You will also notice the hashtag #socialmedia. Like with ZC Social Media, if anyone puts in the twitter search bar #socialmedia, my twitter account will come up underneath ‘Accounts’.
And finally, West Ham Photos. This bio is short and simple. You can now see the different styles of bio. The ZC Social Media bio is quite in depth where-as the whufcphotos one is short and snappy. They are all equally as effective, it’s all about what you feel suits your brand. Twitter is very much trial and error, if something isn’t working for you then do not be afraid to try something different.
In this article I have showed you a variation of different styles. I hope I have given you the inspiration to give twitter a go and fulfil your business’ potential by using the platform. Twitter is a fantastic way to generate business, I have built my own business through twitter without spending a single penny on advertising. I have learnt that presentation is key to being successful, hence the reason for this article. If your twitter account looks professional, people will have a good first impression and take you seriously. It’s like the online equivalent of turning up to a job, would you turn up for an interview at a bank in London in a tracksuit or would you turn up smart in a three piece suit? A professional looking twitter account is the three piece suit, a messy looking twitter account is the tracksuit.