Are you new to Twitter, or thinking about jumping into the Twitter pool? Your Twitter profile is like your business card. It’s hard for new users to understand the importance of the profile components. Here are some things to  avoid in your Twitter profile that will give you the best possible Twitter experience from the start.

• Before You Start: You have a business Twitter account.
• Learning level: 2 | Getting Started
• Article last updated: Monday, April 29, 2013

1. Your Avatar

Twitter is about people connecting with people. Many businesses choose to use a personal picture for their Twitter avatar (photo). Most businesses choose to use a logo or other company branding. This is an important decision, and it depends on what you want to accomplish.

Strike A Pose

If you use a photo, make sure it is a picture of your face. Not a shot of you in the park, or you with your significant other, or with your dog (unless you run a pet-related business). Not a cartoon drawing that resembles you. A real photograph of you.

The best shots should be approximately square and focus on your face. The tiny avatars won’t do justice to the mountain scenery behind you, either. For business reasons, you should consider having a photographer do a head shot. It’s worth it.

Branding Images

If you decide to use your logo, make sure it looks good as your Twitter avatar. Here are some common problems with using your logo.

• Logo is too large. If you logo is hard to read at the Twitter avatar size, consider breaking it apart or using another piece of your visual branding for your avatar. If you logo contains an image and text, consider isolating the image to use alone.
• Logo is cut off. Many logos are rectangular, and Twitter avatars look best as a square. You can fix this by using a graphics program to turn your logo from a rectangle to a square by adding more background on the short sides.

2. Tell Your Business Story

Twitter allows you to create a profile that consists of your name, your location, and a short bio. Use them all to educate people about your business.

• Your name.Your real name is important, especially if you use your business name for your Twitter user name. Let people know who is the voice of your business Twitter account.
• Geography. Provide the name of your city and your state (or province). Other Twitter users in your region want to find you, also.
• Business description. Provide an detailed biography that explains your business. What do you do? How do you explain your business to people you meet?

3. Tell Us More

Some businesses link to a special page, a Twitter landing page, that describes their Twitter use and some of their Twitter policies. I’ve got a Twitter landing page here for an example.

People review your link to learn more about you when they are deciding if they want to follow you. They also use your link if they want to contact your business. Give them good information, and make it easy to reach you!

4. Personalize Your Space

Consider creating a customized Twitter background. It’s really not hard if you have beginner skills with a graphics program. Look around at Twitter backgrounds and decide what you like. After uploading your background image, you can adjust the Twitter colors to coordinate with your background. You can’t break Twitter, so give it a try!

Tip: If you had a Twitter background with the old Twitter, you will have to adjust it to work with the new Twitter.

Your turn: What about you? What did you learn about your Twitter profile the hard way? What common mistakes do you see new users make? Let’s pool our wisdom and all benefit.

Related Articles:

• Your Twitter Web Link Options
• Your Twitter User Name Matters
• Visual Branding on Twitter
• Ebook: Twitter For Beginners
• Twitter Conversation Checklist
• 6 Reasons Why Potential Customers Won’t Follow You on Twitter
• Write A Great Twitter Bio
• Setting Twitter Goals