Twitter has become an important platform for businesses to build their brand, engage with customers, share content and engage. With 300+ million monthly active users, Twitter provides tremendous chances for companies, small and big, to grow their audience and market their products and services.
Building a professional, unique Twitter account is essential for having your brand identity and values represent you on this powerful social channel. Want to create the best Twitter account for your business? Follow this comprehensive guide to learn step-by-step how to do it.
Choosing a Handle and Profile Name
The first step to building your business’s Twitter presence is picking a handle/username and profile name.
Pick a Relevant Handle
Your Twitter handle is the @ name that identifies your brand on Twitter. This will appear in front of all your tweets and is what other users will use to mention or message you.
When selecting a Twitter handle:
- Make it related to your business name or brand
- Keep it simple and easy to remember
- If your business name is taken, try variations by adding words like "company", "shop", or "official"
- Use dashes or underscores if needed for spacing
For example, if you run a bakery called "Cake Creations," potential handles could be:
- @cake_creations
- @cakecreations
- @cakesbycakecreations
You want to choose a handle that fits your brand and one that another user hasn’t already taken.
Additionally, if you need to delete Twitter tweets efficiently with TweetEraser to maintain a professional profile, leveraging the right tools can streamline the process.
Craft a Compelling Profile Name
Next to your @ handle, you can add a profile name of up to 50 characters so people can see it on your Twitter page.
Your profile name gives you more space to communicate your:
- Business name
- Slogan
- Value proposition
- Key products/services
For instance, a social media marketing agency could have the profile name:
Acme Social - Award-Winning Social Media Marketing Services
Get creative to make a unique, descriptive profile name tailored to your brand.
Customizing Your Profile
With the basics set up, it’s time to customize your Twitter profile to showcase your brand to anyone who visits your page.
Profile Photo
Your profile photo appears next to all your tweets and is one of the first brand impressions visitors will see.
Tips for selecting a strong profile photo:
- Choose your brand's image or business logo
- Keep the same profile picture used across all social media platforms
- Verify that the picture in small sizes looks professional, clear and interesting
- A bright, colorful photo standing out can draw more eyes.
Additionally, make sure your profile photo follows Twitter’s image guidelines around nudity, violence, hate speech, etc.
Profile Banner
Twitter gives you the option to upload a banner image that spans the top of your profile. This creates prime real estate to share beautiful, high-quality visuals showing what your brand is all about.
Effective Twitter banner ideas include:
- Bright, professional photos conveying your products, services, office, team etc.
- Infographics with statistics and facts about your industry
- Promotional banners announcing sales, special offers or new product launches
- Brand slogans and taglines over background images or colors
Refer to Twitter’s recommendations for ideal banner sizes and formats. Change up your banner seasonally or for big company announcements to keep your profile looking fresh.
Biography
Your Twitter bio gives you 160 characters to describe what your brand does and what makes it unique.
An impactful Twitter bio clearly summarizes:
- What you do
- Who you help
- Key differentiators
For example:
Acme Social - We help startups and small businesses generate more leads through award-winning social media marketing services. Family-owned agency based in San Francisco.
Be concise, personal and persuasive. This bio serves as an elevator pitch to capture attention as people scroll through their feeds.
Location
Enabling the location tag lets you share where your business is based. This helps establish credibility as an authentic local brand that customers can visit in person.
Website
Be sure to link your website in your profile so visitors can easily click to explore more about your offerings. This also helps establish legitimacy as an established company.
Optimizing Your First Tweets
Now it’s time to send your inaugural tweets as a newly minted business account! Craft engaging, valuable content to make a strong first impression.
Pin a Warm Welcome Tweet
Pinning a tweet to the top of your profile shows a fixed post, no matter how many new updates you share. Take advantage by pinning a friendly welcome tweet introducing people to your company to anyone visiting your page. Give a warm welcome, describe who you are and what you do, and extend an invitation to connect. For example, “Welcome to the Acme Social Twitter page! We're a family-owned digital marketing agency helping Bay Area brands grow. Follow us for social media tips, and feel free to reach out!” This makes a strong first impression and gives new visitors instant context about your brand.
Share an Introductory Thread
An introductory tweet thread allows you to share more details upfront to tell your backstory over a series of 3-5 chained tweets. You can cover subjects including your mission and values, how and when your company was started, significant events, why clients love you, and what others might expect of you. Including images and graphics helps create a captivating story people will want to read through completely.
Tweet Valuable Content
After introductions have been taken care of, start tweeting relevant, helpful material fit for your sector and audience. Share blog entries and guides, infographics and statistics, industry news and trends, videos and webinars, customer testimonials and user-generated content, polls and surveys to get participation. Mix educational, promotional, entertaining and interactive content to appeal to a wider group of followers. Think through the customer journey and share content that provides value at each stage, from awareness to consideration to decision.
Following Strategic Accounts
Ramp up your new Twitter account by identifying and following other accounts that are strategic to your brand-building and audience growth goals.
Customers and Prospects
Search for existing customers as well as potential new customers to target based on their interests and demographics. Engage with their content and join related conversations.
Following ideal customer profiles allows you to:
- Learn about their needs, pain points and preferences
- Study competitors they follow
- Identify relevant hashtags and topics
- Network by turning followers into brand advocates
Industry Influencers
Look for key opinion leaders, bloggers, journalists, analysts and brands who shape conversations in your market.
Connecting with influencers opens doors to:
- Grow your audience by getting on their radar
- Spark potential partnerships
- Stay on top of industry updates and breaking news
- Find inspirational content ideas to retweet
The more great accounts you follow, the more great content will hit your feed. This informs your own content strategy and business decisions.
Competitors
Monitoring rival brands on Twitter can provide useful intel to compare your performance and learn what resonates with your shared target audience.
Following competitors lets you:
- Benchmark social metrics like followers and engagement
- See the types of content and campaigns working well in your market
- Identify key differentiators for your brand
- React faster to competitor product launches and news
Just be careful not to copy competitors unthinkingly. Use their activity as inspiration to fuel innovative ideas tailored to your unique brand identity.
Promoting Your New Twitter Presence
Creating your ideal Twitter brand presence means nothing if people can’t find you! Promote your shiny new profile across channels to turn strangers into followers.
Update Your Website and Emails
Add Twitter follow buttons and links to your profile across your website footer, contact pages, and email signatures. Use eye-catching calls-to-action like “Follow us on Twitter!” Increase discovery by inserting profile links wherever customers and prospects may interact with your brand online.
Showcase Twitter Content
Weave your Twitter handle into external marketing collateral like blog posts and articles, YouTube video descriptions, print ads and brochures, conference banners and swag, retail storefront displays, and TV and radio commercials. Enable link previews to showcase your top-performing tweets on other social channels like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Cross-promote your best Twitter updates to help followers on other networks migrate to your new account.
Pitch Influencers
Proactively reach out to aligned influencers, industry analysts or media contacts to brief them on your account launch. Offer to create co-branded Twitter content and propose giving them a first look at future company and product announcements. By tweeting your material, tagging your handle, and introducing you to their active follower network, influencers can add credibility. Given the great value this community support adds, it gives partnerships a top priority.
Key Takeaways
Starting a professional, identifiable Twitter presence is a smart approach to increase brand awareness, interact with clients, and generate website traffic.
Following this guide, you can set up an effective branded Twitter business account by:
- Picking a strategic handle and profile name
- Designing an eye-catching profile with images, bio and links
- Verifying your account (if eligible)
- Introducing yourself with a welcome tweet and intro thread
- Finding and following target accounts and influencers
- Promoting your profile across marketing channels
- Analyzing metrics to refine content and engagement
Invest time upfront to craft an authoritative Twitter brand profile. Then stay nimble responding to analytics and platform innovations.
A thoughtful Twitter strategy aligned with business goals will reap rewards, reach new audiences, and turn followers into loyal brand advocates.
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