According to Statista, there are 19 million people in the UK with Twitter accounts. Half (48%) of Twitter users use the platform to get their news, 48% for entertainment, 34% to keep in contact with friends and family, and 33% to follow brands/companies.
Twitter is therefore a hugely important channel for businesses of all shapes and sizes. It offers the opportunity to increase brand awareness, engage with target audiences and get involved in important conversations.
In this article we will take you through a 4-step guide to setting up your Twitter profile and making the most of the channel.
1. Setting up your profile
There are four key aspects to setting up a Twitter profile for your business.
Display and account @name
Profile and header images
Bio
Pinned Tweet
Display and account @name
Your account @name (also referred to as your Twitter handle) is unique to your business, it’s what people will use to find you on Twitter, it appears above all your Tweets and in your profile URL.
While it’s possible to change your account name, it’s a laborious process, so try to get something you are happy with from the beginning.
The @name has to be unique and can contain up to 15 characters. Your business’s name will be your first port of call, but you might find this is already taken and you need to come up with a variation.
Try not to throw in some numbers to try to find something unique. Instead, incorporating what your business does or who you cater to is a good option.
For example, Tide, a fintech company sharing its name with a washing detergent has used @TideBusiness, as it is relevant to its product offering.
Another option is to incorporate a bit of subliminal marketing by adding an action into your @name. Coconut is a good example of this, using @getcoconut.
Once you have your Twitter handle sorted, you need a display name. This is more prominent on your profile, sitting above your @name. It can be up to 50 characters and can be changed at any point. Best practice is you just use your business or brand name.
Profile and header images
You will need to select a large header image and a smaller profile photo.
The profile photo is normally the company logo, it needs to be clear in the small, circular space - the simpler the better. The recommended dimensions for this image are 400x400 pixels.
The larger header image is a good opportunity to showcase what your business is offering. This can be changed regularly, so could showcase a new product launch or campaign. It should always reflect your most recent branding and have fresh images. The recommended dimensions are 1500x1500 pixels.
Bio
Your Twitter bio is your elevator pitch. You have 160 characters to introduce your business to the world - encapsulate what you do, the value you bring, and why people should follow you.
You can add a link to your website here - this could take people to your About page, to a campaign landing page or to a sign up page. You can change your bio whenever you want, so make sure you are sending people to the most appropriate page at all times.
You can also add your location - if you operate in specific markets then you should mention these, this helps connect with local followers.
If you are using Twitter for customer service then you should also note your hours of operation in your bio.
Pinned Tweet
The final part of setting up your profile is to have a pinned Tweet. This is the Tweet that will remain at the top of your profile and will be the first thing people see on your page.
It could be a sale or promotion, your latest product launch, or a charity or cause you are supporting.
For example, Revolut are currently using their pinned Tweet to highlight their support for refugees from Ukraine.
To pin a Tweet, simply click the down arrow at the top-right corner of the Tweet and select “Pin to your profile”.
2. Use Twitter Lists to find the right influencers to follow
Once you have your profile up and running and you're starting to use it to share news and insights from your business, you should also look to ensure you are interacting with relevant influencers and getting involved in debates and conversations.
Twitter Lists are the best way to keep track of what industry influencers, journalists, competitors etc are talking about, so that you can effectively plan your interactions. Lists allow you to see Tweets from specific accounts with ease, in your timeline.
You can choose to follow Lists created by others on Twitter, or create your own Lists of accounts by group, topic or interest. Twitter has a guide to help you create your Lists and show you how to find and follow public Lists others have created.
Please be aware that if you are creating a List that has a public privacy setting, the people you add to the list will be notified. Make sure you name these lists in a manner that won’t offend!
3. Post regularly and get involved in conversation and debate
The Twitter algorithm favours profiles that Tweet and interact with their followers regularly. You should aim to post at least 2-3 times per week, and respond to comments promptly.
As well as satisfying the algorithm and ensuring your Tweets are surfaced to your followers, posting regularly is important to keep your followers engaged and interested in your brand, maximising the opportunity for them to interact with your business.
It’s important to strike the right balance between using Twitter as a sales channel and a way to engage with your community and industry organically.
Twitter can be a successful lead generation tool, but it should also be used to build your business’s reputation as one that has interesting views, shares helpful content and participates in debate to move conversations forward.
When issues emerge that you feel you should way in on, you could either:
share a quick opinion from a spokesperson in the form of a standalone Tweet or a reply to someone else;
repurpose an old, but relevant piece of content;
adapt a planned blog post or campaign to be relevant and timely.
Hashtags are crucial here for making sure you are linking your content to the wider conversation and getting in front of relevant audiences.
4. Test out hashtags
Hashtags (#) are used to index keywords and topics on Twitter, making it easy for people to find and follow topics they are interested in.
They serve a hugely useful purpose for businesses, allowing them to participate in relevant conversations and have a better chance of having their content seen by the relevant audiences.
You can use multiple hashtags in a Tweet and you can place them anywhere in the Tweet, they don’t need to be at the end. However, it’s advisable to use a maximum of two or three hashtags in a single Tweet to ensure it remains easy to read and doesn’t look like spam.
Take some time to search for the most relevant hashtags for your content and test them out one at a time. This will help you identify which prove most effective in driving engagement. Once you have a set of useful hashtags you could start combining them in single Tweets to boost reach.
Be sure to keep a close eye on your Lists so you can jump on new hashtags and conversations as they arise.
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