Twitter has been one of the main players in the social media game since its arrival back in 2006. Amy, one of our Social Media Managers here at SCS, takes a look at what makes a good Twitter bio, and what your brand can do to make yours really stand out!

The word ‘good’ I suppose is pretty vague. There are many different characteristics associated with the word ‘good’, and you’ve got good people, good scores, good food… For Twitter bios though, it’s pretty simple! A good bio is engaging, stands out, and is original. Twitter bios are super useful in helping you decipher what a brand is about very quickly, without having to scroll through all their content. I spend about 0.5 seconds working out whether your Twitter is one I want to see pop up in my homepage or not. And the decider? Do you have an engaging and original bio!

Writing an original and creative Twitter bio is nothing to freak out about. It’s actually relatively simple. The character limit makes it 10 times easier in fact, as you don’t have the capacity to oversell. My advice? Get to the point. What is it that you want people to gain from your Twitter feed? Twitter bios are where your brand gets to introduce itself, offer an elevator pitch, and set the mood, all in 160 characters or less!

Some brands can do this with a single emoji. Others push it to the character limit. But the worst look like all the rest. Given this, here are some of my top tips for your Twitter bio, to ensure you’re getting the most out of it…

1. Introduce Yourself and Your Brand

Greet your audience! Introduce yourself and your brand. This can be as simple as just saying ‘Hello’ or ‘Welcome to…’. This then puts you in a position where it is an easy transition to introduce what your brand is all about. This is also a great way to give quick information to prospective followers and let them know why they should follow you! Take a look at this great example from Innocent Drinks below.

2. Show your Brand Personality

Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to keep the rest of your bio light and friendly! However, most importantly I think, it to stay true to your brand. If you have a serious brand, then do keep it serious. If you are a cheeky brand, keep it cheeky. It’s as simple as that!

3. Use your Words Wisely

You only have 160 characters to really make an impact! Studies have found that more characters in your bio means more followers, however, I don’t ever think it’s wise to fill your bio aimlessly. Keep your bio to the point, and if you have space left, add a few funky emojis (if appropriate). You could also take this opportunity to mention any awards or recognition your brand has received…just don’t overdo it. It’s a pretty big turn off to see a brand bragging, especially when most of us aren’t aware of what these awards mean anyway. The extremely popular Drag Race brand is a great example of how to do it!

Twitter bios are indexed by search engines such as Google and Bing. The words that you choose, and the order you put them in, communicates volumes about your brand. So put your SEO skills to work and optimize by including relevant keywords. Also, please, please, please keep an eye out for your grammar. Bad spelling and grammar will do your brand no favours, especially when it takes literally seconds to proofread!

4. Tell your Audience what you Do

Let’s make it easy for your target audience. Don’t be vague. State, in simple terms, what you actually want them to do. Do you want your audience to visit your website? Tell them! Do you want them to sign up for emails? Include the link! Your bio is the perfect place to immediately notify your audience of what you’re looking to achieve, and Etsy have certainly got it right.

5. Hashtag Usage

If there’s anything that really annoys me, it’s brands that overuse hashtags. Especially when they don’t have any real meaning or relevance to the brand. Interestingly, and unsurprisingly, studies show that your follower count decreases as your hashtag numbers increase. Hashtags can look very spammy and I think they actually significantly lessen the perceived value of your brand if overused. If you’re going to use hashtags, get them right!

Now that that’s all covered, take a look at my personal favourite Twitter bio…?

I hope you’ve found this helpful, and please do get in touch if you’d like more advice on how to create a knock out Twitter bio!

Amy x