subject: The Ten Capital Mistakes in Twitter Profiles [print this page] The Ten Capital Mistakes in Twitter Profiles
What would be your first impression in meeting with someone who conceals his face or wears a mask and tries to sell something to you from the get go without even introducing himself? Disgust, rejection, annoyance and maybe also a bit of fear.
So how do you believe people react to you when they first meet you on Twitter and try to find out who you are? The information you put in your biography, the picture you publish in your profile and the name you record in your settings can make all the difference in the world and can prevent you from being banned! Read carefully the following instructions!
Your Twitter profile is very important for your success in social media and there are some major mistakes that can prevent you from gaining credibility or followers:
1. A suspect username
Your Twitter username will always be present in any contact or communication you will do. Some people use their own first and last name, some use a "brand" name that communicates what activity they want to perform, others use the name of their company or site, and finally some chose just a fantasy name. These are all fine choices, but make sure you don't get mistaken for a spammer: they usually use a girl name followed by numbers or a gibberish combination of letters and numbers, like "jhyudh265". These are all fake accounts that get shut down and that people avoid.
2. Omitted or altered real name
Whatever the username you chose, make sure you also add your real first and last name in the profile, and that they are SEPARATED from one another (there is a space between the first and last name). People will search for you on Google and will find your Twitter profile(s) only if they contain your real name, spelled as in real life.
3. No image
People will decide whether to connect with you in a few seconds. If you have no photo of yourself or no image whatsoever, the vast majority will stay away from you. This is true of every social network, not only Twitter.
4. Missing site
You will lost most of the benefit of connecting with people if you don't have a site, blog or simple page where they can find more about you and if it doesn't come up in the profile.
5. Photo of an object
You are on Twitter in order to connect with other people, true people. They don't want to talk to an object and you'll appear as somebody trying to spam them about a product. Exceptions: it is fine to use objects when you are providing some kind of service which is best described by the object, like the many "bird" picture that coemn up on Twitter related services. Again, be careful as you will be more easily tagged as spammer.
6. False location or identity
The fastest way to get banned from Twitter and lose your followers and credibility is to pretend to be somebody else and to live somewhere else than where you actually live.
7. Pretty girls
Spammers know very well that people respond better when they see a picture of a nice girl, even better if she is half naked. So they use this trick continually and people have come to recognize it. If you do happen to be a beautiful lady or girl, make sure you have a picture that looks personal and natural.
8. Somebody else's photo
It is usually a bad idea to show somebody else's picture, like a very well known character or popular figure. If you really don't want to show your face, you can use a picture that of you at a distance or you can use the picture of a kid, pet or family. Kids and pet create strong relationships and can be also used for the background of your Twitter page.
9. Sad and bad quality pictures
Would you put a low quality photo on your resume? So why use it on your Twitter profile? A smile can go a long way. Get a professionally done photo.
10. Crowded or bad picture
You have a very limited space, so avoid using pictures that contain too many elements that make it impossible to recognize you. This includes group photos, holding your face in your hands, objects that are in the background and so on.
