Five things to consider when writing your Twitter bio
If you’re using Twitter to promote your business or a specific event, then what you include in your bio is important. Your bio should give people a flavour of what you do – and what you could potentially do for them – but also inject some of your character into the mix. Keep in mind that people will largely decide whether to follow you or not based on what you have in your Twitter bio.
That’s quite a big ask for 160 characters, so how can you make sure that every one of those characters deserves its place in your bio?
Here are five things to consider when writing your Twitter bio:
1. Start simple.
Instead of worrying about crafting a superb Twitter bio on your first attempt, just start off by describing what your business does. “Vegan Festival based in Norwich, takes place annually in August” is an example, which will serve as a great beginning for you to add more detail. Is alcohol available? How many days does the event run? What else do you want people to know? These are all questions for my fictional event organiser who might then edit the bio to say: “Norwich's Vegan Festival now in its 5th year. Try delicious vegan food and wine on 9th and 10th August”.
2. A bio is not set in stone.
So don’t be afraid to tweak it as you go along. You can easily edit it as you become more confident on Twitter and understand how it could be working for your business. And of course you can put details of your latest event in the bio. My professional Twitter account has been going a few months now, and the bio has already had loads of amends as I think about who I want to engage with on Twitter and what will encourage the right type of followers. Using the vegan festival example again, the bio could be edited to reflect the time of year – "One month to go until Norwich's Vegan Festival returns", for example.
3. Include something personal in your bio.
Even if several members of staff will be tweeting from the same account, do try to show a little personality. The account is to promote your business, sure, but other Twitter users still want to feel they are following – and engaging with – real people, not just an automated tweeter. This is also an opportunity to include something a bit more light-hearted about you or your business. You don’t have to be showcasing your best one-liners in your Twitter bio, but a little bit of humour can go a long way.
4. Make good use of keywords.
What types of words are your potential customers searching for on Twitter? Work this out and then stuff your bio full of them! Don’t be tempted to just use a stream of keywords, though – you might turn up in lots of search results but is unlikely to encourage people to click that all-important ‘follow’ button. Try to find a balance between using proper sentences and including your targeted keywords.
5. Big yourself up.
If your business has racked up another achievement you’d like your potential customers to know about, then your Twitter bio is the perfect time to mention it. Anything that lets your followers know that you are experts in your field would work here, whether that’s media coverage, industry certification or a nice, shiny award. Back to that vegan festival again, the bio could be amended to include 'Best Food/Drink Event 2017', for example.
If you’d like advice on setting up – and running – a Twitter account to promote your business, please do drop me a line