The Most Important Rule to Follow on Twitter
May 22nd, 2009 by Tim Allik
Lists are big these days. “The Top Five Most Important Twitter Tips” would be a useful thing to put together, and popular, too.
I’m going to give a list of one. This brevity fits with the Twitter format and besides, it’s another pristine day in New England on the cusp of summer. I’m too busy planning my Memorial Day weekend exit strategy.
Tip #1: Put great thought and care into your “One Line Bio.” Twitter knows it’s important: that’s why they give you an extra twenty characters — 160 characters in all — to come up with something persuasive, passionate, dynamic, creative and informative. I realize it’s a challenge, but I know you are up to it.
Why is your One Line Bio so important? Because when you decide to go through the list of people who follow you on Twitter and hover your cursor over their usernames — the first step toward a semblance of a relationship — you will see that some people have put great care and thought into their profiles while others have not. The ones who have entered nothing are typically ignored and sometimes blocked. The ones who have entered a One Line Bio that reflects a semblance of curiosity, passion, and/or intelligence are usually followed.
Fill in your One Line Bio if you haven’t done so already. It’s a short-form resume in a sense, but it’s more personal than a resume. Like most personal branding there is some spin involved. Many, many men describe themselves as being a “proud dad of awesome kids,” for example. Few men list themselves as being an “apathetic dad of average kids.”
Think about who you are trying to reach on Twitter and speak to them with your message.
Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. And remember one more thing, DON’T TEXT WHILE DRIVING. Be safe.
This entry was posted on Friday, May 22nd, 2009 at 9:23 am and is filed under PR. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Great point! Your one-line bio on Twitter, similar to your subtitle on LinkedIn, is often the “make or break” summary line that catches your viewers/followers’ attention. Think of the cover copy on the back of a book. When you browse books at the library or bookstore, you often check that to determine whether or not you want to flip through and/or read more. Make these summary lines in all of your profiles across all social networks consistent and catchy to help grow your followers and audiences.
May 26th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Chris, the thing that blows my mind is that of the 50 or so people that follow me every week, at least 30 percent have no one line bio at all. A high percentage of these end up being spam, so I just ignore all of them.