The platform for Twitter is pretty simple – say what you want in 140 characters or less, share links you find interesting, follow other users you find interesting, and converse back and forth through mentions or direct messages. The page is straightforward – no bells and whistles – which is partly why it’s so appealing to users. For people who use Twitter for business purposes, there is another dimension to the microblogging site that can be hard to grasp without some direction: the Twitter profile. From personalizing your background to finding the right profile picture, compiling a marketable Twitter profile can be complex. Today, we’re breaking the process down and giving you five tips for developing your Twitter profile in order to get maximum results.

1. Customized Background Image

Twitter’s screen resolution and unique layout don’t give many options for traditional background pictures, so customizing one to make all of your information visible is a necessity. A customized background also helps create a branded experience, no matter if its an individual or a corporate page. A great example of a customized Twitter background can be seen on Southwest Airlines’ Twitter page. The sidebar lists important links to other social media sites where Southwest is present, as well as fun facts and recent recognitions. Although these backgrounds can’t be hyperlinked, they still provide a useful way to relay information to users, making it easier for customers and followers who don’t want to spend the time searching for the information themselves. Many sites, such as TweetBacks or TweetPlate, offer free customizable Twitter backgrounds (with standard layouts requiring you to input certain information), as well as low-cost designs that are even more personalized.

2. Analyze Your Tweets

Afraid you’re overloading your followers, or that you’re not tweeting enough to make an impact? There are dozens of services online offering free breakdowns of Twitter stats, including number of Tweets per day, hour, week and month, and other stats that may be of importance. TweetStats is an easy-to-use site that delivers these results in colorful graphs which make it very easy to analyze data.

3. Maximize Social Capital

If your following-to-follower ratio is drastically high (that is, you follow more people than are following you), you might want to consider getting rid of deadweight that may be holding you back. “Spammers” are an unfortunate reality of joining Twitter, something that the site has been working on combating for a while. Luckily, developers have come up with tools that can help you analyze your followers and give you the option of blocking them, as well as unfollowing people who may not be using Twitter anymore. Tweepular is the best tool out there for managing followers and gives great results. Although high numbers may seem like a good thing, if they’re not doing anything, they won’t be useful to you.

4. Write a Bio that will Stand Out

Your Twitter biography is 160 characters – so it’s important to make every word count. Although Twitter is a forum to be witty or sarcastic, for business purposes, it’s best to make…

To read more about tools for developing your Twitter profile, go to Sparxoo, a digital marketing, branding and business development blog.

Sparxoo is a business blog that inspires breakthrough by tomorrow’s leaders. We are a strategy consulting firm with a pulse on marketing, branding, and development.

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard the buzz over the popular social networking site called Twitter. However, like many small business owners, you may be wondering just how to utilize Twitter to help grow your business. Luckily you don’t have to be a computer expert or a marketing guru to implement Twitter into your overall marketing strategy.

What is Twitter?  Twitter is a micro blogging/social networking site that is used to send brief messages (up to 140 characters) to acquaintances, family members, friends, and the general worldwide Internet community (your “followers”).

News, instant updates and communication with friends and family are just a few of the more common uses of Twitter. LA Firefighters use Twitter to keep the community abreast of potential fires and other emergencies. News agencies use Twitter to provide up-to-the-minute news updates. And companies and public services are beginning to utilize Twitter more and more. Most Twitter users “Tweet” to keep family and friends up-to-date on their own current activities.

Marketing Your Business with Twitter

If you own a business, Twitter can be used to publish news and updates about your specific business or products. The best way to post would be by having a clickable link to the full article or press release. Business owners should consider the overall value of the release to customers and allow them to “discover” the material via Twitter. Proper etiquette is essential to effective marketing on Twitter. Advertising and selling tends to alienate followers and will usually create bad feelings among potential consumers.

Twitter is a great place to promote sales or special events. For example, Schlotzsky’s Deli uses Twitter to keep customers updated on sandwich specials and new menu items. Many companies also subscribe to Twitter Alerts (much like Google Alerts) so that they are notified when anyone is tweeting about them – whether good or bad. When promoting your business it’s important to realize that the site is designed for conversation and timely news. Use a personal and conversational tone in your posts and avoid blatant advertising.

Twitter is a marvelous way to provide your brand name its own unique voice. To succeed at Twittering, you simply must reveal your specific personality and post text with a singular flair. This can make a considerable difference in your overall success and help increase your Twitter followers. Without followers, Twitter will not be a valuable marketing too for your business.

When you start Twittering you’ll discover that the site is mostly conversational. Twitter represents an opportunity for you to talk to your prospects and potential customers. If this doesn’t interest you, then you should probably refrain from incorporating Twitter into your overall marketing strategy. Make acquaintances, be an acquaintance and respond to your followers. Demonstrate to your following that you would like to engage with them. This sort of attitude tells your followers that you are a trustworthy, personable individual.

In business since 1991, owner, Terry L. Green is a Certified Master Virtual Assistant with more than 30 years of combined administrative support experience in both the corporate world and as the owner of a successful Virtual Assistance practice. Originally an office-based secretarial and resume business serving local clients only in a small, rural village in Central Ohio, Fastype is now a multi-VA practice with a team of qualified associates specializing in supporting professional speakers, consultants, info-marketers and coaches worldwide. Our clients span the globe from across the United States to as far away as New Zealand, Antigua, Singapore and now Sweden! For more information, visit Terry’s website at http://www.myfastype.com Subscribe to Speak Up and Make Money and receive 13 speaking tips from the “Best of the Best!”

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