Why You Need a Kick Ass Twitter Background

Today we have a special guest post by Marian Schembari  (@MarianSchembari) from marianlibrarian.com telling us why we need a kick ass twitter background.

Last week I ran a massive sale on my latest service, Personalized Twitter Strategy. Phew! I am officially done with the mass of Twitter critiques, and it’s been an interesting couple of days, let me tell you.

Doing two or three critiques per day is exhausting in and of itself, but doing so showed me that many people are making the same mistakes over and over. I want to share with you the most common:

A Boring or Half-Assed Twitter Background

Having a relevant Twitter background is one of the most important parts of someone’s online presence. It’s also one of the most overlooked.

I critiqued the profile of a photographer who wasn’t showing off his work, which just blows my mind. What better way to give people a glimpse into your artwork than display it prominently on one  of the most trafficked sites on the web?

Look how photographer and filmmaker Jory Cody uses his Twitter background to display his work in a creative and interesting way (click image for larger picture):

We want to see the whole package. I want to see how your background is relevant to you and how much thought you put into your Twitter profile. My thought is: It’s important to have a background that reflects you and what you do, as the images round out your personal brand and make you more appealing to followers.

Graphic designer Desirai Labrada (who I critiqued two weeks ago) subtly shows off her design skills with a highly personalized background:

How You Can Use Twitter Backgrounds

Are you an author? Show off your book covers! You want people to then recognize the jacket when they see it in the bookstore. If you have lots of books and don’t want to make a cheesey collage, think about using art to visually represeng the feelings in your books.

Now, Neil Gaman doesn’t need my help one little bit, but look at his profile below:

I mean, COME ON! The man wrote books that were turned into the most visually stimulating movies of all time. Artwork and tattoos are inspired by his words. Why does the man not play it up? He’s a fabulous tweeter (I use him as an example to many of my clients) and he’s wasting prime Twitter real estate by using a generic background.

Own a business? Hire a designer to create a customized background based on your logo. Check out Shatterboxx Media, I’m in love with their background and it matches their site perfectly:

Not sure what you’re niche is? I am so so proud of my latest 30 Minute Strategy participant, Emily Lu. She was lacking a little focus, but after 30 minutes with me she’s tied her background into her bio with the theme of “making a difference” (you need to read the quote and bio to get it – click to enlarge). Check it out:

Right now my background is a stock photo I bought from Dreamstime of a flower and words on a page. I like it because it’s girly and pretty and the book represents my industry (publishing). Someday I’d like a logo, but while I’m still poor my current image will have to do.

Is having a logo going to get you tons more followers? No, probably not. Will people even look at your bio more than once or twice? Nopers. Nowadays, fewer and fewer people are using the web to access Twitter. I myself am obsessed with Hootsuite and only use Twitter.com to look at people’s profiles when I’m notified they’re following me. Still, it’s important to show you take Twitter seriously.

About Marian

BIO: Marian, 23, is a blogger, technically a social media “thug” for authors (consultant is a boring word) and has a bad case of the Quarterlife Crisis. She’s got the travel itch too moved from New York to London and is headed to New Zealand in December. As much as she hates to admit it, her posts at marianlibrarian.com are usually about social media and the freelance life. When not blogging about blogging she helps people rock out on Twitter (but also secretly wants to be a pastry chef slash author slash farmer in the woods).