March 18th, 2009
by Amy Dunn
I had an Oprah-esque “ah ha moment” that I needed share this morning. I read Dan Zarrella ’s post on Hubspot’s Inbound Marketing Blog, Bio Characteristics of Twitter Power Users. This post examines the power of the use of words to describe a Twitter user in their bio. They pulled data together using their popular service, Twitter Grader (I use it all the time and recommend it), to measure the number of followers based on the choices of words placed within a Twitter users profile.
The research suggests that Twitter users tend to follow those who title themselves with words like “Author, Expert, Official, Speaker, Founder, etc” in their bios. Those who list their occupations with words such as “Marketer, Entrepreneur, Blogger, CEO, Consultant” also tend to have greater following than occupations like “Artist, Musician, Designer, Student, Nerd” (kind of bummer for us nerdy creative types!). I think this suggests that Twitter users feel a need to connect to people who project an image as having a great deal of authority and esteem in their field- no matter what line of work they are in. It also suggests we ought to take our bios very seriously- and paint a clear picture of who we are and who we want to reach in Twitter.
There is quite a bit of buzz about Twitter right now- and it is important that we do not lose sight of the importance of being a valuable member in the community over using Twitter for the sake of using it. We do this by contributing authentic information and conversation that Twitter followers would find valuable. So it is important to extend that idea into your bio. I suggest you take a close look at your Twitter bio today and determine if it is sending the message that you really want.
Web Marketing Therapy Related Links:
- Furthering My Twitter Obsession via Twitter Lists!
- My Little Twitter Tricks
- Twitter Tips for Business, Advice and Addiction
- Is Your Relationship with Twollow Dysfunctional?
Kendall
(March 18th, 2009 at 12:00 pm)
This is a great note – My bio was completely pointless and it could be so much better. Even though it is just one line, you don’t have to seem silly. I really think Twitter is a cool tech tool but I also really hate pointless twitters like “I am getting coffee at SXSW.” How can we stop that?
Amy Dunn
(March 18th, 2009 at 2:31 pm)
I hear ya about the pointless Twitters…but I think these are just a part of the Twitter conversation and what makes Twitter so appealing to such a mass audience. What may seem pointless to you could be interesting to someone else- like a person who gets coffee every day at SXSW or an employee of SXSW.
There are 2 things you can do- just ignore the Tweets that mean nothing to you, and concentrate on the folks who bring value to your network and converse with them. Or take a look at the person’s profile and scan their Tweets- if you feel that person is a distraction and not someone you want in your network, you can easily un-follow them so you won’t get their updates anymore. Hope that helps!
Emilia Doerr
(March 19th, 2009 at 2:03 am)
I can’t believe how spot on that research is! In that split second when I am deciding whether to follow someone (or click through to their web site), there are definitely certain words that I find more compelling than others. Great idea to use the same psychology to pimp our my own Twitter bio! Thanks!