Archive for the ‘Twitter’ Category

Benefits of the Top 4 Social Media Networks

May
2013
21

posted by Whitney Tyson | on Content Marketing, Facebook, Linkedin, Marketing and Communication, Social Media, Twitter, Uncategorized, YouTube | No comments

images

With limited resources, many small and mid-sized companies are asking themselves, “What should be the number one social media outlet to pursue?

 

 

Unfortunately, there is no easy way of answering this because each social site is so unique.  They each provide their own benefits, and each business would be able to use and benefit from each of them in different ways.  Here is a breakdown of how you can use each channel.

YouTube:

This requires low management maintenance.  Whenever you create a video, you should upload it and share it with your audience in different ways.  You can embed it into your website, email marketing blasts, share it on Twitter/Facebook, embed it into your LinkedIn profile and have QR Codes direct to them.  If you enjoy being creative with your marketing efforts and you tend to be more of a visual person, preferring to give a face to a name and show your audience how your business can help them, YouTube should definitely be a utilized channel.

Twitter:

Twitter requires the most management, but also has the most benefits.  First of all, its outreach and engagement opportunities are very extensive.  There are many tools out there that can help you search for leads and existing contacts.  You can also initiate relationships by following people, and if they know you or have heard of your business, they usually follow you back.  You can also embed your Twitter feed with your personal and company LinkedIn Status updates.  Some tools even let you update your Facebook through Twitter.  By syncing up social networks with each other, it can cover a lot more ground with just one post.  Another benefit with Twitter is its hashtag feature.  The best examples of hashtag usage would be during events.  If you go to an event, attendees and vendors are able to include the hashtag (such as #BestEvent) within their tweets, which will make their posts show up in the #BestEvent Twitter feed.  This is a great way of finding people at the show, engaging with them, and simply sharing your experience of the show with others.  The only cons of Twitter would be that there are a lot of tweets out there, so you must be consistent with your posts in order to position yourself as a thought leader who provides information but who also engages with their audience as well.

LinkedIn:

This network requires low management and has a more professional setting compared to others.  Everyone should belong to this network because LinkedIn members appear within or close to the top five Google searches when their name is searched for.  This helps encourage connections and relationships and it makes it easy for inquires and prospects to find you.  Personal profiles also give you the capability of sharing your website, social networks, more of your work portfolio and many other types of information.  If people want to learn more about you professionally, LinkedIn gives them the chance to do so, and then gives them the option to connect with you.

While you are on LinkedIn, if your work email has its own domain, build a company page.  This gives the opportunity for all of your coworkers/employees to be under one network.  LinkedIn Company Pages also give you the opportunity to promote products, services, connect prospects with sales reps and more!  You can also keep it updated by posting regular Company Page Statuses.  I would recommend sticking with 4-6 company status updates each week, and try to focus on company news/industry news that your target audience would be interested in.

Facebook:

This would require a medium level of management.  My recommended amount of posts for this site would be once a day, possibly a little more if there is an event happening that you are participating in.  Sharing industry-related information in different mediums, such as photos, YouTube videos, blog posts or articles, is a great way to engage with your Facebook audience.  Your audience in this channel usually consists of existing customers who like and trust your company, and prospects who are interested in your specials, features or knowledge.  Facebook fans usually join your page in order to stay in the loop with what is new.  Posting pictures and YouTube videos of what is happening around the office is also great content.  This social network is meant to focus on humanizing your business.  So if you have an existing dedicated fan base who is online and wants to stay in the loop, Facebook may be your top priority.

At the end of the day…

Every business has its own unique audience.  Think about where your audience is and how they enjoy learning about the type of products you have to offer. Once you discover these key components, determining which social media networks are the right ones for your business will become more apparent.  No matter which one you choose though, each network is great for enhancing your brand’s search optimization. The more you update them, the higher they will rise in search results, plus, the bigger your networks are, the more potential you have of sending leads and inquiries to your website.

Key Resource for You:

Don’t wait, get started on social media marketing today! If you’re in need of help, let’s talk about how Social Media Consulting or a Social Media Marketing Plan could help you and your business. Click here to learn more!

12 Ways to Incorporate Social Media into Events

May
2013
15

posted by John Foley, Jr. | on Business, Events, Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Marketing and Communication, Social Media, Twitter, YouTube | No comments

CUPMAC 2012 Attendees with John Foley, Jr.'s Book

If you are attending or exhibiting at an upcoming event, be sure to prepare an online marketing strategy and plan for it.  Whether it is a trade show or conference, events are a great opportunity to build brand awareness and promote your company online.   There are many online channels you can use for event promotion, but we would advise you to begin with social media.  Social media is a key resource for promotion and engagement, and by executing the following steps, you will set your business up for marketing success.

Let’s first take a look at the promotional aspect…

Before the Event:

Create and/or engage in a hashtag. Create buzz by giving the event a special online presence with this way of categorizing tweets.

Does the event have its own social media presence? If so, make your presence known there as well. Post on the Facebook event page, tweet using the event’s account and set up a hashtag.

Make your schedule of events social-friendly. Allow users to “check-in” to venues. Make sure all blog posts related to the event can be easily shared on social networks and via e-mail. The schedule should either be on a dedicated mobile page or on a page that was designed in responsive.

Spread the word elsewhere online. Make sure your colleagues and peers blog about the event and be sure to have an email campaign focused on it, or maybe even a webinar. Press releases are great too.

Keep it conversational. Be sure to ask open-ended questions regarding the event that generate a response. Use social media as an opportunity to gauge interest in the event, take surveys regarding what should be featured, and use it as a forum to field questions. This also gives a chance for companies to retweet users’ responses in order to build a “word-of-mouth” hype.

Keep a countdown running. Don’t overwhelm your followers with information and messages only about the event, but be sure to have it mentioned and remind the users of it daily.

When the big day comes:

Take pictures of everything. Just when you think you’ve taken too many photos- take some more! People want to feel like they’re at the event, almost to the point where they feel like they didn’t miss out at all just by following you on social networks. Document everything as it will provide great blog content for your official site later on. Ask attendees to do the same and post on Twitter using the hashtag.

Take videos of all possible content. If anything, it’s great for your brand’s YouTube channel, but can also liven up a post-event blog entry. Also helps you sell future events.

Make your location known. If you’re attending a large scale event, make sure your followers know exactly where to find you. Tweet what room you’re in, what booth you’re at, and always use the hashtags so people know what you’re referring to. Even landmarks are helpful!

If people aren’t seeing you, MAKE them notice you. Engage with others at the event via social media so they feel compelled to come and find you.  Search the event’s hashtag and interact with those participating so you already have some background with people when you meet in person.

Did you just meet someone you want to remember? Make them remember you. Engaging with and commenting to people via social media is the new “collecting of business cards”. No need to try to remember who you hit it off with at the conference, as long as you stay engaged with them through social networks like Twitter and LinkedIn.

Tell everybody what happened. Write detailed and lively summary blogs for your company, and leave no detail out.

Once it’s all said and done, your company will have not only been an active participant on the conference room floor, but online as well. Promoting events via social media benefits you, your company, and the event.  There’s no better way to consistently engage and converse with others while spreading your brand’s name across multiple channels.

Be sure to incorporate as many of these steps as you can at your next event.  If you need a plan, or even people to help you, contact us for help. Good luck and enjoy!

A Burrito Battle For Twitter Supremacy

Apr
2013
03

posted by Lou Cimaglia | on Twitter | No comments

There is nothing quite as satisfying as taking a freshly constructed burrito, heaped with the finest ingredients, and promptly shoving it into your face.

Chipotle, Qdoba and boloco are three of the biggest burrito chains in the country. What you may not know is that these three brands do more than just build tortilla-wrapped monsters – they tweet. Like pros.

Because we fancy ourselves burrito and Twitter connoisseurs, we’ve decided to break down the Big 3 and see who really reigns supreme.

boloco

@boloco

Twitter Followers: 10,561

Strategy:

The smallest of the chains, Boloco has an incredibly conversational style of tweeting. The company is entrenched in the Boston college scene, mentioning Tufts, Suffolk, Harvard, Northeastern and more in the past few days.

They average 3-5 tweets a day, ranging from ingredient information to behind the scenes Instagram pictures.

And they’re generous. Scroll through the boloco feed and you’ll see the amount of free burritos they are giving away.

Tweets To See:

boloco

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Chipotle

@ChipotleTweets

Twitter Followers: 173, 928

Strategy:

Chipotle’s Twitter page is like a customer service desk – and no question goes unanswered. Dozens of questions are answered in real time, with a Chipotle staffer signing off after each tweet.

The company tweets once a week as themselves, not in reply to a customer question. They receive terrific engagement on virtually every post – certainly in large part to the massive following they have accrued.

Tweets To See:

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Qdoba

@QdobaMexGrill

Twitter Followers: 18,322

Strategy:

Qdoba is also very responsive to its audience – and maintains a very upbeat tone throughout the timeline.

Qdoba is somewhere in between its counterparts in terms of humor and personality. The tone is very conversational, and the followers clearly love them some Qdoba.

Tweets To See:

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So, the question remains, who reigns supreme? Who has the best burrito? Who tweets like a champ? Who has the best fans?

Sound off in the comments!

How I Learned To Live My Life In 140 Characters

Mar
2013
14

posted by Donna Vieira | on Twitter | No comments

Meet-Donna

Most of you probably don’t know me, but those who do know that I talk way too much. I love words, I love writing and for whatever reason, I seem to rarely stop talking.

Growing up, I was the talker in my family. You know that saying “he/she could sell ice to an Eskimo”? Well, I sought out my Eskimo’s from a very early age and talked my way into some crazy business deals. I started my first consulting business when I was 8, referring people to the car they should buy based on my vast expertise – thanks entirely to that year’s auto issue of Consumer Reports.

I was clearly a terrible budding entrepreneur because I didn’t charge for my services, but those who I consulted for made their purchases based on my final recommendation. Come to think of it, the ‘client’ that comes to mind is my grandmother, so maybe this doesn’t count.

When I was in college, I relished an opportunity to write a paper instead of taking a test; I always felt like I could talk my way out of anything so stating my case in writing always fared better for me than a black and white test. I usually didn’t have a problem meeting page or word requirements unless I was completely and utterly disinterested in in the topic.

Enter Twitter…

When Twitter came along, I was completely against it. While I clearly love to talk and write, I had no interest in trying to broadcast a message in 140 characters about my breakfast. It was constricting and quite frankly, I thought it was pointless.

Eventually (for the sake of business) I signed up and began tweeting. The more I used it, the more I understood it; it was Twitter that made me fall in love with thesocial media industry. It is so simple in its design and thanks to that simplicity it has quickly become an international think tank for nearly every industry and topic.

The compelling content that is all over the internet is now able to be distributed quickly without a long winded explanation of why you think its worthy of being shared. If you have become a trusted specialist on a certain subject, your followers are much more likely to believe you when you tell them that article X is a must read. Twitter is a means to connect where you have never had the opportunity to do so before.

It allows for conversations between celebrities and the public that would have never been possible before this medium came about. It also allows for businesses to embrace customer service; if you had a problem before social media, you had to call an 800 number or email a general mailbox and hope that you could get a response.

Now you can send a tweet to the company and if they are doing their job correctly you’ll get a pretty quick response. If they’re not, you can badmouth them for the world to hear (which unfortunately has sometimes proved more powerful than when you asked for help in the first place).

At the end of the day, I learned to live my life in 140 characters by changing my way of thinking. It’s not about what you have to say, it’s how you say it. Long winded rants are gone and are now replaced with concise, well thought-out tweets. I still have a lot to say and great articles to share but now I strongly consider how I’m going to say it (and occasionally curse the character counter when it hits -1).

This post originally ran here.

Twitter Rolls Out Vine: A New Way To Share Video On the iPhone

Jan
2013
24

posted by Kelly O'Halloran | on Twitter | No comments

Twitter

Today, Twitter officially announced Vine, an app which provides users with a new way to share video directly through tweets. The Vine app is separate from Twitter, which starting today you can download for free in the iTunes app store. Though it’s only available for iPhone and iPod touch users right now, Twitter says the app will soon be available for more platforms.

Vine is nothing like other video sharing platforms like YouTube or Vimeo. The videos you can shoot on Vine are short—just 6 seconds long—and they loop infinitely, making them more GIF-like than like a true video. You can share your Vine creations on the Vine app itself, as well as embed them in your tweets (exactly like you can with photos).

Last year, Twitter bought Vine, a video-sharing start-up, and this is the first public release of the app. The company still operates as a separate company from Twitter though: it’s known as a “Twitter-owned video service” rather than as “Twitter’s video service.”

Find the 6 second video limit a bit restricting?

Vine’s co-founder Dom Hoffman explains on the Vine blog, “we want to make it easier for people to come together to share and discover what’s happening in the world. We also believe constraint inspires creativity, whether it’s through a 140-character tweet or a six-second video.” He further goes on to describe Vine videos as “little windows into the people, settings, ideas and objects that make up your life.”

The idea behind Vine seems akin to that of Instagram. Both are platforms created for one purpose: To allow us to share with others a unique glimpse into our lives and personalities. In fact, many are already calling Vine the “Instagram of video sharing.”

Like Instagram do think Vine will become the world’s next big app? Will you try it out?

We’ve got Twitter covered.

Twitter Cheat Sheet

Jan
2013
07

posted by Whitney Tyson | on Twitter | No comments

Twitter

The goal for all Twitter posts is to be as interactive as possible! Try to include hashtags, Twitter handles, calls to action, and shortened URLs in order to maximize the reach of each tweet.  Here are some quick steps that can help you get started in this strategy.

Gather Twitter Handles! If you have a strong collection of contacts to interact with, it will help you think of people you can engage with through this social network.  Retweeting what they’re saying, mentioning them in a post, or simply striking up a conversation with them will help you create an engaging Twitter presence.

Here are some Twitter handles you should start with:

  • The company or companies you work for.
  • Your clients and customers.
  • Your colleagues and co-workers.
  • Industry leaders and experts.

Research Popular Hashtags! Hashtags are a great way to get your tweets noticed by target audiences, event attendees, and followers of particular interests.  They’re also a creative way to add personality to your Twitter posts and can make you more relatable to your audience, depending on what the hashtag is.

When determining which hashtags to use, think about the keywords that are involved in what your business sells and what your audiences’ needs are.  For instance, if you provide mobile marketing services, some good ones to use would be #QRCodes, #NFC (Near-Field Communication), #Mobile, #Marketing, and #AR (Augmented Reality).

With Twitter handles and hashtags, your posts will become more interactive!  Here’s an example of what an interactive Twitter post would look like:

Check out @johnfoleyjr’s #marketing books from the New Path for Profit collection! http://ilink.me/1328f

Do’s and Don’ts.

There are some key rules and best practices you should be aware of when using Twitter.  These quick “Do’s and Don’ts” should help guide you to becoming a Twitter expert!

Do try to keep Twitter posts as short as possible.  It helps increase the chances of your posts getting retweeted by others.

Do retweet others.  It’s a great way to start and build relationships with new people.

Do share 3rd-party news stories.  Twitter is one of the largest news-sharing social networks, so share what is sparking your interest with others!

Do proofread.  Typos can be a big pet peeve to people, so when creating posts, try to read them over once or twice before publishing.

Do test links to make sure they work and lead to the correct sites.  Nothing hurts credibility more than sending people to where they don’t want to go.

Don’t ignore direct messages.  They may not all be spammy messages, sometimes they can be your strongest leads!

Don’t underestimate the power of “Thank You”.  If someone retweets your posts out of all of the posts they see, that’s pretty big.  Give them a shout out to show your appreciation.

Don’t just share company information.  You’ll start sounding like a broken record, change it up with industry news and with what others are talking about.

Don’t post all of your daily tweets at once, spread them out.  Your audience may use Twitter during many different times of the day, plus who wants to see seven posts in a row by the same person?

Don’t accidentally tweet a personal post on a company post.  If you are managing multiple Twitter accounts for your company or clients, TRIPLE check what you are posting to each before publishing.

Do register to hear my coworker, Lou Cimaglia, talk about the benefits of Twitter for startups on January 16th, in Cambridge, MA! Click here to reserve your seat.

Updates to Twitter Profiles Rolling Out…Again!

Dec
2012
11

posted by Kelly O'Halloran | on Twitter | No comments

A few months ago, Twitter introduced their new profile layout: the Twitter header photo—a 520-by-260 pixel photo that, as you can see below, is somewhat reminiscent of Facebook’s cover photo.

At Grow Socially, we couldn’t have been more excited about the change when it was announced back in September. For our header photo, we got a little creative with it and created a collage of some recent pictures of our employees. We love giving those we connect with online a visual of who we are here!

It seems not everyone on Twitter was quite as anxious to update their profile to the new look as we were, considering many profiles out there have yet to change over. Coming soon though, keeping the old profile design will no longer be an option…

As Twitter announced in a short blog post published this week:

On December 12, we’re rolling this out to all users: you’ll automatically get this new version of the profile on twitter.com. If you don’t upload a header photo by then, you (and everyone else) will only see a default grey image on your page.

For those of you who’ve procrastinated in coming up with a header photo, this news means it’s time to embrace the change and get creative. Twitter’s new profile design is another opportunity to show your followers what you’re all about, whether you’re tweeting as a brand or as yourself.  That’s what we love so much about it.

Stumped on what makes for a good photo? Get inspired by checking out these 5 Twitter Header Photo Design Tips and 9 Twitter Header Photo Ideas.

When you can only share 140 character messages at a time and don’t get to meet many of those who you are tweeting with face-to-face, it’s important to take advantage of opportunities like this. So update your Twitter profile today…or else you’ll have a default grey image slapped in the middle of your page—and who wants that?

Connect with Grow Socially and Kelly on Twitter for more breaking social media news and tips!

Using Social Media to Promote College Football

Oct
2012
10

posted by Whitney Tyson | on Events, Facebook, Marketing and Communication, Social Media, Students, Twitter | No comments

UNH Wildcats

Being on social media has a lot of perks, and one of them is to live vicariously through all of the social media accounts you follow.  As a Wildcat Alumni from the University of New Hampshire, I make sure to “like” UNH’s Facebook photo albums, participate in their Tuesday Trivia games, and sigh each time they post announcements of fun, upcoming activities.

Speaking of fun college activities, one of the biggest events on UNH’s campus is just around the corner…HOMECOMING!  With that said, social media posts that count down to this epic day are distracting enough for both current and past students.  But when you take into account the university’s impressive social media strategy, well, let’s just say that it’s enough to write a blog post about!

Using Facebook’s Check-In Feature

From the very beginning of this year’s football season, UNH has been using photos to stand out in the newsfeed.  This is a great move by their marketing team, because photos are more eye-catching than the usual social media post.  Another benefit of using photos is the added design flexibility, like creating bold and colorful messages.  As seen in this photo, you can easily read when the upcoming game will be and who it is against.  The photo even humanizes two of UNH’s star football players, which is a great way to showcase the students.

Finally, the marketers took this campaign one step further by running a contest for the actual game (as seen at the bottom of the photo).  The photo explains that a poster will be given to the first 500 students who check-in on Facebook while at the game.  By giving students an incentive to check-in, this will help increase the number of  overall check-ins.  More Facebook check-ins will ultimately help broaden the exposure of UNH to the participating students’ Facebook networks.

Using Twitter and Instagram

In this second photo post example, UNH promotes a contest for those who are attending its Homecoming football game.  Participants are able to enter the contest by snapping Instagram photos while at the game.  Then, they must share the photos on Twitter with the hashtag, #unhhomecoming”.  With the grand prize being a Wildcat t-shirt, I’m sure many students would say, “Let’s do it!”

A benefit that comes out of this for UNH is again, broadened exposure across participating students’ social networks.  Another great benefit will be the nice collection of Instagram photos of students at the game.

The key lesson from these examples is to know who your target audience is.  For these campaigns, UNH’s audiences are current and prospective college students.  This group is very mobile-savvy and they love capturing their day-to-day experiences with social media and photos.  UNH took advantage of these patterns by building promotions around mobile and social media channels.   By using these tactics, UNH should see increased exposure and interaction within its student body and social media networks.  From a marketing perspective, I have to say “Job well done!”  I would be very interested to see the results of these campaigns, and to see what the UNH marketing team will come up with next!

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Zack Ryder: The Social Superstar

Sep
2012
26

posted by Graham Spector | on Marketing and Communication, Mobile, Social Media, Twitter | No comments

Photo Credit: http://ilnk.me/11f2c

Sometimes, a heartfelt social media story is in the last place you’d expect. We’ve covered online success stories from corporations large and small, non-profits, and some fun contests as well. But today we had the opportunity to talk to a one-man online success story: The WWE’s Zack Ryder.

The WWE is a household name brand with an established legacy and fan base. They’ve been a publicly traded company for over 12 years and produce multiple programs on a weekly basis that reach 145 countries in 30 languages, reaching over 600 million homes worldwide. Their website sees over 12.3 million hits each month and has over 10 million Facebook fans.

When Zack Ryder was signed by WWE in 2006, he thought he had finally made it. All his life, his dream was to become one of the top superstars in the company and make his mark in the industry. But as time went on, Ryder struggled to find his place in the WWE’s busy and ever-changing programming schedule. “I didn’t feel like a superstar, you know?”, Ryder says, “I didn’t have an action figure, I wasn’t on TV, I didn’t have a promotional [photo]. I was just sick of pitching ideas and nothing getting done. But I did realize I had to do something about it.”

How It Took Off

That’s when an “Oh Mom and Dad, you shouldn’t have!” moment turned his entire career around.  ”For Christmas in 2010, my parents got me a Flip video camera.  I really didn’t know what to do with it so it just kind of sat in my closet for a while.”  Then Ryder decided to showcase his entertainment and humor on YouTube. “In February 2011, I started ‘Z! True Long Island Story’ which was just me talking and trying to be funny just by making fun of myself, getting my friends and family involved, whatever I could do.” The way Ryder speaks of it, you’d think it was just another YouTube viral-esque cluster of sketches of inside jokes but nothing is further from the truth. The show skyrocketed into popularity with fans of the WWE in a matter of weeks and has since gained in excess of 13 million views.

This is when Ryder really started to notice some things catching on. He used the YouTube series to show that he was just a big kid who grew up a fan “living the dream” and invited viewers to take a look at his entertaining, albeit rare, life off the road (WWE does 250+ shows annually). The amount of interaction and increased views made Zack aware that his popularity online had some serious potential. “That’s when I started going crazy on Twitter and Facebook. I was always on my phone, tweeting and trying to get the fans behind me because that was the only voice I had.” Ryder’s efforts quickly paid off with love from the crowd. Chants would break out for him in arenas across the country.  “A lot of the time, I wasn’t even at the show. I wasn’t even in the building.” They’d bring signs saying things such as “We Want Ryder”.

Getting His Fans Involved

At this point, Ryder saw that he had a true connection with his fans and started to show appreciation back by including photos of all of the signs fans would bring into his YouTube show.  He included an interactive portion of the show where fans would audition for a segment called “Broski of The Week”.  ”It was just like this crazy snowball effect.  Everything was happening so fast and the fans were such a huge part of it, so of course I had to include them in what I was doing.”

“I didn’t have a cool T-shirt of my own, they made like a generic $15 one of me just standing there.” But Ryder was determined. He tweeted and gave his fans incentive to get the shirt and if they tweeted a photo of themselves wearing it, Ryder personally sent each one an autograph.

After a few months, Ryder found himself with more spots on WWE shows across the country, using his Flipcam to record every entrance out to the ring and incorporating it into that week’s episode of “Z! True Long Island Story”. He fashioned an “Internet Championship” belt out of his little brother’s toy replica WWE belt at home and started showing it off on his show.  After a while, Ryder sprang for the real thing. “I got it made, paid $1600 plus shipping and handling and got a real belt. It looks, weighs, and feels like a real title. I showed it to the WWE and they were like, ‘There’s no way you’re coming out with that on TV’.”

Photo Credit: http://ilnk.me/11f2b

Although the famed title never made an appearance on one of WWE’s many programs, Ryder’s YouTube show and social media efforts had resonated so strongly with their audience that WWE did end up making one of Ryder’s dreams come true: He got his own cool T-shirt. And what’s on it? The Statue of Liberty holding up the Internet Championship belt. In fact, Mattel just released a new Zack Ryder action figure that comes packaged with a mini Internet Title of its own.  But what interested us the most about Ryder’s merchandise was his use of QR codes.

“They gave me a bunch of ideas for a new shirt and one of the ideas was just a QR code on the front. I said, “There’s no way we can do that.” So he designed his own merchandise that incorporated everything that got him to where he is today: Long Island, the Internet Championship, and a QR code so you can find Zack online. Now, the code is on everything Ryder related – from action figures to the trunks he wears to the ring.

Ryder’s Social Impact on the WWE

Since the social media “Ryder Revolution,” Zack has enjoyed his time in the spotlight and has been noted by many for bringing more social media strategies to the WWE’s attention. And they certainly listened. In the past year, they’ve partnered with social video site, Tout, produced their own mobile app, signed a streaming deal with Hulu, and saw a huge success thanks to the social media promotion of their flagship event, Wrestlemania.

Ryder attributes an enthusiastic audience to the huge success WWE has seen across all social media channels, especially Twitter. “You’re able to communicate with someone you regularly watch on TV, and it’s just this crazy environment that WWE has really been able to capitalize on.”

With no signs of stopping, it seems that the “Ryder Revolution” could just be getting started.

Be sure to watch Zack on the next WWE Pay-Per-View event on October 28.

Photo Credit

9 Twitter Header Photo Ideas

Sep
2012
19

posted by Kelly O'Halloran | on Twitter | No comments

Kelly

As we mentioned yesterday, Twitter has rolled out a new update: The Twitter header photo.

This significant design change provides users with another way to personalize their profile and communicate something to their followers in a very visual way. For example, one could post a photo that illustrates a hobby or an interest—or, for a brand profile, this is another wonderful opportunity to showcase products, services, and even employees.

There are endless ways Twitter lovers can take advantage of this update, but it seems that many are slow to test it out. So, I decided to scour the Twitter-verse and find some good examples from those who are utilizing the new layout

Based on what I found, here are few ideas of how you can make use of this feature…

Make your bio bold with black and white photos.


I love how @psfk’s Twitter bio stands out nicely against this black and white header photo. A black and white photo of the office is a simple, yet solid choice!

Try a photo collage.


Creating a collage of a handful of photos is a great way for a brand to showcase their products—or for a person to give followers insight into their interests. I should clarify though that I do NOT recommend including celebrity mugshots or any pictures involving Charlie Sheen. (That is…unless you’re @TMZ! For them, this works.)

Show your humorous side.


I must admit: This one put a smile on my face. (I especially love how @joshfjelstad’s face appears tiny next to all the cats’ faces. Monster kitties!)

Header photos provide a wonderful opportunity for brands/people to make their followers laugh. For those with a great sense of humor, the creative opportunities are endless…

Give followers an inside look at your office.


I really like the idea of using a header photo to provide followers a behind the scenes glimpse into a company’s work space. @HuffingtonPost‘s profile provides a good example of this. Note: I recommend going for a photo with a little less white space in it. I think some of their bio gets lost on the white computer screens in this picture.

Be simple.


Nothing fancy here, but I love this one! @Baristabar’s bio jumps out at followers and the picture is of great quality.

Make your followers hungry.


Okay, so, “Make your followers hungry” probably sounds bizarre, but stick with me. If your Twitter account is for a blog or magazine that provides readers with recipes (like @Realsimple), or a for a restaurant or a grocery store, I think a photo of a delicious dish is a perfect photo choice.

P.S. Make sure the photo is an especially mouth watering one. It will be sure to attract your followers’ attention—and, if the Twitter account is for a restaurant, it’s a great way to show off your tasty food!

Show off your newest ____.


@Adage utilized their header photo to showcase their newest issue of their magazine: The Digital Issue. I love this example because it illustrates how easy it is to use this feature to visually draw in your followers’ attention on something that is important: An event that’s coming up, a award your company just won, a new product, your most recent piece of work for a client…there are so many possibilities!

Show that you’re interested in____.


@Earth911 is a news source about green living, recycling, and other things related to the environment. Their header photo is used to visually illustrate one of the things they Tweet about: Recycling. It’s a very simple photo, but it does the trick!

Pretty pictures can be perfect.


I know this isn’t the best photo in the world…but I’m from NH and was very excited to see that @VisitNH is ahead of the game and has already updated their profile. Plus, I think their photo is another great example for two reasons.

1)      It’s relevant. It’s fall, and one reason people often visit New Hampshire is to see the lovely foliage. @VistNH used a picture that might remind their followers to make a trip this season.

2)      It’s a fairly dark image. The Twitter bio stands out clear as day on this background, making it a perfect choice.

 

Of course, I’m sure in the coming weeks we’ll be seeing all kinds of creative ways to use this new layout, but for now I’m going to leave off here. Stay tuned for more ideas—and be sure to check out our other post: 5 Twitter Header Photo Design Tips.

Follow @growsocially on Twitter!

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