How to create your Twitter profile

Sunny Deol : You know, just the other day, I said a hi to Sachin Tendulkar.

Rainy Deol : Wow! Really? You are so lucky! How?

Sunny Deol : Yeah, then I thought I would speak to Deepika Padukone for a while so I wrote her a message.

Rainy Deol : No way. Directly to her? How?

Sunny Deol : I was a little tired. I found out Starbucks opened right next door so I went there for a coffee.

Rainy Deol : Ok, how did you know?

Sunny Deol : While there, I thought I would ask Anand Mahindra for some business advice for my startup.

Rainy Deol : Are you kidding me? How?

Sunny Deol : Then I approached the Dalai Lama to know how to achieve peace of mind.

Rainy Deol : Seriously? THE Dalai Lama? How?

Sunny Deol : Oh and I also told Narendra Modi that I loved his Make in India idea. He was happy to know that.

Rainy Deol : Stop it and just tell me HOW.

Sunny Deol : Oh simple. I tweeted him.

Rainy Deol : You what?

Sunny Deol : I tweeted them.

Rainy Deol : What do you mean? How does one do that?

Sunny Deol : It is very simple. All you need to do is create your Twitter account. Just enter your name, the e-mail with which you would like to associate your account and a secure password in a page that looks something like this. And then start tweeting i.e. uploading messages of up to 140 characters. You can follow anyone you like. If they want, they can follow you back. So they know what you are doing and you know about them.

Rainy Deol : That is very cool! Can I use this for my business too? You know, reach out to more people so that they know what I do, what my products are, etc.?

Sunny Deol: Oh surely. There are many companies on Twitter. In fact, it might be difficult to find a name that doesn’t exploit the tremendous potential of reaching out to millions at almost-zero cost.

Rainy Deol : Oh. I better join immediately. What do I do?

Sunny Deol : Let me take you through the process. After you have joined Twitter, like I told you above, make your profile.

Look at the below image for details about what to put where on your Twitter business profile.

This is the username of your business. Twitter calls it your “handle”. It is preceded by an @ sign. It is your unique identification that will help customers look for you. It can be up to 15 characters long.

This is the profile photo of your page (just like on Facebook). This can be your company logo along with its tagline or any other photo you deem fit. This photo is what will accompany every tweet you make on Twitter.

This is where you describe your business. Consider it a 160-character sales pitch for your business. Make the content informative and enticing. It will help to include basics like your location and working hours. Use this space to provide a direct link back to your company website. A Bitly link will help you track the number of clicks so you know the how many people visited your website directly from your Twitter page.

The header image is like your Facebook cover page. This is like a free hoarding. There are multiple options for how you can fill this space. You can put the company tag line, the company motto, a visual representation of your company, feature existing products, give teasers for upcoming launches, run campaigns, the choices are endless. Make sure this image is constantly changed to bring some life into your page.

This is called your pinned tweet. The tweet you pin will stay at the top of your page. It could be a clarification your company has issued, an imminent product launch, a news article on your company, anything that you definitely don’t want your customers to miss. To do this, go to the tweet you want to pin, click on the ‘More’ option and select ‘Pin to your profile page’.

And you’re done! You can start tweeting!

Rainy Deol : That was easy! Hey, since most of my competitors are already on Twitter, can you give me some quick tips on making sure I beat them and get noticed?

Sunny Deol : Since you’re so enthusiastic about succeeding, here are some basics you must definitely keep in mind.

1. Don’t just say it, display it. Be visual. Twitter being a character-based format should not limit you to posting simple updates. Tweeting photos along with relevant captions and links will keep your audience engrossed. See one of the

most iconic tweets of all times by Barack Obama.

2. Tweet often but do not start spamming. Learn where to draw the line.

3. Format your tweets well. Since there is a character limitation, be concise. As a professional, refrain from using internet slangs. Use relevant hashtags where needed.

4. Re-tweet. If you like something some entrepreneur has said or if a media house has featured your business, re-tweet. This will keep you in the news of your followers.

5. Engage with your audience by conducting polls and discussions. Make it a two-way street.

6. Timing is everything. Take a look at this : http://www.businessinsider.com/13-epic-twitter-fails-by-big-brands-2012-2?IR=T

7. And don’t forget to be funny. Engage in humour with your followers or other companies without saying anything legally damaging or insensitive.

One of my personal favourites is this one between Jet Airways and one of its customers.

Now that you’re all set, wish you the very best! Make it rain, Rainy Deol!