5 Things you Need to Know About the New Twitter Profiles

Things are constantly changing in social media marketing, so you have to stay on your toes. While a few months ago, you used to have to spend $10,000 a month on Twitter advertising to get a unique Twitter profile, the company has now turned around and started offering these same features to everyone for free. And thus the news, Twitter is announcing new profiles for Twitter users across the board. The new profiles have a more striking design and increased functionality to support your marketing efforts.

Let’s start by taking a look. First, see if you can tell the difference between these two profiles, and then I’ll go through the subtleties.

The old Twitter

Here is an example of USA Today using the old Twitter

The new Twitter

Here is an example of the Today Show using the new Twitter.

So as you can see, there are some differences. But what are they?

What are the Changes to the New Twitter?

According to Twitter, there are five main things you need to consider when using the new profiles. And here they are!

1) Profile Photo (73x73px, up to 700kb)

The first thing you will want to do is make sure your profile photo is up to speed. Here are the most current dimensions: 73x73px

2) Bio (160 Characters)

Your Twitter bio can be up to 160 characters, just like a meta tag for Google (also 160 characters)! The bio should describe the purpose of your Twitter profile. You can also add hashtags in your bio; did you know that?

3) Profile Header (JPG or PNG file, up to 5MB)

This one comes straight from Twitter: “Display your brand prominently and immediately engage with your profile visitors. To select from the pre-loaded themes or upload your custom image, visit the design tab within your Twitter settings page. Use the image cropper to make the best selection. An automatic gradient will appear on the profile header. Image maps, animation, or flash are not allowed. The image maintains 2:1 aspect ratio on all screens (minimum 200px x 100px). The image is not interactive.”

While this is true, they recommend a header that is 1252×626 for optimal display across all devices.

4) Profile Background (JPG, PNG, or GIF file, up to 800kb)

The profile background has always been hard to get just right. Make sure to align all of the content on the image to the left. This image is static; image maps and animation are not allowed. Most people recommend 2560 pixels and a height of 1600 pixels for this background.

5) Pinned Tweet

Perhaps the most exciting thing is the pinned Tweet! You used to have to pay $10,000 a month in Twitter ads to get this, but now it is yours for free. “Display the most important content on your profile. Select any of your Tweets to pin to the top of your profile timeline. Manage your pinned Tweets from the advertiser campaign dashboard. If you select more than one Tweet to pin, we will display the most popular Tweet.” – Twitter

How will The New Twitter Look on the iPhone

The new iPhone app looks very sleek. Also, on the iPad, you can view full-screen Twitter photos quickly and swipe through them.

Overall, the new Twitter has a couple of bells and whistles you need to account for. In summary, make sure you:

• Have the right profile image size: 73×73
• Create a new profile header: Minimum 200×100 – Recommended 1252×626
• Get your profile background in order: 2560×1600
• Pin your Tweets!

Now get going on your new Twitter profile.