Tips for Writing a Winning, Professional Twitter Bio

In a recent social media training session with a client I found myself with the task of instructing about 10 employees of an advertising agency on how to write professional and effective Twitter bios. What I write here is specific to business professionals who wish to use the service at least in part to meet and communicate with business-related contacts in addition to friends. For bands and artists, that will have to wait for another entry.

Let's get started.

Once you've logged into your profile, under your account settings you'll see both 'Name' and 'Username'. The former reflects what exactly appears after Name on the right side of your profile page. The latter reflects both your URL and in general how you communicate with @username replies. Even if you have not been able to secure the Usename twitter.com/yourname (which I highly recommend), there is no reason that you should not list your full name on your profile with accurate spelling and punctuation. No need for underscores, abbreviations or especially caps here! Simply include your first and last name as you would in your email signature.

Also, clearly include your location-- city and state. Avoid using cute misspellings, abbreviations, and city nicknames. The reason? No matter what your motivation for being on Twitter, I'm going to assume that you want people to find you who wish to do so. To do this people will use search engines like Tweepsearch and will probably search for 'Chicago' or 'Los Angeles' rather than 'Chi-Town Baby!' or 'City of Angels'. Also, unless you truly call multiple cities home, avoid the temptation to list multiple cities in an attempt to look well-traveled or cultured. 'NYC/LA/MIAMI/VEGAS/FRESNO' tells me that you live in Fresno and you're trying to be something that you're not-- at least not yet!

For your actual Bio section, you have 160 characters to share all information not already provided. There is no need to repeat your name or location. Since your space is so limited, a good practice is to lead off with a 2 to 5 word phrase that describes you professionally-- your professional tagline. If you met somebody on the street at this very moment, how would you respond to the question 'What do you do'? Would it include, a title? A company name? If your current professional status isn't exactly where you want it to be, perhaps a word like 'aspiring' is appropriate.

Founder and CEO of My Company. Ecommerce Manager at My Company. Intern at Major Record Label and Aspiring Publicist. Sales professional. Entertainment industry professional. Freelance consultant. Urban culture and style writer.

Now think about some professional interests, skills or passions that aren't necessarily described within your professional tagline. What professional interests do you have that aren't a part of your job title?

Blogger. New media fanatic. Marketing maven. Investor. SEO Expert. Technology geek. Speaker. Author. Entrepeneur. Event planner. Consultant. Media personality. Student.

Next, come up with a few descriptors that are more personal. Not TOO personal of course, but feel free to include anything you'd share over a semi-awkward business lunch with your boss.

Proud mom. Harvard alum. Washington Redskins fanatic. Brooklyn native. Spin class rockstar. Backpacking nut. Book worm. Guitar player. Lover of nature. Favorite uncle. History buff. Wine enthusiast.

Likewise, here are a few things that you most likely would not share over a lunch with your boss and therefore have no place in your twitter bio.

Party girl. Reality TV junkie. Magic the Gathering fanatic. Danielle Steel nut. Liberal democrat. Conservative republican. Lonely single guy. Shopoholic.

Of course there is nothing wrong with any of these but one should definitely save the most personal items for later in the conversation. Much, much later.

Finally, close with your reason for being on Twitter. Who would you like to meet? Are you looking to network with other professionals in a specific industry? Individuals in a certain location, or with a shared interest (business or personal)?

Looking to meet......

New interesting people. Other hospitality industry professionals. Other creative types. Local photographers. Other aspiring actors. Rhode Islanders.

One thing to avoid here is an obvious alterior motive or marketing message.

Someone who will hire me. People who will patronize my new restaurant. Fitness nuts to buy supplements from me. CEOs to hire my ad agency. Philanthropists to support my cause.

You normally only get one chance to invite someone into your world on Twitter; use your bio to make them feel at home by appealing to a shared interest, profession or common goal. Your profile simply is not the right place for a sales pitch or marketing message.

Combine everything you came up with above, squeeze it into 160 characters or less and you've got a winning Twitter bio.