5 Ways to Optimize Your Social Media Profiles

It should come as no surprise that, by dishing out compelling, educational and inspiring content on your social networks, you will attract an audience. People will like, comment and share your content. If you are on Twitter, they will retweet, reply and favorite your tweets. However, if you are engaging with others on your social networks, you will definitely want to have them as part of your networks as well. In other words, you will want them as friends or subscribers. The problem is, if your profile is bland, you will have a difficult time adding others into your networks, let alone being added.

I realize that with Twitter you have only 160 characters to play with, and I will talk about that later in this post. For now I am going to concentrate on optimizing your Facebook and Google Plus profiles. While these tips may make the most sense for Facebook, more and more people are looking at Google Plus profiles. That means you will want to optimize your profiles on every network you belong to so that you can grow them like wildfire.

1. Use your real name. If you list your name on your Facebook profile as “Buzzy Bob” or some other silly moniker, who is going to take you seriously? You must use your real first and last names on your networks.

2. Upload a clean picture of yourself to use as your avatar. If you want to attract people to your networks, it is not only recommended but essential to use a clean photograph of yourself as your profile picture. Do not use a cartoon or a picture of a dog, a sunset, or even your kids as your main photo. A lot of people feel self-conscious seeing themselves in their profile photos because they may believe they are too fat or too thin, that their faces are asymmetrical or warty or whatever. However, if people see you are authentic and want to build relationships, they will not notice such details. They want to see and know you.

3. Fill out the “About Me” section. I cannot stress this enough. Putting your real name and adding your own picture as a profile photo is not sufficient to make your profile stand out. You must fill in your “about me” section. Talk about your background, your experiences, your family life, your interests, your likes and even dislikes. Don’t feel you have to get too personal if you are not comfortable with that, just be descriptive and authentic. Remember, those who want to network with you want to know you!

4. Add your educational background and profession. You must also add your educational background and current profession in your profile description. Even if you are not working, no one will care. Friends and subscribers want to know what you do and what kind of schooling you had. And if you are looking for work, definitely add that to your professional area of your profile. Someone out there may have the best opportunity for you.

5. Fill out your contact information. At a minimum, to indicate an interest in connecting with others, add an active email address, your website(s), and links to your other social networks. It is not essential to add a phone number to your profile, especially if you’re uncomfortable doing so. However, if you are serious about growing your networks, it is a good idea. Adding your phone number doesn’t necessarily mean anyone will call you. What it does is indicate that you are truly interested in networking.

If you follow these steps to a stand-out profile, you will not only have an easier time engaging with others, you will also easily grow your networks.

In regards to Twitter, as I mentioned earlier, you only have 160 characters to mold into your profile. Use the main keywords that describe yourself, your interests and your profession, and compact it as best as you can. No need for fancy sentences, as descriptive keywords will suffice!