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5 (More) Examples of Absurdly Well-Written Twitter Bios

by Marian Schembari on January 16, 2012

It’s shocking how rarely I come across a Twitter bio that inspires me. Most are blank, bland, irrelevant or say almost verbatim what I’ve seen a million other times on the interwebs. But sometimes I come across bios that are snappy, witty, laugh out loud funny and make me immediately want to follow said tweeter (and be their Bestie 4 Life).

Like these five…

I clearly have a thing for writers, but they obviously know how to clearly and cleverly talk about themselves. The bio of @akharlamova just so perfectly describes the life of an author in so few words. And it also does a great job showing that she’s dedicated, consumed and in love with what she does. Nicely done, Arina.

It would have been so easy for @showmethesun to have written, “Book lover. Works in Publishing. From Melbourne.” Instead, she eats books for breakfast! She’s a curator instead of just a blogger. She doesn’t just work in publishing, she loves it. She doesn’t just live in Melbourne, she’s happy there. I feel like I know her already.

I love it when a major corporation isn’t afraid to add a little humor in their bio. What @Staples does is genius in that they quickly sum up what they do, then tap into the joys of every office worker on the planet. Like starch.

@KatjaPresnal clearly has a lot going for her. She tells us why she’s great, what she’s up to, what she does for living, then throws her personality at us in full force. This is a girl I could be friends with. And “carpe the shit out of diem” obviously needs to be my life motto. (Thanks to @aodt for sending this bio my way!)

I’m in love with @IsaChandra and think her loud and clear voice on this bio coupled with such simplicity is pretty unique. Sometimes (aka “all the time”) you just don’t need to over-explain. For Isa, four words is all she needs. I like her style and for those of you who eat more than just meat and potatoes can also appreciate her location quip.

Takeaways

1. A few choice words can make all the difference. Take a page out of Steph’s half-eaten book (see what I did there? I crack myself up) and stay away from over-used descriptions when talking about yourself.

2. What’s a really obvious stereotype about your industry/job/passion? Are you an accountant? Poke fun at the fact that you’re not absurdly boring. Social media strategist? Mention you’re sure as hell not a guru/ninja. Make like Staples and stand out from the crowd by being good-natured about the judgments surrounding what you do.

3. Do you have a specific writing style? Do you swear a lot? Have a rad vocabulary skills? Write poetry? Translate that strong style à la Isa Chandra so that voice shines in your bio!

Want more Twitter love? Read parts 1 and 2 here. And if you’ve seen any great bios lately, please share them in the comments!

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More Twitter bios to inspire you…

by Marian Schembari on December 6, 2011

Welcome to part 2 of Twitter Bios That Will Rock Your Socks.

After publishing last month’s post I realized the majority of the people featured were writers. Apparently writers can write well. Go figure.

While authors may have the upper hand in crafting short, sweet and memorable bios, I did try to avoid that “mistake” this go around. I even feature a company or two!

Alright, so maybe @joelharperfit was a client of mine back in the day, but his bio is still a work of genius. It establishes him as an expert (re: impressive clients) while also showing he’s not snobby about it (re: 10 year old kids). It subtly hints at a product you can buy without shoving it down your throat (re: FIT PACK) and then makes him relatable and easygoing with the dessert comment. Pretty much the perfect bio.

I featured @AuckTransport recently and for good reason. Every Aucklander without a car (and sometimes with) can relate to the ridiculous inefficiencies of Auckland’s public transport system. What I love about this bio in particular is that it starts off almost like it’s an official account, then throws you the “shit” curveball. (And I’m nothing if not a girl who loves her potty language.) Finally, they round it out with an extremely identifiable quip about transport delays. Genius, I tell you!

@RedheadWriting (aka Erika Napolentano) makes me think, cry, laugh out loud and is one of my favorite bloggers of all time. So it comes as no surprise that her bio is both impressive and self-deprecating. She makes other Twitter-lovers feel some sort of connection AND it says what she does while giving us an idea of the kind of writer she is. She’s a digital girl without looking like every other digital girl.

Food blogger (and another personal favorite of mine), @joythebaker has such a simple and perfect bio there’s not a lot else I can say. This fits her online personality and makes me want to immediately make a batch of her cookies (a recipe I most likely found on her blog).

Yeah, it shocked me too when I found myself screenshotting the profile of @BNZBank. But come on, how great is this bio? Very simple, to the point and clear they understand how Twitter works. They’ve managed to combine their long history (150 years of banking) with new digital technology (140 characters). Plus, when a bank give us a glimpse of humor they become a-okay in my book.

Another company profile I just had to include. @threadhelp is so great because they walk the walk. I had a question the other day and they responded within the hour. They’re true to their word and while this profile is nowhere near as fun as the official Threadless account, it serves such a great service and you can feel the smile coming right out of your screen.

Takeaways:

1. Relatability is huge. Make people feel like they know you and have had similar experiences.

2. Be impressive. Highlight your mad skills, but don’t get cocky. Feel free to list a snazzy award, column or hot client, but don’t forget to round it out to point #1.

3. Sometimes you don’t need to list all your hobbies, job titles, URLs, etc. Sometimes a simple sentance that sums up your Great Passion is enough to grab our interest.

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How I Use HootSuite: An Organizational Tutorial

by Marian Schembari on November 21, 2011

A few months ago I made a video tutorial for the subscribers of my newsletter. To be honest, I never really liked making “exclusive” content so the newsletter is now defunct and I’m re-purposing some of the good ones that went out last year.

As you’ll see below, this tutorial is a demonstration of how I use HootSuite and keep it organized. While I’m a big proponent of “different strokes for different folks”, I personally love taking a peek into the quirky ways people use things. While my setup below is by no means unique or all that creative, it does work hugely well for me in terms of keeping up with searches, conversations and not losing my life entirely when I sign in.

Enjoy!

For those of you who aren’t into the whole video thing, here’s a quick summary:

HootSuite is more awesome than TweetDeck because it’s web based and there’s more flexibility in terms of organizing followers, topics and events.
Use the “pending tweets” stream to start scheduling posts to go out so you can reach as many followers as possible.
I organize my main tab with my home feed, @replies, sent tweets and pending. This way I can see everything at a glance and avoid sending a post out more than once.
Go through your home feed every morning and see if there’s any conversations you can jump into.
If you have a blog, organize a separate tab to include people who regularly comment/retweet so you can return the favor and stay in touch!
Use well organized and highly specific lists so you can keep tabs on interesting people in your industry, coworks, real-life friends, etc.
Set up a tab for any Twitter chats you join. Create columns for mentions, the hashtag and the moderator’s username so you don’t miss any questions or important comments in the flurry of the chat.

Any questions, don’t hesitate to ask below in the comments. And if you have any tips for me/us or if you’ve found different aspects of HootSuite useful, please share with the class!

Update: A few of you have asked to embed this video on your own sites and you’re more than welcome! A link back as credit would be a nice, but isn’t required.

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5 Twitter Bio Examples That Will Rock Your Socks

by Marian Schembari on November 7, 2011

For the past few months I’ve been making a point to take screenshots of Twitter bios that have made me laugh, think or are just plain brilliant. Bios that find a way to – in 160 characters – sum up a person, what they do and why we should follow them. And I figured it was high time I started posting them here. Every few weeks I hope to update you with more, but for now, take a look at these rad five:

@montoure has found a way to give us the feeling of his genre rather than just telling us about it. This bio could not be more brilliant. That last line gets me every time.

@KatieDavisBurps lists all the things she does, but they’re not boring, overused interests like “loving life” and “eating food”. She’s written a solid, interesting list that ends in a way that’s incredibly relatable and made me want to be her friend. Or make her a pot of coffee.

@jamievaron always cracks me up because every time she opens her little blogger mouth, an absolute truth no one ever mentions comes out. And, without fail, she’s nailed it in her bio while also being crystal clear about what she does. Funny + informative = WIN. (p.s. why hasn’t Entrepreneur magazine bought entreprenuer.com? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve misspelled it in my browser.)

@mariancall not only has a beautiful first name, but her bio makes me want to listen to her music rightthissecond. THIS is how artists should be using social media, y’all. She lets us get to know her with the word “wanderlust”, helps us understand her style with musician comparison and adds a little funny in there to make us like her. Then she tells us to buy her album without actually telling us. I don’t know about you, but I’m sold.

@neilhimself has been on my list of Top Bios since day one. When I was working with authors I always sent them to his profile as a great example to follow. Basically, we all know who Neil Gaiman is; he doesn’t need to list his books or hobbies. Instead, he shows us how passionate he is about what he does and he writes it in typical Neil fashion.

Looking back at the bios that have caught me eye, I’m finding: Humor is always a good idea. So is passion. Lists can be great if you’re creative. And, at the end of the day, show – don’t tell.

Anyone come across a great bio recently they want to share? What do you think about these five?

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