A few days ago, I got into my Wayback Machine and traveled to 2012. Back, back, back to my first blog post about how to create a Twitter Avatar. Kind of amazing how quickly five years flies by, isn’t it? And while researching for this post, I found this great article about the people behind the Wayback Machine (an Internet archive). But I digress.  Ahem! This post is about how you can get a quick, easy, and free Twitter avatar.

Pick Ten Avatars You Like

Get on Twitter and start looking around. Search on something similar to your business, to begin with. Say you’re in a particular area, such as Santa Cruz. You could search on the hashtag #SantaCruz. Or just the words Santa Cruz.

Narrow the Field

Of the ten avatars you find, choose the three you like the most. For example, here are three accounts in the Santa Cruz area that I admire. Follow them and check out their tweets (but come right back! I’ll wait here.).

 

Ask Yourself Some Questions

Notice how all three images easily identify the organization. Now, ask yourself a few questions. For instance:

1. Why do you like the avatars?
2. What specifically do you like about the images?
3. Do you prefer a photo or a drawing?
4. Would you use similar colors in your own avatar?
5. What traits identify you or your brand?

Brand Identity

This post is not about brand identity. However, if you have no idea what brand identity means, read this thorough article by Clement Lim: Creating a Kick-Ass Brand Identity.

List the Traits of Your Top Three Favorite Avatars

My top three have a few things in common. Namely:

1. They’re all images, not photos.
2. They’re clutter-free.
3. Each one tells a story.
4. Each one is monochromatic (black, green, and brown).

Incorporate Those Traits Into Your Avatar

If I were redoing my avatar, I could start with a photo and convert it to a drawing. I take a lot of photos (don’t we all since the invention of smart phones?). Then I could clean up all the extraneous lines, unnecessary stuff until it was more like a line drawing. I’d want to make sure that the image told a story about my business.

Color is Critical

Next, I’d choose a favorite color. Here’s a good article about What Your Logo’s Color Says About Your Business from Fast Company. For instance, did you know the following:

almost 85% of consumers cite color as the primary reason they buy a particular product, and 80% of people believe color increases brand recognition.

Create Three Draft Avatars

After that, you could create a few mockups of avatars, with slight or not-so-slight variations. Okay, maybe three. Or two! You could have just two, to keep it really simple.

Ask Your Friends

The really fun part is having a little branding-your-Twitter-avatar party. Have snacks and bubbly drinks and have your friends give their opinions. They’ll surprise you with some of what they say.

How Did You Figure out What Your Twitter Avatar Would Be?

What would you tell someone else who needed an avatar? I’d really like to know! And thank you.