Tips for Making the Best Profile Picture

In my last post, I provided some tips for selecting a good username on Twitter. In this post I will give you some tips to get your profile picture right. The tips in this post not only apply to Twitter but also for other Social Networks.

Your profile picture is the first point of contact for a person who is interested in knowing more about you. Therefore, it is important that you give some thought into the selection of your profile picture. As a business owner you need to project the right image to your clients.

Here are some of my tips for selecting a good profile picture. These tips are more applicable for people who use Twitter for business purposes.

1. Be yourself. Do not fake your personality. It is very important that your clients’ expectations about you are met if both of you had to meet face to face.
2. Take the picture in a relaxed position. Wear clothes that your are comfortable with and ones that reflect your style and personality.
3. Take the picture in a brightly lit environment.
4. It is preferable to have a neutral color background.
5. Do not have other distractions in your photo. For example, do not take a picture with your dog. Your clients are not interested in your dog. They are interested in getting to know you better.
6. Only have other people and objects in your picture, if they are related to your business or profession. For example, if you are a professional Dog Trainer then you got to have a picture with a dog!
7. Make direct eye contact on the picture, it is important that you come across as a confident person in the eyes of your prospective clients.
8. Avoid Logos! If you own a business or a brand, do not use the logo as your profile picture. In social networks people are more interested in making connections to people, not organizations. Even if you use your company name as the username in your Twitter account, it is important to show your face in the profile picture.
9. Keep your profile picture consistent across different networks such as Twitter, Facebook etc. This allows potential clients to easily recognize you.
10. Take multiple pictures in different postures with varying smiles.
11. Ask family and friends for their opinion. Get a vote. Choose the picture that gets the most number of votes.

I hope you found the above tips useful. Add your own tips in the comments section. Thank you.