Choosing The Correct Avatar

By teamtillison
Posted on April 30, 2014

Social Media Marketing Tips, Twitter Marketing Tips

Choosing the correct avatar for your social media profile isn’t an exact science. However, it is imperative to have one and put some thought into it. Your avatar often appears alone, without context, so it needs to say something about you or your business.

Here is a quick guide to what sort of avatar to choose for your Social Media accounts.

Portrait Avatars

Portraits are the most commonly used Social Media avatar images as they are personable and readily available. However, there is a skill to choosing the right portrait.

Try to limit the frame to head and shoulders – more and you’ll be almost unrecognisable as the avatar changes size on different devices.
If you are looking to engage on Twitter, ensure your avatar is both friendly and approachable. You want people to talk to you after all.
Be creative! You will be one of hundreds of avatars seen daily, so to get noticed you need to stand out. Avoid images where you blend into the background or are not distinguishable from your surroundings.

There are pros and cons to choosing a portrait as your avatar. Successful portrait avatar users include, freelancers and consultants or those individuals who have a strong individual brand. Those who portraits don’t work so well for include, businesses who are not fronted by an individual. Businesses should stay clear of portraits as they are unfamiliar to new customers and can be confusing if they were to change.

Using a Logo as Your Twitter Avatar

Logos are widely used on Twitter and other social networks, though surprisingly not as often as portraits even by businesses. Successful brands who choose to use their logo as their avatar balance out the personalisation aspect in their content and bio.

Important things to remember when choosing a logo are:

Use an image that doesn’t get distorted or hard to read when uploaded
If your brand is not widely known, try to include some imagery that describes what you do
Make sure any sub-text is legible

Much like using a portrait avatar there are pros and cons to using a logo too.

The pros, of course, are that it is easily recognisable by customers and spreads your brand awareness even further as messages are spread across the Twittersphere.

The cons, however, are that it is less personal than a portrait avatar and some people don’t like to talking to a brand. It is also risky in case your brand logo isn’t as recognisable as you thought…

Is there a happy medium?

Always. Some brands have taken it upon themselves to brand their portraits therefore combining the pros of both a portrait and a logo avatar. This is a great approach if you are looking to establish your brand but make your company feel personal and approachable.

Things to remember

Use a square image or an image that can be cropped to square as it will be viewed as a square image on your profile
Use a high quality image as it may be viewed in larger sizes
Check the file size. The maximum size is 700k
The file types you can use are JPG, GIF, PNG