What is a brandable avatar on Twitter?
A brandable avatar is an image that is associated with an individual’s or company’s twitter account based on appearance.
Why is it important to have a brandable avatar?
Your avatar shows up on the profiles of your followers! That means every time someone visits a follower’s profile, there is a chance that the individual will see your avatar. I know for a fact that I have checked out twitter users based on seeing the same avatar over and over again while browsing through twitter.
Examples of brandable avatars
* Please reference the image above for the numbers.
#1 - @LaughingSquid - This avatar is a unique image using the color scheme of black and green. Every time I visit someones Twitter profile and check out the followers montage, I notice this one. I think originality wins out here for Laughing Squid.
#2 - @JasonCalacanis - Jason’s avatar sticks out due to its simplicity. A nice soft green background and a giant flower (Mahalo’s logo) allows you to instantly make the association to either Jason or Mahalo.
#3 - @ijustine - Justine utilizes the fact that her pink background instantly catches your eye. Since most avatars feature soft or dull colors, FF1CAE works well here.
#4 - @cc_chapman - C.C. utilizes the same strategy I use. Since his name is merely 2 letters, he can blow those 2 letters up and make them prominent. If I see C.C. I automatically think C.C. Chapman - branding at its finest!
#5 - @photomatt - Matt kept it SUPER simple. His use of FF8FFF sticks out since it is one of the few avatars on twitter that merely is a color. Maybe this doesn’t lend to Matt’s personal brand, but I know who I am thinking of every time I see that avatar.
#6 - @centernetworks - Allen Stern of Center Networks did a nice job of incorporating his company’s brand as his avatar. The logo is very clean and nicely designed, making it easy to associate the logo with both Allen, and his company.
#7 - @pop17 - Sarah Meyers of Pop17 uses the same strategy as Allen here by using the pop17 logo for her avatar. Another aspect playing into Sarah’s favor is the fact that the logo is on the smaller side and round. These two features distinguish pop17 from most other avatars.
#8 - @somewhatfrank - Frank Gruber is another one who uses his blog’s logo to build his personal brand on Twitter. The bullseye behind the big “SF” also catches the eye.
#9 - @bloggersblog - Bloggers Blog uses the same trick as CC and I use, with the two big letters dominating the avatar. The company also uses the unique use of color to stand out (limeish green).
Last thoughts
It seems the best tactic to maximizing your avatar’s effectiveness is the use of an original color. Pink and Green seem to be the two colors of choice for this tactic.
What do you think about branding your avatar? Is it useful or is it a waste of time? Are you doing it right now? If so, how?
