AJ Vaynerchuk

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?

Introduction

A few days ago I wrote a post about protecting your personal brand on Twitter. A lot of people read the post and the conversation around the topic was great. This morning I decided to show you what can happen if you fail to protect your personal brand.

Biz

Biz, co-founder of Twitter, regularly tweets on the account Biz. Obviously, Biz is an active user of Twitter and has quite a large following (8,678 as of this post). He is a member of the blue team, happens to enjoy the show LOST, and is trying to make an effort to visit his family more often in Boston. Check out a quick little snap shot of his Twitter account:

Biz Stone

Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, just joined Twitter and currently tweets on the account Biz Stone. Biz Stone is also a member of the blue team, but unlike Biz, he is a HUGE fan of Pownce, Wordpress, John McCain, and AJ Vaynerchuk. Check out a little snap shot of Biz Stone’s Twitter account:

If I were a spammer

If I were a spammer I would immediately go out and start following thousands of Twitter users. The likelihood of these users following me back is pretty high - the users who truly know Twitter wouldn’t follow me, and the users who aren’t tech saavy wouldn’t follow me, but those in-betweeners would be a lock! Once I built a large following I would immediately start spamming out my spam links and probably hurt Biz’s brand. Even worse, after a few months I bet my Twitter account would rank real high in Google for the term “Biz Stone” and “Biz Stone Twitter,” something the real Biz would never want to see.

Obviously the real Biz Stone can delete this account

Obviously, in this situation, it isn’t a big deal for the real Biz Stone. He could simply delete my account and then freeze it. The point is not everyone has this kind of power, and not everyone would be able to realize the fraud until it was already a bit too late.

Disclaimer

I am not trying to do anything wrong by Biz or by Twitter. I am simply trying to drive home the point of protecting your personal brand. After a day or two I will delete all of the tweets and make a tweet directing users to Biz’s real account. I will never use the account to follow other users, or spam anyone. Thanks!

Introduction

Twitter is quickly becoming one of the most popular destinations for communication. Unlike Facebook, you can choose a “handle” for your account name on Twitter. Personally I am using “ajvchuk” as my twitter handle. I use this handle because I am hoping it is a little easier than spelling out my whole name “AJ Vaynerchuk.”

So What’s Your Point?

Twitter accounts will soon be like (but not on the same level) domain names. Your name is your personal brand, and if you do not own the Twitter handle for your full name you are setting yourself up for a fall, just as if you did not own your full name dot com. Shel Israel is paying dearly for this mistake.

Examples of Protecting Your Personal Brand on Twitter

Darren Rowse, owner of ProBlogger tweets from the Twitter handle, “ProBlogger.” Even though he is twittering from his blog’s brand, that doesn’t mean he can’t protect his personal brand:

Gary Vaynerchuk, my brother and host of Wine Library TV twitters from the handle “Garyvee. That doesn’t mean he isn’t protecting his name:

It’s Not Too Late

I actually just realized this mistake this morning! As of this post, I registered my full name on Twitter just 2 hours ago. Twitter is still relatively under the radar, so if you do not own the twitter handle with your first and last name, go out there and go get it now!