Using Brandable Avatars on Twitter
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?
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May 8th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Absolutely agree that this is not just useful, but really vital in terms of personal or corporate branding and online identity.
I’ve been using a square format avatar with a bright green strip to the right and my ‘Speaka’ character for almost a year now - and it does seem to have a positive effect.
http://twitter.com/clarocada
May 8th, 2008 at 11:55 am
AJ,
#5 is weak.
I use an iconic version of my face on all my sites and business card. My face is my brand. Check it out at @dalecruse
May 8th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Interesting thoughts, AJ. I’ve been thinking about cooking up a better avatar for myself not only for use on Twitter but as a Gravatar across the Web.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Great points! You do definitely run into a lot of the same people on everyones lists. Twitter!
May 8th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
The avatar, as well as the brand, only works if it is cool. If you have a brand that can be remembered in a 140×140 square you better keep that brand going because you are going to be successful.
On that note though, you missed one. Ninja.
May 8th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
I Twitter on behalf of H&R Block (we’re #hrblock). We use the actual block logo…which is a green block. It’s like #5 in that it’s a solid block of color, but in our case it’s easily identified as our brand since people are familiar with our logo.
May 8th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
@David - the green strip fits the bill perfectly! Well done.
@Dale - I love your avatar, but I don’t think it sticks out enough from the crowd, just like Ask a Ninja’s
@adam - I agree about it needing to be cool. I don’t think Ninja’s sticks out enough, even though it is a great avatar.
@Amy - The H&R Block logo fits perfectly into what I was talking about!
May 8th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
I also use a brandable version of my face (well at least part of my face). I’m a comedian, author, speaker, teacher (if you need to be funnier doing lectures and demos and pitches email me: beth@bethlapides.com or check out my website http://www.uncabaret.com/Lab.html) and I’ve noticed it has helped using coherently in Twitter, MySpace, ColorLouvers, Facebook, ClaimID tec to be helpful.
May 8th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Did you develop your own avatar before or after coming across these similar double letter avatars? I like your point AJ - getting to work on standing out from the crowd as soon as!
May 8th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Personally, I think unless you’re representing an organization or company with most/all of your tweets using just a logo feels too impersonal. Still a recognizable icon is useful and can be done. I thought about using my blog logo for my icon but after thinking about it I can to the conclusion mentioned above. So instead used an fabulously green color infrared photo of myself that stands out equally well. It’s the same photo I use on my blog so there is a connection.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:14 am
I have been meaning to work on this for a while, but school has kept me super busy this semester. Thankfully, it’s over so I will be able to work on ‘branding’ right now my avatar is a hockey player, which I suppose works for me
May 9th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
I’ve thought about having somebody brand me because you’re points are right on target, but the problem is, I get bored with my avatars so fast, that I’m constantly changing them. I don’t know if I could keep just one avatar up all the time.
May 9th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
My Twitter avatar (also my iChat avatar, and any social bookmarking sites I use) is an image of my face, with the Apple Photo Booth’s “colored pencil” effect over it. I love this picture, but it might be worthwhile for me to change to an image that is easier to distinguish at such a small size if I get into blogging at a more professional level. Interesting, thought-provoking article.