Surprise, surprise. A major social network changed something again and we all have to adjust. Just after you sign up for a Pinterest account, Facebook comes out with Timeline, and LinkedIn changes it's homepage. You know the drill by now - we all have to be on our toes with social media updates. This week, it's Twitter's turn to make a design change. Here's what you need to know:What is Twitter's update?With Facebook's header image and the popularity of Pinterest and Instagram, Twitter is scrambling to get more visual. A few days ago, Twitter changed the profile's design by adding a big header image at the top. This gives you a third opportunity (after the profile picture and background image) to use a picture to describe who you are. Your profile picture and bio sit centered on top of the header image.How can you set it up? 1. Click the gear symbol in the top-right corner of Twitter2. Click on "Settings"3. Click on "Design"4. Scroll down to "Customize your own"5. Click on "Change header":
6. Choose an existing photo to pick from your library of images or take a photo to capture an image from your computer's camera device(*1252x626 pixels is the maximum size of the original image)7. Move the image around and scale it to fit the way you want8. Click "Save" and view your profile to see the new header and formatWhat makes for a good header image?The easy answer: Something that is compelling and represents what you offer as an organization.
SEE ALSO: 10 Killer Facebook Cover Images for Community Organizations
But we can do better than that: If you have an image in mind, make sure that it won't make your bio blend in (meaning that it should have dark colors in it to contrast the white font). For recreation organizations, consider putting up a picture of a program or event, or one of your parks. Your followers are most likely local, so put up something they can relate to. If you're feeling really creative, try to tie your profile image to your header image:
But maybe you can't think of a high quality image that you want to set as your header. Consider going with a color that is part of your logo. At ACTIVE, we just updated our color scheme and logo so we are going with a color for now (I also noticed that Twitter itself went with a color).Good luck with your new header and don't forget to follow us on Twitter for new social updates!
