Twitter is allowing users to opt into a professional account via its “Twitter For Professionals” tab. Introduced at the beginning of October, this new Twitter feature provides those who use the platform for work a new set of tools, enhancing their endeavours. This includes features like Twitter Ads, Quick Promote, Advanced Profile features, and retail options.
Twitter defines professionals as “Creators, publishers, businesses, nonprofits, developers – anyone who comes to Twitter to do business”. The service sees a key focus on Twitter’s role in networking for different industries, including Journalism communities.
In order to qualify for the option, users must not have any guideline violations against their name. They must be an authentic account with an account name, bio, and profile picture.
Building your brand
The feature allows users to choose between a “creator” profile or a “business” profile. Journalists can cultivate their brand as a “creator” while budding media organisations to cultivate their standing as a “business”.
Additionally, users can pick a category that best describes their account, which is then displayed on their public profile. These labels can improve networking by signposting fellow profiles from your industry.
Users can then follow topics in order to engage in industry discussions and widen social networks. This allows journalists to tailor their newsfeeds to their specialised field of correspondence, while keeping up with current affairs.
Increase your influence
The feature also includes a tool for promoting tweets via the Tweet Activity button. By increasing the viewership of your tweets, journalists can improve reception for their work as well as their general standing on Twitter.
Twitter For Professionals not only engages with the commercial nature of the platform, much like the new Twitter Tips feature, but also promotes itself as an industrial tool for networking, self-promotion and influence. As such, it has a lot of potential as a journalistic tool.