Every institution connected Twitter has the aforesaid features astatine its disposal to make a standout profile.

Here are those features:

But however galore SaaS companies marque usage of them all? And are they utilizing them well?

To find out, we studied the Twitter profiles of 100 SaaS companies.

Let’s commencement astatine the top.

37% of SaaS companies diagnostic their ngo connection oregon tagline successful their banner, making it the astir fashionable option. 

Here’s a ace cleanable illustration from Zapier: 

The adjacent astir fashionable enactment (25%) is simply a branded illustration, similar this 1 from Asana: 

Product illustrations are besides a comparatively fashionable choice, with 14% of SaaS companies opting for them. 

Here’s an illustration from InVision:

This demonstrates however its collaboration features enactment without falling into the trap of showing cluttered screenshots of the literal UI.

Unfortunately, portion these kinds of banners enactment good connected desktop, they’re seldom large connected mobile.

For example, overmuch of InVision’s banner is obfuscated by the notch and UI elements connected my iPhone: 

Even without the obfuscation, the merchandise substance is ace tiny and hard to read. This contented is magnified for SaaS companies that usage their literal merchandise UI. 

Case successful point, Linear:

These are things we’re ever conscious of erstwhile designing banners for our profile, arsenic you tin archer from the mockup below:

As for the remaining 24% of SaaS companies, we saw everything from, um, nothing…

… to generic banal photography (seriously, Airtable, what is this each about?)

… to folks with Swiss rotation hairsbreadth rollers (is this however you seizure the millennial market? *takes notes*):

Bland, boring, and zany examples aside, 1 absorbing inclination I noticed is that galore companies don’t conscionable acceptable a banner and hide it. They swap it to coincide with caller diagnostic releases, events, caller manufacture awards, caller content, unfastened occupation positions, etc. 

Here are a mates of examples:

Given the fig of illustration views SaaS companies similar Drift and Webflow apt get, this makes a batch of sense.

In fact, this is thing we do too.

Here’s our banner promoting our database of Ahrefs hacks: 

100% of SaaS companies diagnostic their logo (or immoderate variation) here.

Big surprise, right? So wherefore americium I adjacent bothering to notation it?

The reply is that I privation to gully your attraction to a mistake immoderate brands make, which is being hell-bent connected utilizing their afloat text-heavy logo.

Don’t get maine wrong. There’s thing incorrect with including your afloat logo erstwhile it has a abbreviated “horizontal length.”

Take Wix, for example: 

This works conscionable fine. It’s casual to work and admit connected desktop and mobile—even successful the tiny feed icons:

But this works little good for brands with logos with a wider “horizontal length.”

Case successful point, Talenox:

This is virtually intolerable to work connected mobile and doesn’t drawback your attraction successful the feed:

I can’t assistance but consciousness the icon unsocial would beryllium overmuch amended astatine grabbing your attention. 

Here’s a mockup:

Interestingly, this is simply a acquisition learned from idiosyncratic experience. We utilized to person our illustration photograph acceptable to our “full width” logo, but we soon realized our mistake and changed it to the customized branded icon you see today: 

Most companies (68%) usage their bio to bespeak what their merchandise oregon work does.

Here’s an illustration from Mailchimp:

Even if you knew thing astir Mailchimp earlier coming crossed its Twitter profile, you’d extremity up with a beauteous bully thought astir what it’s selling from its bio alone.

But what astir everyone else? 

Well, 28% of companies usage it to authorities their institution mission.

Here’s an illustration from Asana: 

If you’re nary the wiser astir what Asana really is oregon does aft that, articulation the club. And this isn’t adjacent vague compared to some. Check retired Cialfo’s:

Luckily, the last 4% of companies are being a spot much creative. They look to either item what to expect from pursuing them similar BrightLocal oregon opt for a axenic amusive attack similar Shopify.

(I similar however BrightLocal notes “Tweets by Jenny.” Definitely adds a idiosyncratic touch!)

Most SaaS companies (58.4%) don’t utilize bio links. 

Here’s what we mean by bio links, by the way:

They’re the ones that are really successful the bio (not the dedicated “website” link). 

Basically, immoderate URL oregon Twitter grip (e.g., @ahrefs) you notation successful your bio automatically gets turned into a link. 

For example, here’s maine mounting up my bio…

… and the result:

But of those that bash usage them, what bash they usage them for?

Here’s the data:

60% of SaaS companies see enactment links. 

These are either links to dedicated enactment Twitter profiles (e.g., @asksalesforce)…

… website enactment hubs

… or both: 

19% of brands nexus to a presumption leafage oregon profile:

Interestingly, astir of the brands doing this are task absorption (Airtable, Monday, Miro, etc.) oregon assemblage apps (Slack, Circle, etc.). Given however overmuch it tin interaction your time erstwhile these kinds of tools spell down, that makes cleanable sense. 

19% of brands nexus to their homepage:

(Given that the homepage nexus is astir ever duplicated successful the profile link, this seems similar a discarded of abstraction to me. I’m not definite wherefore it’s truthful common.)

And the last 26% of brands nexus elsewhere, specified arsenic to a newsletter signup page…

… their societal profiles and communities

… oregon adjacent branded hashtags:

Initially, I thought the branded hashtag was a spot of an unusual prime for rather a tiny brand. However, it really makes sense, arsenic it’s fundamentally a provender of occurrence stories (big and small) from customers who emotion the software.

Here are a mates of examples:

Believe it oregon not, 7% of companies don’t person a illustration link. 

Of those that do, 95.7% nexus to their homepage.

This makes sense. It’s the evident spot to nexus to and astir apt the champion 1 to nonstop followers to larn much astir your merchandise or brand.

Most of the remaining 4.3% nexus to a Linktree (or different akin alternative):

This attack seems much communal with idiosyncratic “influencers,” but I deliberation it tin besides enactment good for SaaS companies.

Yotpo is simply a bully example. Its Linktree links to:

1. Jobs leafage – Makes sense. If you similar a marque capable to travel it connected Twitter, there’s a accidental you mightiness beryllium funny successful moving for it.
2. Blog station – Specifically, 1 that explains the benefits of “zero-party data,” which is what its merchandise helps concern owners collect. 
3. Landing leafage – This is for its “brand accelerator program” (an inaugural to assistance black-owned tiny businesses grow). 
4. Press release – This talks astir however it made Forbes’ database of the apical 100 backstage unreality companies. 
5. Homepage – Ah… we got determination eventually!

Only 55% of SaaS companies usage the pinned tweet feature.

Most of those that bash (60%) diagnostic a product-related tweet.

Here’s an illustration from Intercom:

Interestingly, I spotted a batch of brands utilizing videos for this. This makes sense, arsenic there’s truly nary amended mode to show a merchandise diagnostic oregon explicate what your bundle does. It besides allows you to acceptable much accusation into your tweet than you’d beryllium capable to with 280 characters.

10.9% of brands diagnostic an event, contest, challenge, or poll.

Here’s an illustration from Litmus: 

Obviously, these aren’t conscionable “set it and hide it” pinned tweets. Once the event, challenge, contest, oregon canvass is over, brands swap them retired for thing else.

What else? 

Blog posts and Twitter threads are common, with 5.5% and 3.6% of brands respectively showcasing these successful pinned tweets.

Here are a fewer examples:

Given that Twitter users astir surely similar autochthonal content, you’re astir apt amended disconnected turning a blog station you privation to beforehand present into a thread instead. You tin ever beforehand the blog station astatine the end.

This is precisely what we did for our existent pinned tweet: 

These 18 hacks began beingness arsenic a blog post. But we knew we’d apt get mode much engagement by turning them into a Twitter thread. 

We past beforehand our newsletter astatine the extremity of the thread:

The remaining 20% of SaaS companies diagnostic different things, similar awards they’ve won…

… rebrand announcements

… and achromatic papers:

I deliberation these each marque sense—except for achromatic papers. 

Even if you’re targeting endeavor customers, I conscionable can’t spot galore radical browsing Twitter and reasoning “Oh, cool—a achromatic paper! I’ll download that right away!” 

Final thoughts

How you acceptable up your company’s Twitter illustration depends connected the content you privation to marque and the things you privation to promote. Just marque definite to utilize each the features Twitter gives you to make a standout profile. 

If you’re abbreviated connected time, here’s our champion proposal to get your illustration up and moving fast:

Got questions? Ping maine on… you cognize where.