They say a picture speaks a thousand words, certainly in the case of Twitter; imagery can capture the attention of a passer-by so much more than even the most interesting of tweets.

Creating a strong company image using only the background space available on a Twitter page is not as easy as it may sound because the usual constraints of web design apply but you have only a flat, fixed canvas on which to build your “one page campaign”.

Incorporate your branding

If you are adding a personal background image to Twitter, there is a good chance that you are promoting either yourself or your company. If this is the case then you probably have a fair amount of branding to work from, so when incorporating this into Twitter don’t be afraid to adapt it slightly to create something unique but within your brand. For example, many companies have merged their branding with that of Twitter’s, creating all sorts of interesting design collaborations from the Twitter bird flying away with the logo to creative uses of the @ symbol.

Concentrate on the most exposed area

A good place to start is by primarily addressing the top-left area of the screen because this is the first part that most people will look to and, depending on screen resolution; it’s the place most likely to remain uncovered by the actual Twitter feed.

Go Media (@go_media) is a great example of this – notice how the most visually active area of the page is the top left, leaving the colourful bubbles to disappear as the page expands.

Let people see who you are

Designer Chris Spooner (@chrisspooner) is a good example of how you can use an image of yourself to introduce a passing visitor to your Twitter page and subsequently, inform them of who you are and what you do. Immediately we can probably guess that Chris is a designer of some sort (colourful imagery and facial hair are always tell-tale signs!) and the background photography does a good job of translating this.

Don’t be afraid to stylize your imagery with effects and colour, and as long as you don’t go overboard this will bring it to life and make your page memorable.

Plug your other online outlets and offer contact details

Allowing users to see where they can find you elsewhere on the web won’t necessarily result in instant a steady growth in traffic is quite possible. If a Twitter background can provide enough reason to send you traffic then it is actually serving a dual purpose, which is the essence of using Twitter for marketing reasons.

Along with their branding and some custom photography Superdry (@superdry) include links to their official website, their blog and their Facebook page. They also include a handy telephone number and email address for users looking for quick access to contact details.

Should you do it?

It has to be said that adding a custom background to your Twitter page is not for everybody. Certainly, if you do not have a product or service to promote, you won’t be expected to customise your Twitter feed in this way. Most companies, the large ones in particular, should include as much relevant information on their pages as possible and this can most effectively be achieved by adding a custom background.

Smaller businesses and individuals can enhance their feed with some nice, custom imagery which will help to build their brand and increase their followers.

As for the rest – the people who simply use Twitter because they enjoy it – customising your feed is entirely up to you, but I would recommend doing it to inject your personality into the feed. After all, you spend time updating your feed with text, why not add some imagery to capture your passing audience even more?