In this episode we’re doing something a little different. I’m spotlighting two people who are using a new Twitter feature that allows you to have up to 50 character spaces for your display name. It was 25 spaces and now it’s doubled. This allows you to get really creative.

On my profile it says: Madalyn Sklar. Speaker. Podcaster. Chat Host. It’s a way for people to know more about me. It’s bold and it stands out.

I noticed two people who are using it in very creative ways and wanted to spotlight them here on the podcast. They are Jeff Higgins and Casie Shimansky.

Jeff is doing something really cool that stood out to me. He’s changing his Twitter display name every few days. And they’re really witty, for instance one day it said: Jeff Higgins Only Wears Banana Republic Boxers. And now it says: Jeff Higgins Was In A Pretty Crappy Band. He’s having fun with this and getting lots of attention.

Casie is doing something really cool and unique. Hers says: Casie [kay-cee; KC] = Going BALD for Kid’s Cancer. This really stood out to me because it’s cool and unique. It made me want to reach out and learn what she’s doing. In this episode Casie shares her story of raising awareness through Twitter for a great cause.

Episode Highlights:

• On November 9, 2017, two days after Twitter expanded the 140 character limit to 280, they increased the Twitter display name from 25 characters to 50.
• Jeff Higgins uses the display name as a conversation starter. He’s been changing it up about every other day. It’s bringing people back to his Twitter because they want to know what it will say next.
• Jeff’s Twitter names are fun and witty. One day I noticed it said: Jeff Higgins Wears A Size 14 Shoe. And a few days later is said: Jeff Higgins Obviously Doesn’t Work Out. The day of this interview it said: Jeff Higgins Milked A Cow One Time.
• Jeff says this strategy is getting people communicating on Twitter, not just broadcasting.
• Jeff is checking his analytics regularly and noticing the spikes when he changes his display name.
• Casie is using the display name expansion to raise awareness for St. Baldrick’s, a charity for kids with cancer. Casie will be shaving her head, two days after she gets married in March 2018.
• Casie’s display name says: Casie [kay-cee; KC] = Going BALD for Kid’s Cancer.
• Casie is fundraising and bringing attention to the charity. The display name is in big, bold letters.
• Casie shares the same sentiment as Jeff, that the expanded display name is a conversation starter.

Tools, Links and Apps Mentioned:

• Jeff Higgins on Twitter is @ItsJeffHiggins.
• Casie Shimansky on Twitter is @TheNameIsCasie.
• Mastodon – a social network where you control who sees your posts. It has a 500-character limit. And the best part is all posts are in chronological order, not “optimized” to push ads into your timeline.
• Casie first heard about Twitter’s display name expansion from Social Media Strategist @AnthonyQuintano.
• St. Baldrick’s – a childhood cancer charity funding the most promising research to help find cures for kids with cancer.

Your Call-to-Action:

 Your call-to-action for this episode is to experiment with the new expanded Twitter display name, great creative, and see what you can come up with. I’d like to see it so send me a tweet @MadalynSklar. I want to hear from you!

Sponsor:

This podcast episode is brought to you by audible - get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial. I recommend Dorie Clark's new book, Entrepreneurial You. She shared lots of great insights!

Shout Out to My Patrons!

I would like to personally thank my patrons who support this podcast. Thank you Alesia, Samantha, ViviMar, Jim, Sinem, Lina, Tomas, Marilyn, Rick, Echo Twelve, Juli, Donna, Emma, Brandi and Kim. Find out how you can support this podcast too.

Ask Me Anything!

I want to answer your questions about Twitter. Leave me a voicemail at MadalynSklar.com/speakpipe and I will pick a few to answer on the show.

Share Your Love For This Podcast:

Want an easy “one-click” way to Share Your Love for this podcast? Go here: www.madalynsklar.com/love to post a tweet.