Did you know the major social media networks have changed significantly in the last year? When was the last time you updated your profiles?

It’s important in the eyes of your fans and followers (not to mention your prospects) that you look up-to-date and since you’re putting forth all that effort to foster a community and build your authority in these networks, you might as well take advantage of all they have to offer.

Here are three quick ways that you can breathe new life into your social media profiles:

#1 Add a Twitter Background & Avatar

If you have the default blue background and unhatched egg avatar on your Twitter profile, it’s time to update! Add a custom Twitter background and image that brands your company and sends a powerful message to your prospects.  Standard dimensions should be about 1600 x 1200 px with the left sidebar being 235 x 700 px.

Add your new background by going to Twitter’s settings page and clicking “Design”.

#2 Create an Image-Rich Google+ Profile

Google+ has just about taken over the world so if you’re ignoring this social networking opportunity, now’s a great time to hop on the bandwagon. Their recent redesign has made images the central focus of the user experience with content blocks and an enormous cover photo.

Take advantage by putting your message out there front and center with a branded cover image and make sure it’s super high resolution because it blows up large. Google+’s stream has changed drastically to include large images and video so for a chance to score greater exposure, be sure your images and videos are at least 480 x 270 px.

#3 Add Videos, Images & Docs to Your LinkedIn Profile

This is an awesome way to make yourself stand out. Your “Summary” and “Experience” sections of your profile now sport images, video, and other multimedia including documents.

Just go to “Edit Profile” then click on the little pencil icon in each of these sections. Add some relevant content to really give your profile an added punch.