Lately, I have been extremely impressed with Twitter. I don’t know about you, but to me it seems like they are really upping their game. In the last couple of months, they’ve added a bunch of features to their application that make social media marketing on Twitter have more of an impact and it’s also a lot more fun (hello video and live streaming!). By incorporating some of these new features into your Twitter use, you can keep your marketing strategy on point with the latest trends and add some zing to your social media marketing.
1. Twitter.com Homepage Redesign: Twitter updated its home page on the desktop, making it easier for people to see cool content even when they are not logged in. According to Twitter’s blog, “when you go to the twitter.com homepage, you’ll find interesting topics to explore like Politics, Pop Artists and even Cute Animals. Click on the topic and you’ll see a timeline of Tweets from some of the most popular accounts in that topic. It’s rich real-time content, just like the Twitter experience for users who log in.” For those times when you just don’t know what to share on Twitter, or for when you want to throw in some fun stuff, consider checking out the Twitter homepage for awesome content discovery.
2. Twitter Direct Messages Update: It used to be on Twitter that you could only DM someone who was following you, but Twitter just changed that. Now, you can DM anyone and receive DMs from anyone. (Of course, users have to “opt-in” to enable this feature in their Twitter settings.) For marketers and business owners, this is a great way to share exclusive content or offers with our followers, but we must be very judicious with this new feature; we don’t want to come off as spammy and risk losing the follower(s).
3. Twitter Trends: Another useful update for content discovery is the Twitter Trendsrefresh. Trends will now appear under the “Search” page and the “Discover” and “Activity” tabs will be retired. With this update, not only will you see trending content, but also helpful descriptions about the trend. Twitter explains, “Since trends tend to be abbreviations without context, like #NYFW, a description will make it clear that this trend is about New York Fashion Week. The new trends experience may also include how many Tweets have been sent and whether a topic is trending up or down.”
4. Retweets with Comments: We know it’s an important part of Twitter etiquette for marketers to share other people’s content…because it can’t be all about you or your business (although you are fabulous!). This is where the Retweet comes in. As part of a recent Twitter update, you can now use the “Quote Tweet” option to add your own comments to the original tweet. And…since marketing is highly visual these days, it’s a bonus that the Quote Tweet feature will pull in any rich media that was a part of the original tweet. Don’t forget that followers are drawn to tweets with images and are more likely to share these tweets; so be sure to use image and media with your tweets regularly.
5. Live Streaming with Periscope: Last week we wrote a blog post about the big splash live-streaming videos are making in the Twitter marketing world, especially with Periscope, and how marketers and business owners can incorporate video into their social media efforts. If you’re interested in jumping on the live video content bandwagon, be sure to check it out.
6. Native Twitter Videos: As I mentioned, visual content, especially video content, is very impactful in social media. A little while ago, Twitter rolled the ability to record and share videos right within the mobile app. This is another easy (and free!) way to start adding video content to your content creation. To learn more about it, check out our Twitter video post.
7. Quick Promote: One feature that is out is Twitter’s new “Quick Promote” feature that will allow business owners and marketers to promote a tweet that is already performing well in order to help that tweet reach a broader audience. Best of all, this action can take place right within your Twitter profile; no need to log in to Twitter analytics in order to set up the ad. Keep your eyes peeled for this option and leverage it in order to get your best tweets in front of a bigger audience.
8. New Analytics Homepage: Business owners and marketers are constantly wondering “Am I doing anything right on Twitter?” and the revamped Twitter analytics will help you discover just that. You’ll be able to see:
- how many times you’ve Tweeted
- how many people have seen your Tweets, visited your profile, mentioned your @username or followed your account
- how many times people have shared links to your site (if you use Twitter Cards)
- your top Tweets and followers with the largest network in any given month
Twitter advises, “Use this information to quickly share your best content with a wider audience, engage with your most influential followers, or as a starting point to do a deeper dive into your account performance.” By reviewing your analytics daily, you can look for patterns that point to the best practices for your business’ marketing strategy.
Between improved analytics, new advertising options, and new video content options, Twitter is making the social media landscape more exciting and valuable for business owners and marketers alike. I encourage you to check out one or two features (don’t try and do everything at once) and put them to the test for your business. If you’re seeing some exciting results or that one feature has an edge over another, don’t forget to share your insights. You can leave us a comment here on the blog, or tell us how things are going for you over on our Facebook Page or Twitter profile.
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