Maybe you don’t get Twitter. Maybe you’re a total Twitter pro. Either way, Twitter’s new user interface will help you get your message across and connect to other users more easily than ever before. With a new look that rivals Facebook’s, Twitter has revamped their interface, action commands and even their on site Tweet post icon with the hope of making the network more fun, inspiring longer visits and creating a more hospitable interface for business class users. Larger header images for business pages, new tweet tools and updated posting capabilities facilitate embedded web, photo and video content and strong follower interactions. Take advantage of Twitter’s changes to put your best foot forward with a comprehensive social media strategy reanalysis.
new and improved
The new Twitter interface greets users immediately upon visiting the homepage. Currently only available on certain mobile devices, the new Twitter will soon become the only Twitter. The updated version of the conversation engine features Facebook-esque action tabs, each facilitating a different Tweet action and a new advantage for your organization’s evolving social media:
- Home – Now, images and videos are embedded content on Twitter. The old design displayed big visuals like this out to the side of the tweet interface in a rougher format. Now, users can see tweets from those they follow in one large, clear stream. The new layout also includes side areas that highlight popular trends, basic twitter info, Who To Follow suggestions and a tweet posting window. So what’s the big benefit this offers to your business? By streamlining the user experience, Twitter developers have made your content more visible, calling greater attention to your posted visuals in Tweet streams. Plan for your content to include photos and video whenever possible to pop out in Tweet streams ahead of regular user status’ and competitors’ more static messages.
- Connect – A new, sleak way to keep track of who’s connecting with your Twitterverse, the targeted Connect feed shows the individual user’s @ mentions, retweeted tweets and favorite-ed tweets. This is a great tool not only for average users, but even more particularly, for your organization’s social media brand manager. In the old days (i.e. a month ago) social media directors and staff had to sift through a myriad of different content to track all company name mentions and retweets. While this information was accessible, it was also scattered amongst hosts of other messaging, hash tags and linked content. The Connect interface pulls all your brands mentions and interactions together, facilitating social media content tracking for your organization’s interaction analytics.
- Discover – Using appropriate hashtags is more important than ever. The new Twitter Discover tab expands the power of the hashtag. The new tab brings content straight to users based on the hashtags they use most often. These recommendations pull tweet from tags a user may always use or from related tags that they have never thought to search before. Think it as an online shopping guide’s recommendation feature: “Shoppers who purchased this also viewed this.” The content in the Discover tab’s stream has also been programmed to match the user’s current location, adding a Foursquare-esque benefit to the feature. Discover provides users with the ability to discover unknown Twitter followings, receive recommendations on who to follow and explore a variety of particular interest topics. Use tags thoughtfully and you will gain followers with a genuine interest in what your brand has to say or offer.
- Me – The Me tab shows the user’s full Twitter profile information, with tabs to direct message other users or view their own specific tweeted commentary. This very specific direct message feature may assist your organization’s top thought leaders from making the occasional embarrassing over-share by mixing up Twitter’s public tweet and private direct message options. Although never fool proof, any measure to define the visibility differences of these two features proves a valuable crisis prevention feature for any public business venture.
more interactions, more money?
While the rules of content and conversation etiquette should still apply to your organization’s Twitter policy, the new Twitter has upped the ante for businesses, pushing the ease of potential engagement. The new and inviting format and functionality gives users new tools with which to play and explore the Twitterverse and with which to discover and develop loyalties to your brand. The beauty of the new Twitter is more than skin deep – in addition to the layout change, Twitter has introduced the notion of “sticky” tweets, an idea mirroring Facebook’s Top versus Recent posts feature.
These changes herald right now as the perfect time to re-evaluate your business’ presence on Twitter and across all relating social media channels. Does your Twitter page look match your Twitter social media voice and corporate brand? Does your content engage and inform or does it inexpertly advertise and sell? Do you have the staff, knowledge and training necessary to glean the greatest benefit from all available social networking avenues? Reach out to a social media expert to evaluate your page look, content and progress and revamp for a better, brighter and more social future.
Twitter’s evolving. So should you.