Twitter is one of the most effective social media tools for small businesses. With a Twitter account, you can blast out 140 characters to millions of other users around the world, it’s no wonder it’s one of the most popular tools for business marketing.
However, one of the most challenging aspects of using Twitter is catching your audiences attention in just 140 characters, especially if you want to include a link in your Tweet. This is where the Twitter Card comes in.
What is a Twitter Card?
A Twitter card lets you take your tweets beyond just basic text that gets lost on the newsfeed – they enable your business to create a media-rich experience for website visitors that tweet your content. Twitter cards allow people to view videos, pictures, and product information, without leaving the twitter feed. Instead of clicking a link, all of the information and content is displayed in the tweet. Not only do they increase visual interest through the use of images, you can also include product info, videos, bylines and Twitter handles.
A Twitter card allows small businesses to set themselves apart from the rest of the small businesses on Twitter, increasing the likelihood that your customers will click on your tweets or profile and re-tweet your posts, resulting in an increased reach.
Whether you’re launching a competition, a new product or just want to drive more people to your site a Twitter Card is the perfect choice. Adding an engaging image to your tweets will not only make your tweet stand out but it will also drive traffic to your website.
A Twitter Card can be used for:
– Sharing blogs
– Showcasing a new product
– Promoting a competition
– Generating leads
– Sharing a video
There are eight different types of Twitter card, but as a small business looking to use Twitter Cards to drive traffic to your website, you will only need to focus on two of the cards:
The Summary card
The Summary Card does exactly what you might expect, it summarises the linked content on to Twitter itself so users get more information before clicking through to the link. You know how Facebook lets you share a link with a short summary beside it the Summary Card is pretty much the same. It allows you to share the summary, but there is a difference, a very important difference, this feature enables users to customise the content description that appears in the summary before it’s posted, unlike Facebook which just takes the first few sentences of the blog.
The Large Summary card
If you love the idea of including a Summary Card on your Twitter feed, but you want to make more of an impact and grab the attention of your followers, then a large photo might be the best option. The Summary Card with large image works exactly the same way as the summary card, however yo have the option to insert a larger image – this is a brilliant way to grab attention.
There is less room for an in-depth summary if you choose this card over the regular summary card, but if the image you’re sharing is engaging or if it’s part of an infographic, it’s a fantastic marketing tool.
How will a Twitter Card benefit my business?
Twitter cards allow you to publish more information than basic tweets allow, so they’re more powerful for getting your message across to your audience and increasing visibility. If you’re a small business Twitter Cards make for a clearer and more appealing call to action. A customised card, with branding and on-point messaging will allow users to get more information that a regular 140 character Tweet would. Twitter cards are also great for including videos, images, summaries, bylines or Twitter handles, small businesses will benefit by being able to include more information into a single tweet. It’s marketing tool that small businesses can’t afford to ignore.
If you think Twitter Cards would improve your Twitter presence and would like to get started, contact one of the team at 123 Ranking. Our team of experts can talk you through our set up and management fees.
If you’re interested in using Twitter Cards but want to know more about them make sure you regularly check our blogs. Next time we’ll be looking at the top 10 ways to use Twitter Cards to promote your business.
