#NewNewTwitter: A New Opportunity for Marketers

Twitter announced a new interface, rolling out over the next few weeks, this morning. You can preview the interface and the new features at fly.twitter.com.

Compared to this change, the previous change to New Twitter (the current interface) was minor. This is a major change and for marketers, it is a far more interesting change. New brand pages give marketers a new home, but the changes to everyone’s stream is where the real opportunities are.

As a marketer, and particularly if you are a B2B marketer or focused on a niche market, here is why I believe you should care about the #NewNewTwitter (as it is being called today on Twitter) individuals are using:

1. Discover. Discover. Discover.

The integration of the Discover tab is a huge change for marketers. Individuals and marketers can be “discovered” now through their updates or the content they are sharing on a topic.

2. Media Integration

The integration of images has been significantly improved and video has been added. Small “View Image” and video links with a small icon give tweets that include media additional visual weight in the interface.

Here are things marketers will need to do to quickly take advantage of these changes as they are rolled out.

1. Use Keywords and Hashtags

Discover will make the use of keywords and hashtags more important than ever. Twitter’s “power users” have used search and followed hashtags or keywords, but the new Discover tab makes this a much more integral part of the interface and will increase the use of these features. Historically, content was shared on Twitter to be acted on (retweeted, replied to or clicked). Now, marketers will need to craft tweets for both discover and action.

2. Use Photos and Videos Liberally

The integration of photos and videos effectively allows you to share significantly more information directly on Twitter with a single tweet. Marketers should integrate photo and video sharing if they have not already to take advantage of the additional visual weight these tweets have in the interface and the additional engagement they are likely to drive.

Aside: hopefully this is the end of “This video of you made me laugh” twitter spam tactics, now a “real” video could be attached directly to the tweet!

As a Twitter user, for me this is a primarily a new interface. However, as a marketer, the new interface looks to unlock a number of new opportunities to be discovered, share information and increase engagement. This might be the most important update to Twitter yet for marketers.

Your Turn

What do you think of #NewNewTwitter and what other new opportunities does it present for marketers? Share your view in the comments below or with me on the new Twitter (@wittlake).

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