If you’ve been using Twitter to market your business, you’ve probably noticed that tweets which can’t be longer than 280 characters have a very short life span. The character limitation and the short life span of a tweet can make it quite tricky to get your message out there. This is why using Twitter cards can be very handy.
Twitter cards are tweets which allow you to have more information on them.
There are currently 5 Twitter card types:
- The Twitter website card
- The video website card
- The image app card
- The video app card
- The direct message card
With the 5 Twitter card types, you can either publish the tweet straight to your newsfeed, when you disable the box “promoted-only”, or you can schedule the tweet in advance or you can promote it.
The Twitter Website Card
The Twitter website card allows you to stand out in Twitter’s newsfeed but the main differences between the 4 Twitter card types and standard tweets are that a Twitter card doesn’t display the URL you plan to send traffic to. Instead, people get redirected to the URL if they click on the image, the headline or the display URL. With a standard tweet, people only get redirected if they click on the link in the tweet, and there is no headline and no display URL.
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Plus, you cannot create a Twitter website card if you haven’t uploaded an image whereas with standard tweets, it is not required to include an image.
Ideally, if your image is square, your Twitter card image size should be 800 x 800 pixels, if it’s a landscape type of image, ideally your Twitter card image size should be 800 x 418 pixels.
Twitter website card:
Standard tweet:
The Video Website Card
With the video website card, instead of uploading an image, you upload a video. Your video must either be an MP4 or MOV file. There is no file size limit, but the recommended size is 1GB and you can’t upload GIFs.
Then, just as a standard Twitter website card, add a headline and the URL you want to send people to. You can’t upload a video straight from your computer. Instead, you need to first upload your video onto your Twitter media library.
To access your Twitter media library, go to your Twitter account, then click on your profile picture on the top right hand corner. In the drop down menu, click on “media studio”. This will redirect you to your media library. Or go straight to: https://studio.twitter.com/library
The Image App Card
The third type of Twitter card is the Image app card. This type of card is very effective if you have an app and want to drive app installs. All you need to do is upload an image, just as a Twitter website card, that represents your app.
Ideally, if your image is square, your Twitter card image size should be 800 x 800 pixels, if it’s a landscape type of image, ideally your Twitter card image size should be 800 x 418 pixels.
Then, select among the list of countries, your primary app store territory. In other words, the primary location where your app is available. Then, choose your call to action. You’ll have the choice between install, play, shop, book, connect, order and open.
If it’s an iPhone app, click on the drop down menu and choose the app you want to promote, or if it’s an Android app or an iPad app, click on the drop down menu accordingly and choose your app.
The Video App Card
The fourth type of Twitter card is the video app card. This type of card is very similar to the image app card, as it’s used to promote apps. The only difference is that instead of uploading an image, you upload a video.
Your video must be an MP4 or an MOV file, and can only be 2 minutes and 20 seconds long. You’ll have to upload your video first in your media library before you can use the video app card.
The Direct Message Card
The fifth type of Twitter card is the direct message card. This type of card allows you to have conversations with people who engage with the card by asking questions and responding to answers. You can create up to four customizable calls-to-action, and based on which one they click on, they get redirected to a different message and then the conversation leads to an offer.
For example, should you be a fashion stylist and want to start a conversation with prospects to then lead them to book a styling session with you, your tweet could say: “Do you want to experience a complete makeover and feel a million dollars? If so, pick from the following 4 options which styles you prefer: Sporty, smart casual, work wear, casual.
Then, depending on which option they choose, it leads them to different conversations.
To set up Twitter cards you’ll need a Twitter advertising account. If you already have one, you’ll be able to go straight to your advertising account when you click on the drop down menu after clicking on your profile picture and clicking “Twitter ads”.
If you’d like to take your Twitter marketing to the next level, and significantly increase the results you’re getting from your current Twitter marketing efforts, click here to download my FREE Twitter marketing report. Simply enter your name and email and I’ll instantly send you the report.
If you don’t have an advertising account yet, go to ads.twitter.com and create a Twitter ads account. You will need to provide your credit card details. Then click on “creatives” and click on “cards”.
Once you do, click on “create card” and choose which type of Twitter card you want to set up. Once you’ve created your card, you’ll have the option to either publish your card on Twitter or promote it through Twitter ads.
If you choose to simply publish it without advertising your card, find out when your Twitter audience is the most active by using tools such as tweriod.com which tells you when is the best time to tweet for maximum exposure. In other words, when you should publish your tweets to make sure most of your followers actually see it.
When creating Twitter cards, make sure you don’t include hashtags or any usernames in the tweet which accompanies the card, because hashtags and usernames become clickable links and therefore, you decrease the chances of people clicking on your Twitter card’s call-to-action. Instead, they could click on the hashtag or call-to-action.
Lastly, after creating your Twitter cards, remember to track how well they’re performing by going to Twitter’s analytics dashboard. You can access analytics by going to: https://analytics.twitter.com or by clicking on “view tweet activity” below your Twitter card.
If you’d like to take your Twitter marketing to the next level, and significantly increase the results you’re getting from your current Twitter marketing efforts, click here to download my FREE Twitter marketing report. Simply enter your name and email and I’ll instantly send you the report.
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About the Author
Corinna Essa is known internationally as the go-to person when it comes to social media marketing.
Corinna owns a social media marketing company helping businesses around the world leverage the power of social media without doing any of the legwork. Her company has been featured in many media outlets including Sky Business news, Working Women magazine, Ymagazine, Tasmanian Times, Channel 7 and 101fm.
Corinna is also the author of 2 bestselling books “Money On Demand – The 16 Fastest Ways to Becoming a Millionaire Online” and “Reach: The SECRETS to converting your social media audience into your network marketing downline fast”
Thank you!!
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Thank you alot for the good article
Wish u well