Shawn ManaherAll Aflutter with the New Twitter Features
For anyone that uses Twitter for business, it helps to stay up to date on all of the latest changes happening with the site. Recently, Twitter has made a number of extremely useful upgrades to their system that will allow you to get even more out of your social media exchanges with your followers. Being aware of these updates is the first step in being able to take full advantage of their ease of use.
Automatic Url Shortening
Many Twitter users in the past have had to resort to third party url shorteners like Bit.ly to shorten the length of the links that they tweet to their network. One of the recent upgrades made to the system is that there is now a shortener built right into the system that automatically shortens any link of more than 20 characters to Twitter’s T.co shortened url. No longer do you have to rely on a third party url shortener to get your message out to your followers.
Integration of Mentions and Retweets
Another handy upgrade that frequent Twitter users will enjoy is the integration of @mentions and retweets into a single @username tab. No longer will you have to toggle in between the retweet tab and the @mentions tab to find out who is retweeting your tweets or mentioning you in their timeline. This handy new addition to the system will also advise you of any new followers as well as advising you when someone favorites a post that you have tweeted. It is unclear yet if this upgrade will be part and parcel of the entire Twitter system or only on select accounts.
Share Images Directly from Twitter
Image Sharing with New Twitter Features
One of the most popular recent changes to the site is the implementation of image sharing without the assistance of a third party image sharing site like Twitpic. There is now a tiny camera icon built right into the window where you create your tweets. Simply click on the camera icon to upload your image of choice for your followers. While this upgrade may not have thrilled the third party image sharing sites, it is a real plus for most Twitter users.
Tweet “To” Option From Profile Pages
This useful new tool will allow you to instantly tweet directly to a Twitter user from their profile page rather than having to return to the home page. Simply click on the “tweet to” button while you are on a user’s profile page and your post will be tweeted directly to them.
Activity Tabs
The newly created activity tab will display retweets, favorites, and the follow activities of the people that you follow on Twitter. As a way of helping you to discover other interesting Twitter users to follow, the activity tab is expected to be a great addition to the site once it is rolled out to all accounts. The initial roll out reported to be only to select accounts and not system wide, but as with most social media site upgrades the popularity factor will definitely influence its full integration.
For the creators of Twitter, the focus has always been to create as enriching an experience as possible for their users. This recent blitz of upgrades goes a long way towards doing just that. The best way for you to get the most out of your Twitter time is to experiment with the many new features to see which options can best be utilized to help you grow your business. From tweeting images of your latest product release or ebook to tweeting links from like-minded individuals and companies you have discovered from your Activity tab, the opportunities to build your brand via Twitter will have you feeling like a kid in a candy store.