Last summer, Twitter came out with a feature called Twitter Cards. The feature is used by brands like Priceline, Angry Birds, and Foursquare, and is proving to have remarkable potential for marketers and developers. But, what exactly is a Twitter Card?
Twitter Cards allow you to take your tweets beyond just basic text. They are powered by meta tags that are added to your website, which Twitter then extracts and stores in the cache. Twitter Cards make it possible to add visual interest through images, product information, videos, and more. You have 8 types of Twitter Cards to choose from depending on what you would like to show your audience at that given time. But the best part of this feature is that it is 100 percent free.
There are just four steps to implement your Twitter Cards:
- Choose the type of card you would like to use: Is your business showing off a newly posted blog? Are you promoting a new product? Or do you want to show your audience the fun you’re having at the office today? Once you decide what your goal is for a specific page on your website, you will be able to choose the best suited card.
- Add meta tags to your page: If you aren’t a developer, things may get a little tricky with this step. Luckily, Twitter has outlined a list of tag references you’ll need for this step. All you’ll need to do is add the specified tags to the section of your website.
- Get verified: After you’ve added the tags to your website, Twitter will then verify your website to make sure that you have a credible site. Twitter has a handy validation tool that will allow you to create a preview of what your card will look like once you are completely verified.
- Test out your card: Once Twitter validates you, you are clear to try out your card. Tweet your URL and your card will appear below your tweet.
Added Bonus
A fun fact about Twitter Cards is that they come with their own set of analytics data. This makes it possible for you to measure your results over time via URL clicks, impressions, and overall activity. Twitter Card analytics also shows you which cards drove the most clicks, allowing you to measure the results from different types of cards that you’ve implemented.
Now that you understand what Twitter Cards can do for your business from a marketing standpoint, you’re ready to showcase your new knowledge in an attention-grabbing way. Get started!