3 New Twitter Updates Marketers Should Know

Twitter attracts hundreds of millions of unique users every month, positioning itself as the premier site for creating conversations and sharing information. From a marketing standpoint – where the ultimate goal is to get people talking about your brand – Twitter is an invaluable tool.

But changes are on the horizon.

Twitter recently took more than 140 characters to outline three big new changes to the site, and here at PBJ Marketing we think the changes will speak volumes for marketing professionals everywhere.

1. Longer Direct MessagesThe first big change starting in July will expand the character limit of Direct Messages from 140 characters to 10,000 characters. Twitter outlined what this means and how you can prepare for API changes in their official announcement. Marketing professionals feel brands could see an increase in customer outreach once the limit is ultimately removed.2. Autoplay MediaUntil now, Twitter users scrolling through their home page had to stop and press play on posted videos. This is no longer the case, and marketers can expect to see a spike in their video viewership. Facebook implemented a similar change last year, and daily views jumped from 3 billion to 4 billion hits. Facebook later disclosed that a “view” is recorded if a user allows any video to play for more than three seconds.3. Shopping CollectionsTwitter already serves as a valuable tool for consumers to research and discuss products before swiping their credit cards. To legitimize itself as a major eCommerce player, last year Twitter introduced the “Buy Now” button. Now, to further establishes itself among shoppers, Twitter will roll out “Shopping Collections,” which gives brands a landing page extension of their news feed that in turn redirects shoppers back to the website’s shopping cart.