Twitter is one of the most popular social media companies in the world, with over 217 million active users daily. The platform is best known for enabling easier and faster conversation online and is the go-to for media companies, journalists and news companies to share breaking news and important stories.

Brands are using this platform as a crucial part of their social media strategy and to build a connection with their online audience. To maintain their user experience, Twitter is constantly introducing new updates, and has unveiled a handful of new features this year. We’ve laid out a guide for you to see how Twitter’s 2022 updates can help leverage your brand.

“Notes” — A Way to Post Longer Tweets

In June, Twitter launched its ‘Notes’ option, which is a simple tool for you to add more text to your tweets. This option contains all of the necessary elements to write a blog, including the ability to add an image header, insert links within your text, and a simple way to add in tweets. For a long time, Twitter has been working to implement an in-app blogging platform to cater to users who add screenshots of text or tweet multiple long threads to get their point across.

Once your ‘Notes’ are published, they will appear as a card in Twitter which will link viewers to the full post. The title of your Note has a 100-character limit and the body can be 2,500 words, giving you a lot more room to get your message across. Unlike regular tweets, Notes writers are able to make edits after their Note has been posted. This is done through the ‘Edited’ label which is located at the top of your Note.

Notes will include unique URLs which users can get to outside the Twitter platform, whether or not they’re logged into their Twitter account and even if they don’t have an account. This feature makes Notes a valuable long-term option to create content and promote sharing.

So How Does this Help Your Brand?

Twitter Notes can be a great way to boost engagement with your audience. These long-form blog-like posts can allow your brand to highlight further what you offer on the platform. However, creators may want to redirect users to their personal WordPress blogs and websites, where they can serve ads and gather analytics within a platform they can control. There is definitely demand for longer form Tweets at times, but will writers want to transition to Twitter when they have established a loyal audience through different tools? We believe Notes is a way for users to overcome character restrictions and use Twitter to share long-form content, but only time will tell if writers are willing to make the switch.

Shopify Partnership

During 2021, there were more than 6.5 billion Tweets that mentioned businesses on a global level. Since then, Twitter has announced their new partnership with Shopify, which will allow Shopify merchants to upload products to their Professional Twitter profiles. Merchants will be able to list items that users can tap to be redirected to merchants’ Shopify product page. These shopping features will include a section of products displayed on your business profile that will also be updated with your inventory in real time.

The Shop Spotlight section is a space where you can display your products dedicated to the top of your business profile. When customers are ready to make a purchase, they can checkout through the merchant’s website. Users can easily tap through the listed products to find out more and seamlessly make a purchase without ever having to leave the Twitter app.

So How Does This Help Your Brand?

This Shopify partnership is a critical step in helping discover new opportunities to reach potential customers on Twitter during the exact moment of discovery, consideration, and inspiration. It is a quick and easy way to use the platform to drive shoppers to a purchase. We’re excited to see how this partnership unfolds and reinforces the Twitter Shopping ecosystem.

Custom Algorithm Control

Understanding how the Twitter algorithm works is key for any social media marketer. It can set you apart from the crowd, and ensure your content is seen by the correct audience. Users can now switch between two different timelines: Latest Tweets or Home.

Latest tweets show a chronologically ordered timeline of Tweets from users you follow. Home shows the “Top Tweets” based on what the algorithm thinks you would like to see. To switch between these two options, simply tap the star symbol at the top right corner of your screen.

So How Does This Help Your Brand?

The ability to control how users view their feed allows them to be in control of what tweets they are seeing and can allow for more visibility to your Twitter account based on a user’s personal preference.

Pin Tweets Within Communities

Twitter has added an option to pin tweets within communities to spark more engagement within groups. This feature allows admins in the community to pin certain tweets at the top of the groups timeline. This feature serves as a sort of conversation starter or a virtual sticky note. Some tweets deserve to be in the spotlight. This was a highly requested feature that will soon expand the way communities are able to engage with one another.

So How Does This Help Your Brand?

Brands within certain Twitter communities can boost awareness of their products or share certain news through this feature. The platform is all about users having the ability to chime in freely on topics, and with anyone. If there is something specific you’d like your followers to be aware of in a certain community, you can now put a pin on it. 

Crisis Misinformation Policy

People all around the world use Twitter to locate reliable information at a real-time pace. During crisis situations, like natural disasters, public health emergencies, and armed conflict situations, access to authoritative and credible resources are essential.

Twitter’s new global crisis misinformation policy will help ensure that viral misinformation isn’t recommended or amplified during a period of crisis. Misleading information can cause additional harm to communities that are vulnerable and can also undermine public trust. This new approach by the platform will help slow the spread of the most misleading content which could lead to immediate harm. Users will be required to tap through the warning in order to see the Tweet, and the content will be flagged to not be recommended or amplified across the platform.

Tweets that are posted with content that violates the crisis misinformation policy will be covered by a warning banner which looks like this:

So How Does This Help Your Brand?

Not recommending or amplifying these false statements will be an effective way to prevent harm and preserve speech during global crises. It will keep your community of users informed with real and honest information.

Whether you work for a company or have Twitter for personal use, we hope this article helped clarify some of the new ways you can deliver higher value from your Twitter Community. For branded communities, these updates can be a valuable way to create awareness of new campaigns, initiatives and products. The updates can also allow you to develop a more personal relationship with your consumers.