How could you possibly promote a brand in 140 characters? That is the question with launching a marketing campaign in Twitter-the microblog site that hates verbiage. Many are blinded with this question, but it's been years since Twitter allowed users to add media contents that can bypass the 140-character limit.
Since the Twitter Cards first rolled out, millions of people have made so many amazing things using this tool. And in online marketing, Twitter proved to be a game changer. Tweets with media contents such as image, GIF and video earn 18% increase in clicks and one and a half (150%) as much retweets.
This essential guide from M2Social will acquaint you better with the details of Twitter Cards and the ways you can use them in your Social Media Marketing campaign
What are Twitter Cards?
Twitter Cards are an extension to the 140-character limit of Twitter posts that enables users to add media contents like images, video or link to a landing page. It is the best way to stand out and attract attention in the vast twitter feed. Hence, it is best used by many brands to drive traffic and improve brand promotion.
6 Types of Twitter Cards
To understand better, here are the 6 types of Twitter Cards and how you can use them.
1. Summary Card
It offers a sneak peek to the content you want to share. Summary cards include the title, brief description and a thumbnail image; an ideal choice for blog posts, news articles and landing pages.
- Title: 70 characters
- Description 200 characters
- Thumbnail image below 1mb
It is important to keep the title short and the description concise.
2. Summary Cards with Large Image Cards
Summary cards are fantastic way to promote large image contents. Using this Twitter Card, you can post a full-width image: minimum of 280 by 150px high. Audience can expand the image to see full view by clicking "view photo".
- Title: 70 characters
- Description 200 characters
- Image: 280 by 150px high
This is a good choice for campaigns that leverage image contents. Note that Photo Cards, as well as Gallery and Product Cards were already retired and subsumed to Summary Cards with Large Image.
3. App Card
This Twitter Card promotes a mobile app when a user mentions the app's twitter profile or when someone tweets a link from the app's website. It displays:
- App title
- 200 character description
- App logo
- Rating and Price.
It is the best way to increase app purchases or installs.
4. Player Card
If you want to share video or audio contents, you should use the Player Twitter Card. It enables users to stream video or listen to an audio without leaving the twitter timeline. It displays:
- 200 character description
- Player: no more than 1mb
- Video: H.264, baseline profile, level 3.0, up to 640x480 pixels at 30fps.
- Audio: AAC, Low Complexity Profile
Take note that this card is subject to the approval of Twitter. Cards that won't work across all devices and twitter platform shall not be approved.
5. Website Cards
For website conversion campaigns, a Website Twitter Card is used. This card directs users to a specific off site URL. Here you can customize the details (title, description and image) to be posted.
Good thing with this card, you can get a preview of your campaign across different devices.
6. Lead Generation Card
It is a standalone Twitter Card that automatically collects leads from users. This card empowers your users to express interest in your business by sharing their information with you without filling out forms. Their name, email, and username are automatically extracted when they click your CTA.
This card displays:
- 50-character Title
- 20-character Call to Action
- 100-character Optional Post-submit message Image: at least 800 x 200px and less than 3MB
How Can Twitter Cards Help in Social Media Marketing?
Implementing Twitter Cards on your Website
1. Pick your Card Type
Depending on your purpose and need, choose from among the listed card types above for your campaign.
2. Implement Twitter Cards
You can implement twitter cards depending on the type of card and the website host. For WordPress users, you can use plugins like WordPress SEO, JetPack or SEO by Yoast.
- For Player Cards, check the approval guide to find out how your card will get live.
- For Lead Generation Card, there are some additional steps to do:
- Log into Twitter.
- Go to Settings and select Twitter Ads.
- Click the Creatives tab and Select Cards.
- Then Create your First Lead Generation Cards.
- Once done with the Setup, Click the Tweets tab and then Compose Tweet on the top right corner.
- Compose your Tweet and click Attach a Card to this Tweet when you're ready.
- Select the Card you want to attach and then publish your tweet.
3. Use Twitter Card Validator
To make sure that the twitter cards you implemented work, use Twitter Card Validator. Just copy and paste the URL of the page with the meta tags you want to check. You will then either see a preview of your twitter card or be directed to some errors you might want to fix.
4. Measure Results
Once they are running, it's time for you to check their performance using Twitter Cards Analytics. The navigations available will depend on the type of Twitter Cards you want to track.
With this essential guide, you can start integrating Twitter Cards into your social media marketing campaign. Earn retweets, improve brand exposure and gather leads with this Twitter ads tool.
What’s your first Twitter Cards? Share us your Twitter ads experience by commenting below!