1. M80 on Twitter
Introduction
Brand Pages
December 9, 2011
Twitter announced the launch of Brand Pages today, giving brands the
opportunity to provide a richer user experience on the micro blogging
platform. Part of a much larger redesign, this is the first time Twitter has
provided tools specifically for brands. The new features give brands more
control over the way they present themselves in social media, however, the
impact these changes will have on consumer interaction with brands on
Twitter are not certain.
Should you wish to discuss these or any other social media topics, please
feel free to reach out to us via Twitter (@m80im).
Overview
Three changes are reflected in the Brand Page layout - each improving the
way brands present themselves. The new features are currently free for
brands to implement. These changes are Twitter’s first steps in designing a
brand page experience, and are important moves to draw new advertisers
and publishers into establishing and maintaining accounts.
The redesigned Disney-Pixar brand page and the page in its current form.
• Design elements. As shown in the Disney-Pixar example above, a brand-
controlled banner will be presented under the page’s masthead, giving
designers a larger canvas to work with. Beneath that, the visual
organization has been flipped – placing Tweets at right, with the Twitter
text entry field, various counts of followers, “followings,” lists, and photos.
• Arranging Filtering Tweets. Brands will now be able to “feature” a selected
Tweet to remain at the top of their profile while having the option to filter
out @replies and Retweets.
• Displaying Media In-line. The linked photos and videos brands include in
their Tweets will now be automatically displayed on their page.
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2. M80 on Twitter What this means for brands on Twitter
Brand Pages
December 9, 2011
Overall, the redesign makes the platform more intuitive and friendlier to
new users. Twitter has given brands the opportunity to put their best foot
forward on their brand pages – working hard to convert visitors into
followers through nicely designed, content rich experiences. By
combining the banner, profile picture and background image, brand
design teams now have the opportunity to make beautiful experiences.
Filtering Tweets is a bit of a mixed blessing – while content creators will
no doubt be happy to show off the photos and videos first, the real
power in Twitter comes from the direct brand/consumer interactions
fostered by the platform.
Macy's page under
the new design,
without the banner
element.
What this means for consumers on Twitter
These changes may have surprisingly little impact for many Twitter
users. According to the 2011 Pew Internet and American Life Project,
54% of Twitter users access the service via mobile devices. Combine
that with an audience primarily accessing Twitter using desktop
applications like Tweetdeck, interfacing with brands through the
“sliding panel” design feature on Twitter.com, viewing tweets through
various api’s and embedded feeds on 3rd party websites, and
connecting to brands through their distributed “Follow” button fewer
users visit brands’ profiles than one might initially expect.
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3. M80 on Twitter
Brand Pages
December 9, 2011
Users can follow Zach Galifianakis directly from his IMDB.com profile
page or from within Tweetdeck.
The changes should drive more users to visit Brand Pages due to the
newly enhanced user experience. Users may, however, just visit these
brand pages without following brands, or be more likely to unfollow
brands. By filtering the content available on the brand’s page, new
followers might get a skewed understanding of what content the brand
brings to its users as they follow, quickly yielding un-follows.
The Bottom Line
Much like tabs on Facebook or custom pages on Google+, Twitter has
given brands a toolkit to better present themselves visually. Brands on
Twitter will no longer just push content to followers, but try to become
a destination. This makes twitter more of a Facebook challenger than it
was before. Where Twitter stands apart, though, is the high use of
effective alternative means to access one’s feeds - yielding fewer visits
to a brands’ official Twitter.com page and exposing fewer users to these
changes.
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