Twitter Cards aren’t for sending kind words on special occasions – they’re effective marketing tools!
Twitter Cards allow you to go beyond the basic text of a 140-character tweet and create a more media-rich experience. By adding a few lines of code to your website, you can easily incorporate images, videos, product info, etc in your tweets. To a marketer, these Cards are an exciting option because they help content stand out amongst the clutter of Twitter feeds. This increases the likelihood customers will notice, and consequently, retweet and click posts. With increased engagement, you’ll also see an increase in website traffic!
So, let’s get started.
When creating a Twitter Card, there is a variety of styles to choose from.
For Driving Engagement
- Gallery Card (four images)
- Photo Card (one photo)
- Summary Card (title, description, thumbnail, & Twitter account attribution)
- App Card (explains mobile app, has direct download)
- Player Card (provides video, audio, or media)
- Product Card (optimized for product info)
For Driving Action
- Lead Generation Card (drive leads for product/service)
- Website Card (feature on your website to drive click through traffic)
Here’s more detail about each type so you can understand their purpose, how to install them, and their analytics options.
Gallery Card
If you want to share multiple photos with your Twitter followers, the Gallery Card is the way to go. The Gallery Twitter Card lets you choose up to four photos to display in a grid. This Card design tells users there is a gallery of related images behind the URL as opposed to just a single image. The Gallery Card also includes a logo that links to the main Twitter handle, the gallery owner’s Twitter handle, and two links to the gallery both from the title and the “View on Web” link.
– Embedded Gallery Card: only shows one of four images
Photo Card
If your business or website features photography or art, the Photo Card is the smart choice. This Card features an image, title, description, and handle.
– Embedded Photo Card: Only shows the photo above the original tweet text
Summary Card
Have a blog or informational page? Your company needs the Summary Card. With this Card, you can include a title, a thumbnail image, a description, and Twitter handle attributions. If you choose the Summary Card with a Large Image, the thumbnail image will be replaced with just that, a larger image.
App Card
Do you have an app? Do you sell apps? Well then, you’re going to fall in love with Twitter’s App Card.
The App Card will know whether a user is viewing the tweet on their phone or on their desktop. If users view it on their phone, it will direct them to the app store (as seen in the image below) for instant download. If they view it on their desktop, they will be prompted to view on the Web.
Player Card
If your business uses audio or video, use the Player Card to tweet out your media! This Card allows you to put audio or video in your tweets so users can play them on Twitter and in embedded tweets.
Display your product demos, customer videos, fun clips, podcast, or music. With the Player Card, your video is bound to capture your customers’ attention!
Product Card
Use the Product Card to easily grab people’s interest and increase your sales. With the Product Card, you can include a title, description, thumbnail image, price, location, availability, and Twitter handle attribution.
Lead Generation Card
What marketer doesn’t want higher quality leads? With the Lead Generation Card, users can click a button and instantly share the email address connected to their Twitter account with you.
If you have a blog you want more users to subscribe to, more information about a product you want people to know, an Ebook you’re offering, or a club you want people to join, Twitter Lead Generation Cards are a great option. People will easily find you and give you their information with a single click, effortlessly converting them to leads without leaving their Twitter feed.
Website Card
Want to drive more traffic to your website? Use the Website Card to draw people to your website with a preview image, related context, and a clear call-to-action.
With Website Cards, you’ll see a significant decrease in cost-per-click compared to campaigns that include an image and a URL to drive traffic. Use Twitter’s targeting options and the Website Card to drive qualified traffic and measure where they are in the funnel based on their activity.
Installing Engagement Cards
<meta name="twitter:card" content="gallery"> to the head section of your page.You should also consider adding website and creator attribution. With website attribution, you can indicate the Twitter account for the website where the content was published. Creator attribution indicates the person that created the content on your Card. It’s also important to use a title, description, and a list of images with the correct URLs.
Each Twitter Card is a little different when it comes to coding. For example, to create an App card, you need to add code just like the other Cards but you also need to add your application ID. Player Cards differ because they are more customizable so you need to make sure that they render across all different platforms such as mobile and desktop. You’ll need to make slight changes for each platform and then test it to double check everything is running smoothly.
For a full list of Twitter Card metadata, check out the developer page for each Card:
Afterwards, validate each Card’s metadata with the Twitter Card Validator to make sure everything is good to go and verified! The wait time is different depending on which Card you select but there is no official timeline. Just be sure to allot some extra time for validation, especially for Player and Product Cards which usually take a little longer than others.
Installing Action Cards
To install Lead Generation Cards and Website Cards you wont need to add any code to your website. Just go to ads.twitter.com, click Creatives>Cards, choose a Card, and fill out the form to create! Once you’re done, you’ll be given a custom link to add to your tweets.
Analytics Options
To track your Twitter Cards, go to your Twitter Analytics dashboard and click Twitter Cards. This tool will help you keep track of overall tweets, Twitter Card clicks, and the number of impressions. This tool will also help you see which Twitter Cards drive the most traffic and engagement, which tweets had the most clicks, and which apps people are using to see them.
Interested in who’s tweeting your Card-enabled links? The Twitter Card dashboard lists the most influential users tweeting your content. However, this feature is limited. If you want to effectively identify influential consumers who already engage their friends around topics relevant to your brand, and activate them to deliver powerful branded content on Facebook and Twitter, check out our influencer-powered earned media campaigns!
The Wrap-Up
Twitter Cards are a great way to effectively increase engagement, leads, website traffic, and sales. They’re easy to create and grab the attention of potential customers scrolling through their Twitter feeds. Don’t miss out on potential business – decide which Cards work best for you and include them in your tweets!
Looking to further improve your influencer marketing? Check out the results of a Splashscore campaign!
