3 Ways to Use Twitter Feed Image and Vine Previews For Business Buy 500 Social Media Marketing Tips Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L50HE6 Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007L50HE6 Follow Me: http://www.facebook.com/500socialmediatips/ http://www.pinterest.com/andrewmacarthy http://www.twitter.com/andrewmacarthy http://www.youtube.com/500socialmediatips

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http://andrewmacarthy.co m/andrew-macarthy-so cial-media/ho w-to -use-twitter-feed-images-fo r-marketing
Andrew Macarthy
In late October, 2013, Twitter rolled out an update to its desktop site and mobile apps that changes how
images (
specif ically those that are uploaded to the site directly) and Vine videos are displayed to users in their
f eeds. Let's take a look at the changes in detail and how you can use them f or marketing purposes.

2. In the past, images and Vine videos posted to Twitter would appear as a link in a tweet, and be completely
hidden. To see the image or video, a user had to click on a link and the photo or video would unveil itself
within the f eed, as shown above.

3. Following the update, a portion of the uploaded image or Vine video is visible in the f eed. Users can either
click on the media to see it in a pop-up window, or click the Expand link, upon which the f ull image or video
will be unveiled, as above.
T his new way of displaying images on Twitter makes the social network more visual than ever bef ore, and
also opens up new ways f or brands to highlight their wares. Here are three approaches you can take:
Promote events and sales

4. img: Kris Krug
Use the portion of the Twitter image that displays to promote a product or event. Nice and simple.
Reveal an of f er

5. img: Lali Masriera
For a bit more mystery and excitement, create an image f or Twitter that can only be revealed if a user clicks
or expands your photo.
Give Vine videos a cover photo

6. When a Vine video is posted to Twitter, the recording's f irst f rame becomes the preview that users see in
the f eed. To compel more people to click on it and watch, plan your shoot so that the f irst recorded f rame
is what you want the cover photo to be, whether it's simply the title of your video as above, or a still shot
of the drama within.
Twitter f eed image positioning
T he way that Twitter's image and Vine video previews are displayed in the f eed means that you will have to
plan ahead if you want your message to show exactly as you want, without it being cropped and hidden.

7. When you upload a still image as a square - I recommend this as it is the shape most commonly used on
many social networks - the centre third of the image is what will appear in the preview window on Twitter,
while the remaining top and bottom portions are revealed when the image is expanded. T heref ore, aim to
keep your most important message in the middle block of space.

8. Vine videos act a little dif f erently. When posted and viewed on desktops, the top half of the f irst f rame of
the video shows in the preview window, and the bottom half is revealed when the media is expanded. On
mobiles, Vine videos act likes images - the centre third of the preview image is shown.
Conclusion and template
I hope this post has given you some inspiration f or how you might take advantage of Twitter's new
previews f or images and Vine videos. If you are interested in making the job super easy, you can grab the
template I have created f or designing Twitter images with messages that f it perf ectly within the preview
window (along with numerous others) over on my Social Media Templates page.
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