The Tweets they are a Changin'

At yesterday's developer conference, Twitter announced four key changes that will be coming to users' feeds over the next several months. All four of these enhancement will have significant impact for social media marketers, so let's take a look:

1. Making private messaging easier. Although details on how this will function are vague, the change is taking place next week. For brands that do heavy customer service on Twitter, this may be a good thing - exchange of customer data - like membership numbers - has been awkward using the current direct messaging system. Customer service teams should start prepping for changes in their processes now.

2. Native video. While more sophisticated marketers are already taking advantage of Twitter's video cards, or linking to brand site or YouTube video, adding native video will remove a step in the process. It may also signal a new proliferation of video content from consumers - content that isn't fully readable by most social listening tools. With video being one of the most engagement-driving tools in social, marketers should be ready to step up their game, while keeping an eye on user-generated video that impacts their brands.

3. Timeline Catch-Up. OK, I made up that name, but the idea is that Twitter will further curate your feed to highlight tweets you may have missed while away from the app. As Kevin Weil, Twitter's V.P. of Product, explained, they'll "use information like who you follow and what you engage with to surface highlights of what you missed and show those to you as soon as you log back in or come back to the app." Will marketers be able promote content into the "surfaced highlights?" My guess is yes.

4. Newbie Timeline Generation - Again, my term. Facing slower growth in its user base, Twitter will make it easier for new users to get started, by pre-populating a timeline based on interests. For veteran users, this may seem almost like cheating, but take it from someone who spends a lot of time helping people get started on the platform - this is a huge hurdle that frustrates new folks. By giving them a head start, new users will more quickly see the benefits (and fun!) of the platform, and will be more likely to stick around. Again, for marketers, the question will be - how do I get my brand into those newbie timelines? Don't be surprised if the answer is in your wallet.

What do you think the impact of these changes will be? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Image Copyright Marisa Allegra Williams (@marisa) for Twitter, Inc.