4 Twitter Features You Should Be Using

Like other popular social networks, Twitter is always changing, adding, and removing features. Knowing what the latest ones do - as well as the ones that have been around for a while - helps you better determine which ones could work to help you achieve your business goals.

Here are four features to incorporate into your social media marketing mix if your focus is Twitter along with ways to use them

1. Post Threaded Tweets

Twitter offers a few interactive features that have been around for a while like Twitter Polls. Another feature that can attract more attention are threaded tweets. Threaded tweets are created on the mobile version of Twitter by clicking the button with the plus sign under the Tweet field.

With threaded tweets, you can tweet longer-form messages, breaking them apart into sections that each fit into the standard length of 280 characters. You can string together up to about 25 tweets in a single thread. You can also add a thread of tweets to a tweet you’ve already posted, an expanded version of commenting on your own tweet.

Use threaded tweets when you’re looking to provide more extensive information or to tell a story. Keep in mind each connected tweet might appear on its own in someone’s news feed so make a notation that it is part of a thread by using ellipses at the end of each segment or adding the number of tweets in the thread. For example, if there are five threaded tweets, put 1 of 5 for the first, 2 of 5 for the second, and so on.

2. Set up Twitter for Professionals

Twitter now offers a more business-oriented designation to Twitter accounts. A Professional Profile lets you display brand and business information on your profile including a category such as Business, Non-Profit, Publisher, or Creator.

Depending on the category you pick, you might also gain access to Professional Profile Modules. Modules include an About module, a Shop module and a Newsletter module. In order to use the Newsletter module, you need to connect your Twitter Professional Profile to the Revue app which can be done as you switch over your profile. Revue is an app that helps you publish digital newsletters with the ability to monetize them as an option.

Choosing to switch to a Professional Profile will give you access to more business-oriented features that could enhance advertising and metrics on the platform. The most direct way to switch to a Professional Profile is through the mobile app by going to your profile settings and scrolling down to "Switch to Professional." Click that option then following the prompts.

3. Start a newsletter at Twitter

Twitter recently acquired Revue, an app that provides a digital newsletter service.Revue gives you the tools to compose and schedule newsletters that are published through your Twitter Professional Profile. Your Twitter followers can easily subscribe to your newsletter through your Twitter page. You can also import email lists into Revue to add to your subscriber base.

The app comes with analytics so you can track how many people view and engage with your content. Revue also allows you to charge a subscription fee for your newsletters. Newsletters can be effective to showcase your expertise. Being able to easily charge a fee to subscribers means you can make money as you share your knowledge.

4. Test Out Twitter Spaces

Twitter now offers audio "Spaces" or "rooms" where you can hold live audio conversations with followers similar to the format used by the popular app Clubhouse. You can use these spaces for panels, to interview people, for Q&As to provide customer service, or to give updates or reports on your company, industry trends, and other information.

The Spaces feature is expanding with the ability to record discussions and give access to the recordings, similar to a podcast. There is also Ticketed Spaces, a feature with built-in ecommerce to add ticketing capabilities to audio events. Twitter will keep a percentage of ticket sales and your earning percentage can increase based on hitting certain attendance or revenue milestones.

As you can see, Twitter continues to roll out new features that could be beneficial for your business, particularly in serving your current followers and customers and attracting new ones. If it fits your business model, you may want to also explore the features that allow you to generate revenue directly from your Twitter account. Increasing the bottom line can benefit any business.