EcommerceBytes-NewsFlash, Number 3037 - April 05, 2013 
3 of 3
Twitter to Help Deliver Product Information with a Tweet
By David A. Utter
Although social media staple Twitter hasn't made a significant impact on ecommerce yet, the company hopes to make marketing through the messaging service more appealing for businesses. Twitter will try to do this by expanding upon its rich content feature called Twitter Cards.
Cards have been available since June 2012 on Twitter. Several suggestions on utilizing Cards to greater effect as "expanded tweets" mean sellers who have a following through Twitter have ways to attract the attention of followers.
Twitter announced several new Cards at a recent developer event. These are App, Gallery, and the one that may be of most interest to online sellers, Product. These Product Cards, like the example featuring an Etsy entry, offer sellers the opportunity to deliver more product information via a tweet.
The Product Cards "represent products by showing an image and description, along with two customizable fields that let you display more details like price or ratings," Jason Costa said at Twitter's Developers Blog.
For ecommerce pros, the App and Gallery Cards represent some additional potential for marketing opportunities. Sellers that have an app, like Etsy, can have it linked from their Twitter Card to enable people to easily retrieve and install it.
The Gallery Cards could make for a greater connection to one's content marketing strategy. Content marketing, where sellers market themselves through interesting and authoritative content, could have a variety of images available via a Gallery Card, to show off a line of products or perhaps a series of up-close, intricate product details.
About the author:
David A. Utter is a freelance writer based in Lexington, KY. He has covered technology topics from search to security to online business and has been quoted in places like ZDNet and BusinessWeek. He considers his appearance on NPR's "All Things Considered" with long-time host Robert Siegel a delightful highlight. Send your tips to media@davidautter.com and find him on Twitter @davidautter and on LinkedIn.
You may quote up to 50 words of any article on the condition that you attribute the article to EcommerceBytes.com and either link to the original article or to www.EcommerceBytes.com.
All other use is prohibited.