Twitter will join Facebook and Google in offering brand pages that allow advertisers to get more of a handle on the content their followers see and how that content is displayed in an effort to broaden the microblogging site’s appeal, the company said Dec. 8.
Twitter launched the profile pages exclusively with 21 select advertising partners, charities and individuals, among them AmericanExpress, BestBuy, Bing, Chevrolet and CocaCola.
The brand pages, which Wired blog Epicenter said are part of a larger redesign of the entire site and its user interface, will be rolled out globally over the coming weeks on the Web and Twitter’s mobile apps. Twitter CEO Dick Costolo told reporters at a news conference on Dec. 8 that the goal of the redesign is to “provide the simplest and fastest way for people around the world to connect with everything,” according to the The Wall Street Journal.
To accomplish this goal, Twitter users will see a left-aligned navigation bar and a new layout that includes more content within tweets, according to the blog All Things Digital.
The brand pages will let companies utilizing Twitter for social media marketing upload larger profile photos to make sure followers can easily view full logos, said online news site Brafton News. Advertisers will also be able to make certain tweets sticky by promoting desired tweets to the top of their pages. When users scroll over an image or video, it will automatically enlarge, allowing for a more user-friendly experience.
According to Wired, this is all in an effort to convince advertisers that Twitter, which has struggled to monetize itself, is a viable option for promoting their products and services.
Mashable reported that Twitter has considered launching brand pages since April.
Twitter did not immediately return requests for comment.
