Purpose
Twitter announced a new feature, custom timelines. Initially, the feature will be available for Tweetdeck Web, Chrome and PC, with the Mac update to follow.
This move comes at an interesting time because Twitter phased out the mobile and desktop versions of Tweetdeck a few months ago; this may lead users to believe the minds behind Twitter have an ongoing strategy for a mass overhaul of Tweetdeck. There is one thing that cannot be denied; the new feature will enable readers to cut out the noise from their timelines to focus on a specific topic.
Custom Timelines in a Nutshell
The idea is to allow users to curate notable conversations around a specific topic, TV show, sporting event, etc. and share them with followers, on their website, or in a news article.
Similar to Storify, custom timelines will allow users to follow and curate conversations, without being bound to chronological order, and have the ability to embed the timeline. Additionally, all custom timelines will be publicly accessible.
To add tweets to a custom timeline, users drag and drop selected tweets. An API that allows users to create timelines within Twitter is currently in Beta.
The Twitter #Music Superstars timeline is one of the examples the company shared in the announcement.
What Does This Mean for Brands?
According to Nielsen, 43% of consumers are more likely to buy a new product when learning about it on social media, with 59% of consumers saying they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Due to this consumer trend, brands have the opportunity to leverage custom timelines by embedding positive 140-character reviews, and other user-generated content on the brand’s website in a way the brand can control.
For marketers, custom timelines can be leveraged to report on specific initiatives for clients as well as make the case for specific tactics that will help increase brand awareness, or a make the case for Twitter reputation management.
In the end, custom timelines are another tactful move from Twitter to provide users with more features, which decreases the need for 3rd party applications and platforms.
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