Brands try out new multi-picture Twitter feature

By Saya Weissman • April 3, 2014 •

Twitter just got more visual, and brands are wasting no time in taking advantage.

Last Wednesday, Twitter introduced two new mobile features that aim to make the largely text-based platform more visual — and, as a result, more social. Now using the Twitter iPhone or Android app, users can tag up to 10 people in an image in a tweet. An important part of this feature is that tagging people doesn’t affect your character count — tweeters will still have 140 characters to play around with.

The other new feature is the ability include multiple photos in a single tweet. Users can now share up to four photos in a single tweet that automatically arrange themselves in a grid. Users can just tap to get a preview and can then slide through to the full images.

Since last week, many brands from the Gap to Chips Ahoy have already jumped on the multi-photo feature:

Gap

In April, we turn our focus to all things blue as photographed by Koto Bolofo. #LivedinBlues https://t.co/CST3rRkOn0 pic.twitter.com/chk2jtmcEe

— Gap (@Gap) April 2, 2014

“Because images get more real estate in the feed, they increase the chances that a user will see and engage with us,” said Liam Leonard, associate brand manager at Naked Juice (a PepsiCo brand). “We know our users respond enthusiastically to images, and are excited to see that Twitter is moving in a more visual direction with multi-picture tweets.”

Naked Juice’s multi-photo tweet has gotten 812 retweets and 1,944 favorites. By comparison, another recent Naked Juice tweet with just a single image has gotten just 24 retweets and 63 favorites.

Naked Juice

Blend a bottle of your favorite #NakedJuice + fruit + yogurt, and freeze for a refreshing snack. #yum pic.twitter.com/FiEGdrVr7z

— Naked Juice (@nakedjuice) March 27, 2014

When Twitter first shifted its design to be more visual by making single images viewable in tweets last November, many publishers and brands noticed increased engagement thanks to these photo tweets — and in the case of publishers a boost in traffic, too. It seems that the multi-photo feature may have the same effect; however, brands are saying it’s still too early to tell. That’s not stopping them from trying though:

Chips Ahoy

Which one do you want to try first? “All” is a totally acceptable answer. #IceCreamCreations pic.twitter.com/3EobOMs8jM

— Chips Ahoy (@ChipsAhoy) March 28, 2014

Nature’s Recipe

Nurture your #dog with the same quality ingredients you enjoy with our new Pure Essentials recipes! #thrive pic.twitter.com/HpPbsYvcT9

— Nature’s Recipe (@NaturesRecipe) March 28, 2014

“We’ve just started using multi-image tweets and don’t yet have confirmation on engagement performance,” said Lucas Herscovici, vp of digital at Anheuser-Busch, whose Shock Top Brewery subsidiary has tried the multi-photo format.

“Images are a proven tool to help us to drive engagement with our fans and followers,” he added. “But we find our followers react to content that is entertaining and useful – whether that has images or not.”

Shock Top Brewery

You’re closer to the perfect Shock Top pour than you think. Follow these four steps and nail it every single time! pic.twitter.com/C23dqQmHX9

— Shock Top Brewing (@ShockTop) March 28, 2014