If you already follow me on Twitter at @RandyMcKown then you might have noticed I am taking advantage of Twitter Cards technology for this this website. Twitter cards are amazing for bloggers, corporate brands and anyone who is looking seriously at their online presence and how social media plays a role in it. I’m a huge fan of WordPress and use it to power this website. Today I want to share with you an excellent Twitter Cards WordPress Plugin. It’s free to download and it’s the same one I personally use here on the blog.
What Are Twitter Cards?
First, if you don’t know what Twitter Cards are, let me catch you up to speed. Traditionally, when a user tweets a link on Twitter it simply includes a text link to the URL in the tweet. It basically looks like a billion other tweets that we’ve all seen before. It’s rather boring and looks something like this.
Twitter Cards are much better at providing information about the link contained in the tweet. They can be customized with various styles and can include media, such as featured images for the post or even image galleries. By clicking the view summary link on a tweet, Twitter will expand to reveal the Twitter Card. You can see an example below of how one of my links now appears on Twitter.
X-rite Color Challenge – Monitor Calibration – Photographers see how good your eyes are — http://t.co/NG1tNm80oc
— Randy McKown (@RandyMcKown) November 15, 2013
Why Should You Use Twitter Cards?
Do you care about your followers? When I see a traditional tweet, which includes a link, I often have really no idea where that link is going to take me. This is especially true for links that have been modified using a URL shortening service. By providing your followers with Twitter Cards you can make their social media lives easier by giving them detailed information about the links provided in the Twitter Content. This can also help to encourage valued click through traffic because others now know that the link is taking them to related content.
Bloggers Not Using Twitter Cards For #SocialMedia Marketing Are Ka-Razy !!
Click To Tweet – Powered By CoSchedule
JM Twitter Cards WordPress Plugin
This is one of the best Free WordPress Plugins that makes setting up Twitter Cards a breeze. It has a very simple admin interface that honestly does not need explaining. Simply plugin your Twitter info, Twitter Card style preferences and save.
If you are using WordPress SEO by Yoast, you already have Twitter Card potential. However, the SEO plugin does not allow you to customize the cards. It simply uses the standard default style. If you would like to include the large featured image style, for example, then JM Twitter Cards is a better choice. Make sure to turn off the Twitter Card features in the WordPress SEO plugin to avoid conflicts.
In my opinion, this plugin ranks at the top of the list for Must Have WordPress Plugins. For more information or to download the JM Twitter Cards WordPress plugin you can find it here.
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