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Twitter Card Validation: Making Your Posts On X Stand Out

Lisa Sicard
twitter cards

Do you know what a Twitter Card Validation can do for your tweets?  Seeing tweet posts in the stream with images and videos inspired me to learn more about these multi-media cards years ago. After all, they do generate more buzz on the Twitter feed even today. Learn how to use the Twitter card validator and how to set up your Twitter cards in this updated blog post.

Now, an X Twitter Card allows you to attach media experiences to your tweets that link back to your own content. I love the way they look in the new Twitter X stream. Of course, you must have a public account on Twitter X and not a private Twitter account.

What Can A Card Do For You?

Twitter cards make your tweets stand out. They help you get beyond the 280-character point with images, videos, etc. By making your tweets more visible in the stream, you can generate more clicks to your website or blog.

Not only that but you may generate more followers which helps your tweets spread out more on that social network.

Furthermore, these Twitter cards can increase engagement on social networks. People can reply to your video and engage with you right there.

And finally, if you are selling products you may be able to sell more products right from your Twitter feed.

Yoast Plugin for Twitter Cards

As I was considering doing away with my beyond the 280-character many years ago and doing research on these media cards I learned that Yoast was easy to integrate with the Twitter Cards. Yoast is here to stay and it made it so easy!

You will love how the images come out when you see the posts in your Twitter stream. Over the years, Twitter expanded to show the 280-character count, you may remember it used to be 140 characters per tweet.

How Can You Get Your Twitter Cards?

First, you must register via Twitter and they must grant you permission. It took several days for mine to come through. You will receive an email from Twitter whether you have been approved or not.

Then you must follow the instructions on how to code for the Twitter cards which can be quite technical.  You can see the meta tags you would need to add.

These cards can be set up in these 4 easy steps below!

How To Use The Validator

Ready to get started with Cards? Here are the 4 steps below on how to use the Twitter Card Validator from Twitter:

  1. Choose a card type to implement.
  2. Add the correct meta tags to the page.
  3. Run the URL through the Twitter card validator tool to test.
  4. After testing in the validator or approval of your Player Card, Tweet the URL and see the Card appear below your Tweet in the details view.

If everything works correctly, the Twitter card preview will show you how your card will appear in your Twitter feed.

Furthermore, you will see the information on the type of card, the number of meta tags, and a message of the card loading successfully. If not you will receive an error message.

Yoast Made Installing The Cards Easy!

Luckily I have the Yoast SEO plugin and it was super easy. Check off one box and add your Twitter username. That’s it!

Otherwise, you must add special coding to your site. That’s why I did not apply immediately. I knew it would not be simple until I read about Yoast’s easy settings for your cards.

If you are not sure about Yoast you can follow the developer Joost de Valk on Twitter. If I can learn how to use Yoast I think you can too.

However, it’s not the easiest plugin to learn. There are many settings within it.

Different Types of Twitter Cards

Summary Cards

The summary card can be used for many kinds of web content, from blog posts and news articles to products and restaurants.

It is designed to give the reader a preview Twitter card of the content before clicking through to your website. There are not many people or businesses today using this format.

Most users seem to prefer using the large image Twitter card to show off their blog posts and web content.

Large Image Summary Cards

The Twitter summary card with a large image features a large, full-width prominent image alongside a tweet.

This type of card is designed to give the reader a rich photo experience, and clicking on the image brings the user right to your website.

Player Card

Video and audio clips have a special place on the Twitter platform thanks to the Player Card. By implementing a few HTML meta tags to your website and following the Twitter Developer Policy, you can deliver your rich media to Twitter users across the globe.

You can listen to the podcast below right on the Twitter stream with the Player card.

App Card

The App Card is a great way to represent mobile applications on Twitter and to drive installs. Twitter designed the App Card to allow for a name, description, and icon, and also to highlight attributes such as the rating and the price.

However, Twitter auto-creates App Cards for Tweets that contain a link to either the App Store or Google Play. This means that you can create an App Card experience just by sharing links directly to the download page for your own application.

This Twitter card type is currently available on the twitter.com website, as well as on iOS and Android mobile clients. It is not available on the mobile web.

Do you need all of the above cards for your account? No, you can pick and choose which ones are best for you and your business.

More Examples For Posts on Twitter X

A local RE/MAX office uses them for YouTube right in the Twitter stream. I love sharing YouTube on Twitter because you can watch them in the stream. Don’t try this with Facebook because it will not work!

In Conclusion: Using Twitter Cards

With beyond the 280 characters going out daily in the Twitter X stream, make sure your tweets are noticeable with the right card today. Don’t forget to add your hashtags to these tweets as well to gain more reach.

Using the right cards can make your tweets more clickable. As the old saying goes: “A picture paints a thousand words.” – Frederick R. Barnard

Have you seen some great uses of these cards? I’d love to hear of some examples that you have come across on the social network.

Now, have you set up a Twitter Card, and/or are you using the validator for your blog or website? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

FAQs

What is a Twitter card on X?

A Twitter card allows you to attach photos, rich media, videos, etc. to your tweets automatically to draw more attention to your tweets.

Why do you need validation?

A Twitter card allows you to attach photos, rich media, videos, etc. to your tweets automatically to draw more attention to your posts on X.

How to add Twitter cards on X

You can add them via a plug-in like Yoast or have your website developer code them for you.

What is a twitter card meta description?

It contains a 200-character summary of the content from the URL on the tweet.

Is there another way to build these cards on X?

You could do it in the X Twitter ad section manually.

How are these cards beneficial?

They look better in your feed and can drive more traffic to your website.

Twitter Card Validation: Making Your Tweets Stand Out Share on X
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