Twitter’s Expanded Tweets Include Videos, News, and Images

Twitter revealed this week that select news and company accounts will incorporate embedded videos, images, and snippets of articles.

Director of Twitter’s Product Team Michael Sippey said in his blog, published Wednesday, “You’ve probably expanded Tweets before to play videos from YouTube or see photos from Instagram. Now, a diverse and growing group of new partners like the The Wall Street Journal, Breaking News, and TIME also deliver rich content inside Tweets containing a link to those websites.”

The new feature, which allows users to see content on their tweet stream instead of clicking through, can be viewed on Twitter.com and on mobile devices, according to Tech Crunch. Soon, Expanded Tweets will go onto iPhone and Android apps as well.

The hope is that being able to see more on the news feed could lead to higher engagement among followers, as well as higher click-through rates. In terms of advertising, better click through rates means money.

A 2010 study by SocialTwist found that when it comes to content, “Twitter yielded a whopping average of 19.04 clicks, whereas Facebook only produced 2.87 clicks.” However, the same report showed that “Facebook is by far the most preferred service for sharing, making up more than 78% of usage.”

That could soon change with Expanded Tweets. Considering how much videos and images appeal to users online, Twitter may just give Facebook a run for its money.