Twitter, originally a text messaging service launched in 2006, is now a go-to source for real-time news, live sports commentary, and entertainment. Almost 20% of Twitter’s 187 million daily active users are based in the U.S. – and somewhat surprisingly, Twitter is the most popular social media network in Japan!
Many companies use Twitter’s tools to embed a timeline or even individual tweets on blog posts. However, the customization options are minimal, and the Twitter embed comes with a fixed width and height.
Today’s websites often require sleek visual layouts - and the default look & feel of embedded Twitter feeds can look clunky on branded pages and digital services. On the content side, the standard Twitter embed doesn’t provide moderation tools for hashtag feeds or support mixing multiple Twitter accounts in one feed. Also, some companies like to display multiple social media channels in one place, which Twitter’s standard tools won’t (quite understandably) support.
So, how do companies solve these challenges and make Twitter feeds a seamless part of any digital service? They sign up for a social media aggregator service to display social media feeds from Twitter and other channels. In this article, we’ll walk you through the first steps.
Embedding a Twitter widget on any website
Would you like to create a fully customizable Twitter embed for your organisation and add it to your websites, mobile apps, and digital screens? Here’s an easy three-step guide on how to embed a Twitter widget on any website or digital service:
- Add Twitter accounts and hashtag feeds
- Select a custom Twitter widget layout
- Embed a Twitter widget on any digital service
1. Add Twitter accounts and hashtag feeds
If your organisation doesn’t have a social media aggregator just yet, sign up for a 14-day free trial of Flockler.
After signing up, you can combine multiple Twitter feeds and display them together or separately. With Flockler, you can display tweets by any public Twitter account or by a hashtag/keyword. You don’t need to be an admin of any specific account – as long as you have a Twitter account for yourself or an organisation, you can choose to gather and display any public content.
Here’s a quick video showing how to gather and display tweets of any Twitter account:
If you decide to gather the content from a hashtag campaign, you can choose to store all content for moderation before displaying the feed. Alternatively, you can show the hashtag feed on your website automatically and then hide posts and block unwanted users and keywords later, where necessary. The best approach to moderation depends on your organisation, where you display the Twitter feeds, and the hashtag’s popularity.
In addition to tweets, you can combine Twitter content from multiple social media channels, like Instagram, and show all sources in one place. Here is a list of supported social media channels and content sources.
2. Select a custom Twitter widget layout
Now that you’ve added Twitter accounts and hashtag feeds in step 1, it’s time to select the layout for your Twitter widget.
Flockler comes with four ready-made options: Wall, Grid, Carousel, and Slideshow.
All the layouts are fully customizable – you can decide to hide some of the default elements and change the font and colours, language, and much more. Your website team should be able to add embeded feeds, as the process is simple, but Flockler’s customer service team is always ready to help and adjust styles to match your brand or website look & feel. Don’t hesitate to send us a message via live chat if any support is needed.
See examples of how the widget layouts look further down the page.
3. Embed a Twitter widget on any digital service
The last step is to embed the Twitter widget on any website or digital service.
Quite typically, organisations have multiple websites and digital services. With Flockler, you can create as many widgets as you like and embed them on an unlimited number of services.
You can add Flockler to any website, and here are detailed instructions for some of the most popular content management systems:
Flockler also works on websites and digital services that are custom-built or using a bespoke technical platform. If you are unsure about the process of adding the Twitter widget to your service, please send us a message via live chat, and our customer service team will guide you further.
After creating the feed in the previous step and embedding the widget, Flockler will gather fresh content every 5-15 minutes and update your websites and other digital services without any extra work.
Examples of a Twitter widget embedded on a website
One of the most significant advantages of the custom Twitter widget powered by Flockler is that you can choose to use all of the ready-made layouts and customize them to match the look & feel of your digital service. Here are a couple of examples of a Twitter widget embedded on a website:
Deutsche Bundesbank
The Social Wall layout is the all-time favourite for thousands of organisations. Deutsche Bundesbank has decided to change the colour to grey and blue, matching the brand's colours.
For more inspiration, check examples of a social media wall.
USO
USO, is a non-profit organisation supporting America’s military by keeping them connected to family, home and country. Their website gather tweets, Instagram images, and Facebook posts in one place. A carousel widget is embedded on the website's Media Room and hashtag campaign pages.
VfL Wolfsburg
VfL Wolfsburg, a professional football club playing in the German top league, displays a Twitter widget on their homepage. The grid layout displays a fresh feed of tweets without any manual work. A Twitter feed embedded on a website makes it easy for fans to stay up-to-date on the latest news.
Silicon Valley Bank
Silicon Valley Bank is one the many organisations adding social media feeds to digital displays. The Slideshow layout rotates the up-to-date content and can even be set to play your YouTube and Instagram videos in full before changing the slide.
Key reasons why companies use a custom Twitter widget
Here are the top eight reasons why organisations choose Flockler’s custom Twitter widget instead of the standard version provided by Twitter:
- Fully customizable look & feel
- Multiple ready-made layouts (Wall, Grid, Carousel, and Slideshow)
- Combine Twitter accounts and hashtag feeds
- Display fresh content automatically
- Advanced moderation tools; you are in full control
- Show Twitter feeds on any digital service
- Mix content from multiple social media channels in one place
- No development resources are needed in the setup or for maintenance
