New in Sprout: Attach Images to Your Twitter Direct Messages

More and more, customers are reaching out to businesses on Twitter. From asking for store hours to reporting a service issue to troubleshooting a technical difficulty, Twitter provides the right channels (both public and private) to help people solve everyday challenges.

Several recent improvements to Direct Messages in particular have helped to better facilitate the private side of the business-consumer conversation, and Sprout Social has been quick to incorporate these updates.

Today, as we continue building upon these enhancements, we are excited to provide an even better experience for our customers. Because of our deepened partnership, Sprout is one of the first Twitter Official Partners with access to new functionality for attaching images to Direct Messages.

Use Images to Communicate More Effectively

The ability to add an image is an important part of the Twitter Direct Message experience. There are several instances where including an image would help both parties communicate more effectively. For example:

• When troubleshooting a technical issue, customers can safely share screenshots that may contain personal or confidential account information.
• Social customer support agents can save time by attaching a visual asset, such as a step-by-step tutorial, to their DMs rather than transcribing instructions as text only.
• A brand can demonstrate personality in the same way it might on a public Tweet by including a lighthearted image after resolving an issue.

Attaching an image to a Direct Message from Sprout is easy. Whether replying to a DM from the Smart Inbox or initiating a conversation, simply click the camera icon in the lower left of the compose box, then upload your file.

Twitter as a Platform for Customer Care

As detailed in the Customer Service on Twitter Playbook released earlier this summer, “Twitter offers a one-to-one-to-many interaction, which allows the broader community to form an opinion on your service interaction. Tweets are conversational and public.”

What’s more, as an increasingly important backchannel, Twitter DMs empower businesses to meet growing customer expectations with a tailored, one-to-one experience. In doing so, Twitter not only offers businesses a platform to deliver exceptional social customer service, but it also can enhance operational efficiency to save time and money.

As Twitter expands upon its platform, Sprout will continue working closely with the company to incorporate any new features in a timely manner. This will ensure you have the most up-to-date and powerful set of tools to communicate as openly and as effectively as possible with your customers.