Twitter launched a new redesign today that gives the social network a much improved look, as well as adding functionality.

The new design reorganises the page, putting Tweets in a right hand column – it remains to be seen if personalised background images will have to be adjusted to fit the new design.

The new @connect feature in the top menu shows your mentions, #discover shows you what’s trending, pointing you to relevant stories.

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In addition to the design changes, it will also now be possible to embed Tweets, as you might embed a YouTube video. For example:

Britain’s Got Talent! GB team announced for the Youth Olympic Games: j.mp/uzpGsc #futureisbright @teambss

— Iain Martin (@skipedia) December8, 2011

More options for brands and cross-promotion

More significantly brands will be able to edit their page to make their logo and tagline more prominent, as well as allowing pages to choose a ‘promoted Tweet’ to highlight.

This will make Twitter much more appealing to brands and gives more of the functionality that companies have on Facebook Pages.   Featured pages already launched include Dell and Coca-cola

We’ll be following the developments closely, but for more information on how to maximise your exposure and reach via Twitter, please contact us.