Twitter appears to be testing a feature to encourage more video sharing on its network.
The test — first reported by Peter Kafka in re/code and apparently limited to the Twitter iOS app — prompts users to post a trailer clip from Seth McFarland’s upcoming “A Million Ways to Die in the West” movie when they start typing in the hashtag, “#AMillion …”
The video clip is apparently not an ad — it’s labeled “A Video provided by AMillionWays” rather than “Promoted by” — but if the testing is successful, Twitter would likely offer the feature to advertisers.
Twitter has long made it clear that tweets with visual elements perform better on the network, so making it simpler to add video to tweets makes sense. More video in user streams means more engaging content, which could encourage people to stick around longer.
Another example of Twitter’s video push emerged today when Adweek noticed that Twitter is testing a new feature in its one-click video ad product. Twitter has been moving deliberately with the ad product — which enables users to view video inline instead of leaving Twitter — since introducing it in March and limiting it Amplify partners.
The new feature, visible only to some users on the iOS app, places a “View More Videos” call-to-action after the video plays. Clicking through takes the viewer to a page that includes other videos posted by the account.
For an example of the feature in action, assuming its been activated fro you, check this tweet from Budweiser promoting a summer pop music festival.
Postscript: We updated this story with information about the Adweek story, which we noticed just after publishing.
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