Twitter last night took the wraps off a new version of Twitter with a simplified design to make it easier to follow, connect with others, and discover something new.

It is a completely different look after five years of very little movement on Twitter.com. The changes take Twitter closer to Facebook and Google+.

Twitter is also introducing enhanced profile pages for brands, which it is launching with 21 advertising partners including @AmericanExpress, @BestBuy, @bing, @chevrolet, @CocaCola and @Dell. These are a major addition as Twitter pushes to attract more advertisers. 2012 is going to be a big year for Twitter.

Enhanced brand pages

Marketers are getting profile pages with a large header image for displaying logos, tagline, and any other brand visuals.

Advertisers will also be able to control the message visitors see when they first these new profile pages by promoting a Tweet to the top of page’s timeline.

This Tweet is designed to help marketers promote engaging content and better connect with their target audience. The Promoted Tweet on the brand’s profile page also will appear auto-expanded so that visitors to the page can instantly see the photo or video content that you link to from the Tweet.

The enhanced brand page and the Promoted Tweet are both free and publicly accessible.

It will be interesting to see if these new robust brand pages make the difference as far as Twitter advertising goes in 2012.

What I think they do quite successfully is make the presence of brand’s feel much more substantial in the way that Facebook pages can. That has to be a welcome change for brands and will very likely persuade more to make the leap.

We’d already read recently that Twitter now has 2400 advertisers onboard. That 2,400 figure is up from just 600 in June — a leap of 1,800 advertisers.

The full list of the 21 advertising partners and select charities and individuals are: @AmericanExpress, @BestBuy, @bing, @chevrolet, @CocaCola, @Dell, @DisneyPixar, @generalelectric, @Heineken, @HP, @intel, @JetBlue, @Kia, @McDonalds, @nikebasketball, @NYSE_Euronext, Paramount Pictures’ Mission: Impossible – @GhostProtocol, @pepsi, @Staples, @subwayfreshbuzz, and @VerizonWireless.

Twitter says it will slowly roll out enhanced profile pages to a wider audience of brands in the coming months.

The new Twitter, comes to life

The new version of Twitter is being rolled out to Twitter.com, mobiles and an updated TweetDeck. The changes to the web version of Twitter will appear in the next few weeks, although some of us have them already.  Although the updated versions of mobile.twitter.com are there now for all.

The biggest change is that you can now access features from the lefthand side and that photos, videos and conversations are embedded directly into tweets so you can see the whole story at a glance. This should help bring tweets to life and take away some of the tedious clicking around that takes place.

It also I think starts to give Twitter more of a Facebook look.

The other change here is consistency. What you see across computers, iPhones, and Android mobile phones will be the same. Home keeps everything you’re interested in all in one place.

The connect section

The new Connect section is the place to see who has followed or mentioned you, retweeted or favourited one of your Tweets. Twitter says that connect is your way to keep the conversation flowing. Nice addition.

Discover Twitter

The new Discover section is a very nice addition. It allows you tap into a stream of useful and entertaining information that is customised.

It is another sign that Twitter is starting to look and act like other social networks, but pulling in content as opposed to simply allow its users to add it.

It pulls in interesting stories from across the web that are relevant to you. So top of my “discover” list is a story about the new Twitter from the Huffington Post followed by other breaking news from a variety of sources. It could prove a major traffic driver for news outlets included here and it will be intersting to dip into this to see what Twitter is serving up.

Twitter says that when you use Discover you’ll see results reflecting your interests—based on your current location, what you follow and what’s happening in the world. It says the more you it the better Discover gets at serving up more content just for you.

The new profile section

The new profile section in Twitter’s words puts you and your interests front and centre. Others can Tweet directly to you and view your lists, favourites, followers, photos and more. The Me tab is also where you can stay current on your direct message conversations. The Me tab is your opportunity to introduce yourself to the world.

• Your profile
• Direct messages
• Your content

Embedding a Tweet

This one has been a long time coming and much needed as Twitter finally makes it possible to embed Tweets to your website just by copying and pasting a line of code. Visitors can follow the author with a single-click, and reply, retweet, or favourite the Tweet without leaving the page.

Even better if you have WordPress. Blogs like this one can embed Tweets directly into their posts by simply copying the Tweet URL or using a familiar shortcode. Once published, WordPress instantly turns that URL or shortcode into an embedded Tweet.

Twitter tells advertisers followers are worth $2.50 bit.ly/uYXhE7 /@thewalluk

— BrandRepublic (@BrandRepublic) December8, 2011

Enhancing the Tweet and Follow Button

Last week Twitter announced a visual refresh to the Tweet and Follow Buttons, and now it has added new ways to share with these buttons.

The new #hashtag button tells your visitors there’s an interesting conversation happening on Twitter, and lets them join in with just one click. The @mention button encourages visitors to Tweet to your account, driving public conversation directly from your website. You can configure your own button on its new Twitter Buttons website.