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Twitter recently announced the biggest changes made to their social messaging platform to date. While the core features won’t change, everything else is getting a dramatic overhaul. We’ve parsed these changes into a few key strategic considerations to help businesses understand and leverage the new power of Twitter. Unless you’re part of the limited rollout, you won’t see these changes for another few weeks. When the new look finally rolls out, we think both businesses and users will be pleased.

After Twitter played a major role in overthrowing Hosni Mubarak in Egypt earlier this year, no one could argue that Twitter arrived in 2011 as a mainstream force to be reckoned with. Last weekend, Twitter was blamed for spreading rumors that started a bank run in Sweden. Ignoring Twitter is becoming less of an option for the informed citizen.

Yet despite its status as powerful global communication platform, many stayed away due to the perceived tech-savvy barrier of entry. Many more signed up, tweeted a few times, and lost interest.

Consider that Twitter’s formidable 100M users are dwarfed by the 800M on Facebook, and is far easier to understand than Facebook. With a revamped Twitter in 2012, that disparity could start to dwindle. What Twitter needs — and what it seems prepared to provide — is a Twitter that appeals to everyone. Or, in the words of NY Times columnist Nick Bilton, “A Twitter for My Sister”.

Newbies historically became flummoxed when they encountered Twitter’s ‘@’ and ‘#’ symbols, which are central to the platform’s functionality but inscrutable on their own. Twitter was not very helpful in explaining what these symbols did; you were supposed to learn by watching others. This resulted in a catch-22: You couldn’t use Twitter until you knew what the symbols meant, and you wouldn’t learn what they meant unless you used Twitter.

Now these symbols have been elevated to exalted status as two of the four top-level navigation items (along with the new ‘Me’ and ‘Tweet’ sections). ‘@’ is now titled ‘Connect’ and ‘#’ is referred to as ‘Discover.’ This should go a long way in demystifying the symbols, which represent the true power of Twitter. Use of the ‘@’ symbol to reference a specific user is critical to fueling the interpersonal connections that drive platform use. Similarly, use of the ‘#’ symbol to reference a specific topic is what makes Twitter a ubiquitous barometer of global trends.

For businesses, the big new Twitter addition is the revamped brand page, which is essentially a fancied-up Twitter profile for brands and companies. These new pages feature big, pretty graphic headers that can be customized with logos or brand messaging. Another hot feature: Now brands can pick and choose their own ‘@’ replies and mentions to highlight. This will be great for cutting down on customer service noise and burying users with inane or profane messages.

The other big platform change that will effect all Twitter users is a new crop of official Twitter apps for mobile devices. The company is going for a more consistent look, feel and function set across all devices. It’s been a sore point for Twitter that many of its loyal users choose to type their mobile missives using third-party apps, preferring their richer functionality and nicer UI.

Early response to these new official Twitter apps has been mixed, with some users complaining that functionality was removed from the mobile apps to simplify the UI and make it more consistent across all devices. Others found the apps more pleasant and useful due to their streamlined design. In either case, Twitter has certainly paid closer attention to its integration across mobile devices as of late. The company recently announced a 25% increase in monthly signups, thanks in large part to tighter integration of Twitter into Apple’s iOS 5. Unlike the web changes, the new Twitter apps are available now for iPhone and Android.

Amid all the revamp news, we also were reminded of the future of advertising on Twitter, though no official announcement was made. A self-serve ad platform, like the one Facebook so profitably employs, has been expected from Twitter for some time. Expected early next year, self-serve Twitter ads will likely mark the starting point for a dramatic upward slope in the company’s revenue graphs.

Twitter will celebrate its sixth birthday next July, which is mature by digital standards. It’s come a long way from the platform that many ridiculed for having no plan to make money to 100 million users. With the impending changes, we see the growth of the network hitting new heights, both in terms of user base and profitability. For businesses, we see exciting new opportunities to interact with customers and clients.