ROCKS DIGITAL  BLOG

Valerie Vera

Twitter Direct Messaging Grows Up: The DM Goes from 140 to 10,000

Twitter Direct Messaging Change
Image Credit – Mameraman/Shutterstock.com

Are you using Twitter to promote your brand? I am really excited about one of the recent changes Twitter made to direct messaging aka the DM. I can finally send one individual message instead of sending my friends four different messages to tell them about a birthday get together! Get the scoop on this change and more below.

Twitter Direct Messaging Goes from 140 to 10,000

Prior to the change, DMs had a 140 character count limit, just like tweets. This limitation was always an issue for brands that wanted to reach out to their customers via Twitter for customer service purposes. It was also an issue for people like me who have a lot to say and felt confined by only 140 characters. If this is you as well, I have great news, Twitter has announced that they are removing the 140-character limit from direct messages. This was Twitter’s statement about their character change.

“While Twitter is largely a public experience, Direct Messages let you have private conversations about the memes, news, movements, and events that unfold on Twitter. Each of the hundreds of millions of Tweets sent across Twitter every day is an opportunity for you to spark a conversation about what’s happening in your world. That’s why we’ve made a number of changes to Direct Messages over the last few months. Today’s change is another big step towards making the private side of Twitter even more powerful and fun.”

The new character limit is now 10,000 characters which I am sure will be more than enough for you to relay your message. If it isn’t, then you have a bigger issue!

Benefits of This Change

  • You won’t have to be as concise in direct messages to try to get across what you have to say.
  • No more abbreviating words that can be misunderstood.
  • Twitter users can now have an ongoing conversation and not be limited to how much they want to say.
  • Brands can now bring their highest quality of customer service to their clients on Twitter, by having unlimited details in their DMs. This is an example of what can make your brand stand out from the rest in your industry.

Longer spam messages is the only con I can see so far from this Twitter change. This isn’t necessarily a horrible thing, because let’s face it, spam is everywhere and it’s just something we have to accept in the digital world. This negative can be easily remedied by choosing to block the spammer and they will not be able to send you messages again until you choose to unblock them.

While we are talking about Twitter Direct Messaging, let me share the news about another change they made earlier in the year that can definitely benefit you as a brand.

Who Can Send Who A Direct Message

In the past, you could only direct message people that followed you back. For example, if you follow Lindsey Lohan, but she didn’t follow you back, then you could not send her a direct message, but she could still send you a direct message because you follow her.

With the change Twitter made earlier this year, you can send Lindsey Lohan, or anyone else that has a Twitter account a direct message, even if you don’t follow them and they don’t follow you. The Twitter account you want to direct message would have to check “Receive Direct Messages from anyone” in settings to enable the feature. See example below:

Twitter Direct Messages

Benefits of This Change

  • Twitter is a great tool to promote your brand, listen to your customers and help them with any customer service.
  • Enabling this feature will make it easier for customers to reach you and perhaps they will direct message you before shouting out their complaints on Twitter for everyone to read.
  • If you are a brand and you want to reach out to all of your new clients and thank them, you don’t have to wait for the long “following game” to be able to message them.

Spammers. Spammers and spammers. As the only con stated for the first DM change, I also think is the only con for the second change. Being able to message anyone in the Twitter world can become dangerous because of the amount of spammers that are out there. No one wants to be bothered by annoying emails, or sales pitches on their personal Twitter account. Don’t be the brand or business that gets blocked because you are “attempting” to promote your business.

If you come along a spam situation and you don’t want to receive messages from a specific Twitter account, just follow the steps below.

  • Locate the spam message
  • Click the “more icon” (•••) and select “Flag as spam” or “Mark as abusive
  • Make sure you click to confirm

So, I rest my case. I love Twitter and networking. I am not looking forward to more spam, but I am looking forward to the longer and richer direct messaging experience now available to me. What about you? Want to learn more about Twitter? Click here.

Are you ready to make your brand stand out from the crowd and engage with your customers through direct messages?

Valerie Vera

Valerie Vera, an intern at Advice Interactive, is a student at the University of North Texas studying Public Relations. She is bilingual and would like to use this skill in her future career.

More Posts

Download Our SEO Guide

Created in a joint partnership with Advice Local, this guide — What You Need to Know About SEO — provides an introduction to SEO concepts, strategies and best practices for optimizing a website. Complete the form below and get instant access.

    ROCKING DIGITAL SERVICES

    Web Design & Development

    Your website needs to be aesthetically pleasing and functional. We build websites for desktop and mobile that are both.

    LOCAL SEARCH & SEO

    Your website needs to attract search engines and consumers. We are experts in local search and SEO, and can make that happen.

    CONTENT CREATION & MARKETING

    Anybody can write words on a page, but can they write content that integrates SEO best practices and converts? We can.

    PPC & Paid Search

    PPC & Paid Search

    Need more customers? We create paid campaigns to reach your target audience and increase sales.

    Tracking & Optimization

    You need a solid foundation for success online, and our tracking & optimization services get it done.

    Graphic Design Services

    Graphic Design Services

    From logo design to your business card, brochures – and everything in-between for print & web – we can help!

    Here’s What Our Client's Have to Say

    Their Local Business Websites Rock

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital knows how to build local business websites that convert prospects to customers. Not only do I recommend them to work on my reputation management client’s websites, but they work on the Reputation Sensei brand, too.
    - Chris Snellgrove

    They Customize Their Solutions

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital customizes to meet their client’s needs. We needed our existing website optimized for search. We are now placing for more industry keywords and continue to improve. They consult with our in-house team on content optimization, manage our GMB listing & more.
    - Greta Valenti

    Highly Recommend

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital manages not only the Association of Directory Publishers website, but our Trusted Local Directory. From helping us get our event information on the website to producing guides, blogs and new content, they have what it takes.
    - Cindi Aldrich

    Rocks Digital Is the Best Choice

    ★★★★★
    As a long-term client, when it was time to change the primary focus of my real estate business, and my website, I knew Rocks Digital was the way to go. They took my existing website, gave it a complete new look, and still managed to keep my existing content.
    - David Dorum

    Brought My Ideas to Fruition

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital came highly recommended. Once I started working with them I knew why. They took my ideas for a beautiful website and brought them to the screen. From the design phase to content creation, each component was thoughtfully considered and addressed.
    - Clay Adams

    Conversions Are on the Rise

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital manages two of my websites. They produce our blogs, our service pages and manage our paid search campaigns. Conversions are up and new patients are coming in the door. I highly recommend their digital marketing services.
    - Dr. Thomas Chacko

    Agency Services Are Top Notch

    ★★★★★
    We shifted to Rocks Digital agency services earlier in the year. We are so glad we did. Our website sessions are up, page views are up, and bounce rate is down. Now we can easily see how many form fills we have had at any given time through their real-time reporting.
    - Kristin Schafer

    Their Local Business Websites Rock

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital knows how to build local business websites that convert prospects to customers. Not only do I recommend them to work on my reputation management client’s websites, but they work on the Reputation Sensei brand, too.
    - Chris Snellgrove

    They Customize Their Solutions

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital customizes to meet their client’s needs. We needed our existing website optimized for search. We are now placing for more industry keywords and continue to improve. They consult with our in-house team on content optimization, manage our GMB listing & more.
    - Greta Valenti

    Highly Recommend

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital manages not only the Association of Directory Publishers website, but our Trusted Local Directory. From helping us get our event information on the website to producing guides, blogs and new content, they have what it takes.
    - Cindi Aldrich
    Name
    Email
    Review Title
    Rating
    Review Content

    LATEST BLOG POSTS

    Local SEO company strategies.

    What Does a Local SEO Company Do?

    Local SEO is a digital marketing strategy focused on boosting a business’ local search visibility within a particular area. With the successful implementation of proven

    Hire a digital marketing agency.

    Why Hire a Digital Marketing Agency

    Staying ahead of search engine updates and marketing trends is a constant challenge, so it’s no surprise that businesses frequently turn to digital marketing agencies.

    LOCAL VISIBILITY REPORT

    Is your Google My Business listing helping or hurting you? Is bad data causing consumers and search engines to lose trust in your business? This is information you simply must know.

    To get these answers right now, just enter your business name below to run our FREE
    visibility report.


    Need a facelift
    for your website? More search traffic? Need to blog, but don’t have time?

    Our Digital Services Could Be For You
    Get a Free Local Visibility Report Now