In the world of social media, it’s important to keep up with the new updates. As you learn how to write engaging tweets, if you’re not already making the most of Twitter’s updated character limit, then you might be left behind. But don’t worry – I’m here to help you draft more engaging tweets by utilizing Twitter’s updated character limit. Read on, then try to implement these suggestions while drafting your content.
How to Write Engaging Tweets in 280 Characters or Less…
It’s been awhile since Twitter officially announced its 280-character limit update. It was certainly a great relief to almost all the social media marketers out there. Just like you, I used to find it hard at times to cover my thoughts within the 140-character limit of Twitter. Now however, after the update, one can easily post longer and more comprehensive tweets.
https://twitter.com/Twitter/status/912783930431905797
While the attached images, GIFs, or polls won’t add any extra characters, the URLs will still be counted. Thankfully, Twitter has a native URL shortening feature that you can use to make your tweets more crisp and effective. Since the problem was never there in languages like Japanese, Korean, or Chinese, they are exempt from the update.
Nevertheless, just because Twitter has extended its limit to 280 characters, it doesn’t mean that you have to exhaust it every time. You can still write short and precise content on Twitter. If needed, you can now write a more detailed tweet.
12 Twitter Tips Show Just How to Write Engaging Tweets
From answering the queries of your customers to creating visually appealing content, the updated character limit can help you in numerous ways. Here are some expert suggestions that can help you redefine your content strategy on Twitter.
1. Use Emojis Creatively
We all know that use of emojis is the new global language. After all, most of us get assistance from emojis while chatting with our friends. So why not include them in tweets as well? Since Twitter supports all kinds of major emojis, you can simply include them in your content. In this way, you can make your tweets more visually appealing and interesting. Also, more people are likely to retweet your content if it is unique and relevant.
Have a look at Nat Geo’s tweet and how they welcomed the new update by using animal emojis.
https://twitter.com/natgeowild/status/928298615835189248
Even brands like Google France used heart and other shapes to create something unique.
https://twitter.com/GoogleFR/status/913333190672179201
2. Post Trivia or a Quiz
Yes, you read it right. With the new update, you can even post quizzes and trivia questions in a better way. By posting funny and engaging questions, you can easily involve your audience as well. For instance, have a look at the trivia posted by Spotify.
https://twitter.com/Spotify/status/928257501572759552
Not only have they managed to use emojis in an interesting manner, but their content was related to their domain. Needless to say, it created a lot of buzz with thousands of followers retweeting it and posting their guesses.
You can also follow the same drill and involve your audience by hosting interesting trivia games like this.
3. Update Your Stories in a Single Tweet
This one is for all the journalists and media platforms out there. Earlier, we used to create a thread of tweets while posting information about a topic. While you can still do the same, there’s a better way to keep your audience updated. With the new character limit on Twitter, you post breaking news and updates about it in the same tweet.
Here is how Channel 4 welcomed the new update. The same can be done for any other specific news or event as well.
In order to find the latest news and updates related to your domain, you can always use social media analytics tools. It will also help you gather user-generated content and break prominent news before anyone else.
4. Use Line Breaks More Often
It’s been awhile since line breaks were introduced on Twitter. Initially, we were not able to utilize this feature because of Twitter’s restricted 140-character limit. Now, you can easily break your content into different lines to make your tweets more engaging. This can be used to make a list, a pattern, post instructions, poetry, and so much more.
You can also use line breaks to format your tweets. In this way, you can use Twitter as a platform to promote your products, post job openings, and more.
5. Post URL and Links in the Middle
This is something that not many Twitter users are aware of, but it has been observed that tweets are 26% more likely to get noticed (and retweeted) if the URL is placed in the middle, or “in-between.”
A lot of people prefer placing the website links at the end. Try to change this practice, include links in-between, and measure the overall impression of your tweets. In this way, you can analyze if the new technique would yield positive results or not. Here’s how you can do it and post various links in a systematic manner.
6. Make Your Tweets Visually Appealing
It’s a known fact that social media content is more likely to get noticed if it is visually appealing. You can use images, GIFs, videos, and so on to grab your audience’s attention. For instance, it has been observed that tweets with images are almost 33% more likely to be retweeted than text-only tweets.
There are numerous ways to include visual content in your tweets. You can always add your product images like this example below, and use Twitter to get more leads.
If you are running a hashtag marketing campaign on Twitter to promote your brand, then you should certainly include images and GIFs like this:
7. Include Hashtags and Keywords
Twitter is one of the first major social media platforms to utilize hashtags. If you want your content to be noticed by your audience, then you should certainly include brand-specific hashtags as well. It also makes your content easy to discover. Try not to include more than 3–4 hashtags in a tweet, though.
You can use already trending hashtags to reach out to a wider audience. Here, you can see how Hubble used the famous #ThrowbackThursday to gain more traction.
Besides that, you can always come up with original hashtags to create your brand’s presence. You can also run a dedicated hashtag campaign like this on Twitter:
8. Involve Your Audience
Your target audience on Twitter should be the primary focus of your marketing strategy. Therefore, you should think of different ways to get them involved. Not just for community building, it will also boost the overall visibility of your content.
There are different ways to get your audience involved. To start with, you can simply get their feedback on your products. This will help you know more about the preferences of your audience.
You can also post different kinds of polls on Twitter. People love participating in polls, because they can see where they stand in the crowd. It’s a win-win situation for everyone, as it helps a brand gain valuable insights related to their audience in no time.
https://twitter.com/GreenFraud/status/932813617992306688
9. Add More Humor to Your Content
Unlike LinkedIn or Facebook, Twitter is a more direct and young platform. Most of the brands that are active on Twitter add a dash of humor to their content. This makes it easier for people to relate to the brand and makes a Twitter account more human-like. By coming up with humorous content, you can increase your followers and get more retweets as well.
Here’s an interesting way to interact with one’s audience on Twitter by using a humorous approach.
Wendy’s Twitter account is infamous for roasting people. While this might be a far-fetched instance, the account is known for its humorous appeal. Recently, they did the same on National Roast Day, and the rest was history.
10. Provide Better Customer Support
It’s been awhile since brands began using Twitter as a direct medium to provide customer support. Now, with the updated 280-character limit, you can easily answer customer queries without posting multiple tweets.
11. Write Extensive Product Descriptions
When Twitter had a restricted character count, marketers could simply include the major selling points of a product. Now, you can easily educate your audience about your products more extensively. If your aim is to focus on the products and services that you offer, then you should come up with detailed tweets like this:
Another cool example is posted by Hootsuite. They managed to inform their audience about the 280-character limit support on their platform with this interesting tweet:
https://twitter.com/hootsuite/status/929134877529792512
12. Be Creative
Most importantly, think out of the box while drafting your content on Twitter. Now that Twitter’s character limit has been extended, you can easily draft more engaging and creative content. From making patterns to citing quotes, the sky’s the limit here. I have handpicked some of these creative tweets to spark some inspiration.
https://twitter.com/NASAGoddard/status/928356699043491842
https://twitter.com/pizzahut/status/928347864471875585
When You Learn How to Write Engaging Tweets it’s a Win-Win
If the 140-character limit caused you pain in the past, start today to take advantage of the expanded version. As you share more info about your product or service, or use a new capability such as patterns, your customers will benefit – and your brand will, too! I’m sure that after following these suggestions, you will be able to utilize the 280-character update on Twitter at its best. Focus on drafting more creative and compelling tweets, and you’ll be sure to win over your audience.
Has this new limit given you new ideas? Do share your thoughts in the comments below!
