Twitter grows from 140 characters to 280 — what happens now?
Double the number of characters means better tweeting, right? Let's think about that
Twitter makes one change and the questions come pouring in.
To be fair, it’s a huge change. Twitter, which has had a limit of 140 characters since its inception in 2006, recently increased that limit to 280 characters.
So now that you have twice as much space per tweet, should you change the way you tweet? And if so, how?
I thought I would present this edition of Social Media Adviser as a FAQ, taking a closer look at the shift from 140 to 280 and what it means for you as a social media-savvy financial advice professional.
Q: I’ve always condensed everything but now it looks like I don’t have to, right?
A: Right. And wrong. Yes, you have more space. No, you don’t have to use it. Here’s my simple advice: If you feel comfortable tweeting the way you always have, you shouldn’t change a thing. Treat the extra space as a gift and use it when you need it. If you’ve always thought more space would change the way you tweet and even make you more likely to tweet, then go ahead and experiment with the longer form. It’s really up to you.
Q: So what I think you’re saying is, don’t make my tweets longer just because I can. Is that right?
A: Exactly.
Q: Now that there’s no longer a need to limit myself to 140 characters, should I share the same content on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn?
A: Absolutely not. I have long said that copying and pasting content between social media networks looks lazy. I still believe that. More importantly, the first time you give someone the opportunity to choose where to interact with you because they know they are getting the same stuff in more than one place, you lose. Each social media platform is different and they have different audiences. You should always treat them as such.
Q. I really like this idea and I want to try to make the most of the extra space. What’s my best move?
A. One thing that doesn’t change no matter how many characters you have, is your subject matter. First, decide what message you want to convey. Then decide the best way to share that content. Try sharing the same message with fewer characters as well as in longer form. See which one looks better. Or, better yet, share the same thing in varying formats and see what your interaction is like – are people gravitating toward your content with more than 140 characters? Or do they like it when you share less? Like anything else with social media, you’ll need to include trial and error in the process.
Q: Why is Twitter doing this?
A: The technical reason is interesting. Twitter was originally created as a platform for mobile phone text messaging, and years ago the character limit for text messages was 140 characters. With the advent of new messaging platforms, the 140-character is no longer relevant. Twitter says the change is to make it easier for users to share their thoughts without worrying about running out of space.
Q. How have you as a social media professional handled the change?
A. About as well as I thought I would. Personally, I hate the switch. The beauty of Twitter is in its brevity and now brevity has taken a back seat. Tweets no longer look like tweets, those quick, at-a-glance reads that make life easy. But I’m hopeful that I’ll grow to like it, and that it will happens before Twitter increases the limit to 560 characters.
If you have a social media question or an idea for a column topic, or if you have thoughts about this column or any previous ones, please let me know. Tweet them to me with the hashtag #socialmediaadviser or email me at [email protected].
One last reminder: Follow me on Twitter at @scottkleinberg. [That’s only 40 characters, and to me it sounds perfect.]
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