Last week, Twitter officially doubled its post limit from its well-known 140 to 280 characters. The rollout comes after Twitter experimented with a higher character limit for some users and determined it would not significantly affect how people interact with the social media network.
Digital marketers have been paying close attention to this issue ever since Twitter first announced it in September. Could it change how brands communicate their key messages on the platform?
To be sure, doubling the amount of content you can incorporate into each status update will inherently change your approach to Twitter marketing. But beyond that, marketers would do well to stick to the fundamentals of social media engagement.
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Below are three important best practices to keep in mind:
1. Only post when you have something to say
Just because you have more characters to work with does not mean you should dilute your message by posting too often or hitting the 280 max with each update. Content marketing is about offering value to your audience, and social media is no different. Posting meaningful content once a day is better than 10 posts full of fluff, clickbait or hollow quotes.
2. Post on topics relevant to your followers
Your followers choose to engage with your brand for a reason. Make sure you’re following through with quality content that’s relevant and provides something of value.
For most brands, this isn’t difficult to do. If you blog (and you should), the content you create can serve as the foundation of your Twitter strategy. But, you should also post updates and links to articles, videos, infographics, podcasts and other content — even if someone else created it.
3. Don’t just post — interact
Although the content you develop and post is important, you must also be an active member of Twitter to truly see results. This means re-tweeting posts you think your followers will like or find interesting, and responding to comments and direct messages users leave you. Thank users who have re-tweeted or liked your posts.
Simply developing a bunch of posts and scheduling them out over the week via HootSuite isn’t good enough. Take some time each day to connect with people on Twitter and be responsive to your followers, especially if they’ve helped share your brand’s story.
The bottom line is that Twitter’s new 280-character limit may change how your status updates look — specifically the amount of content you post. But if you keep these social media marketing fundamentals top of mind, you can continue to engage in a successful digital strategy for your brand.
ProPRcopy offers social media content writing solutions for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and various other platforms.