Twitter Has Doubled Its Long Standing 140 Character Limit! Why?

Twitter has long been one of the most popular Social platforms across the globe since its launch in 2006. Many use the platform for both personal and business use.

Since Twitter's inception, the character length for a tweet has been a long-standing debate. With people questioning the ability to get their message across. However, everyone that uses Twitter has managed to get by fine with this limit and it really is what has made Twitter different to many of the other Social Media platforms out there. But the 140 characters are now history. Say hello to their new 280 character limit!

The Expansion

Back in September this year, the Social Media giant launched a global test. They doubled the tweet character limit so that users could express themselves easier. The goal of this was to make it easier and possible for users to be able to say more but still keep the short and sweet element that makes Twitter unique.

The Results Of Their Test

According to Twitter themselves, during the first few days of the expanded character limit, most users were using the full amount. This is likely because this was something that was new and fresh. However, they have since reported that Twitter behaviour among users has somewhat returned to normal. With many users still keeping tweets short like before and only really utilising the doubled character limit if necessary.

Why Have They Done This?

The answer to this is simple. It makes tweeting simpler. You have more room to express your thoughts and convey a more concise message. Or just make use of the new Twitter games! All jokes aside, from a personal or business point of view, you have felt the challenge sometimes with cramming what you want into that small space right? Well, Twitter has stated that historical data showed 9% of tweets written in English hit or went over the old 140 character limit and this reflected that challenge. The limit often resulted in many tweets simply being discarded because there simply wasn't enough room! However, Twitter says that with the doubled character count, this challenge has been reduced greatly. They have reported that the 9% of English tweets that used to hit the limit has now dropped to only 1%. This means a happier Twitterverse!

What Does This Mean For You?

Well, you should definitely be excited! Twitter has expanded and you can start saying more to your followers. If you're in business and using Twitter for marketing this is great news. With more room to tweet, you can easily get across a marketing message or produce a more engaging tweet that encourages a click to your site. Hopefully, the new character limit will help you see more engagement with your followers, better interaction and better results!

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Source: https://blog.twitter.com/official/en_us/topics/product/2017/tweetingmadeeasier.html