Earlier this year, Twitter announced it was testing extending the tweet character limit to 280 characters, doubling the 140 count limit that has been in place since the platform launched in 2006. Spokespeople for the struggling social media giant said that the change would help attract more members that have commonly underused the platform due to the brevity of tweets, and that the expanded character count would allow for more engagement and communication across the channel.
After a trial period among a limited user base resulted in significantly higher tweet engagement, the social media site officially rolled out the expanded character count to all users. The results of the testing period were clear: data scientists at Twitter reported longer text-based tweets received much higher engagement than their shorter counterparts.
Source: Twitter
With the expanded character count and increased engagement, Twitter is hoping to attract users who have traditionally shunned the site due to its constraining character limit. This could prove to be a last-ditch effort from the platform to remain relevant in the ever-changing social media landscape.
So how will brands use the freedom of an additional 140 characters to share their message? So far, it’s been a mixed bag of playground fun, sass and sarcasm, and expanded creativity. Check out a few of our favorites below:
Kit Kat
Give me a break, give me a break, break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar (wait, I can keep going?)
Give me a break, give me a break, break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar (more still?!)
Give me a break, give me a break, break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar#280Characters— Break Me Off A Piece Of That Kit Kat Bar! (@KitKat_US) November 8, 2017
DiGiorno Pizza
*Testing if we have #280characters*
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????— DiGiorno Pizza (@DiGiornoPizza) November 7, 2017
White Castle
Bet you haven’t seen this many characters in one place since that 2 AM Castle trip HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAhelpHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA #280characters
— White Castle (@WhiteCastle) November 8, 2017
Spotify
Song titles only…
Good luck ?
1. 1️⃣?
2. ☂
3. ⚫(?+✨)
4. ???
5. ??
6. ?⤵?
7.
8. ???
9. ?❌?
10. (?+?)❤
11. ??
12. ???
13. ⏰?⏱⏲
14. ?+?
15. ?✈✈
16. ???
17. ??
18. ???
19. ??
20. ⬆??#280characters— Spotify (@Spotify) November 8, 2017
ShopClues.com
Finally got #280characters. Now, we will make full use of it by including commas, semi commas, apostrophes in the right places. We promise that we will make better tweets with the 280 limit. What a wonderful time to be alive.
You are still reading this, aren’t you?
— ShopClues.com (@ShopClues) November 8, 2017
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories. *DUN DUN*
— Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (@nbcsvu) November 7, 2017
Doubling the character count certainly helps brands get more creative with how they communicate on the platform, but only time will tell how this overhaul affects the platform in the long run. Until then, we’re flexing our creative muscles, considering new strategies and taking advantage of how 140 more characters can help brands amplify their messages.