Bye-bye Brevity

Say goodbye to the short, concise tweets that made the Twitter platform so popular. A lack of user growth spurred the social media powerhouse to test a new, 280 character limit. More characters means more opinions, more thoughts, more messaging and more content, which sounds appealing to most Twitter users who often struggle to craft a thoughtfully worded, 140-character tweet. The ample space sounds like new opportunity for companies as well. However, KetchumBlog explains why the new character limit may sink or swim in the traditional, fast-paced Twitter culture.

According to Ketchum, “It doesn’t necessarily mean that people will read your tweets if they are 280 character long. Every piece of consumer insight suggests that our attention is reducing. Brands need to get to the point and make every character, or image, count.” The article goes on to explain other ways this change may affect the traditional Twitter environment, including threads, customer service and social listening. If tweets are longer and more explanatory, will this reduce the needs for two-way communication? As for now, Ketchum advices, “...Proceed with caution; test, measure and learn.”