Creating New Characters – Twitter Removes Character Limit on Direct Messages

In the eternal struggle between global social media networks, Twitter is renowned as one of the biggest players. This month, their latest move takes effect as they extend the character limit of their Direct Messages feature – from 140 to 10,000. So what’s led to this decision, and what effect will it have on how people use it?

Twitter has always prided itself on the brevity the forms the very foundation of the network. Though the term ‘microblogging’ predates Twitter, the website now has an unofficial monopoly on the word. The quick-fire approach has given Twitter a distinct identity from competitors like Facebook. However, the character limit can pose difficulties for companies using the social network to interact with their customers.

Twitter’s drive to streamline the usability of their network began in April, as they removed the requirement of having to follow someone before you could send them a direct message. (Previously, this had been problematic as there were myriad reasons certain individuals or corporations might not want to visibly be following each other.) Now, as of July, the character limit on Direct Messages will be extended from 140 characters to 10,000 – making it even easier to quickly receive and respond to customer messages without the need for either party to split their message into several parts. Many companies find Twitter a particularly useful resource* for customer interaction due to its focus on short, regular updates and its public, transparent nature. The new update allows for longer, tailored interactions addressing specific problems, making it excellent news for customer service staff everywhere.
It’s not just aimed at corporate users, however. Companies like Facebook and Whatsapp are the current market leaders in private messaging functions, and this could be an attempt on Twitter’s part to catch up to their competitors in this regard. Organic, individual interactions are the bread and butter of any social media network, and Twitter is quite possibly making sure they maintain the ‘social’ aspect of their business.

Speaking of Twitter, you can find ours here. If you have any social media or other marketing questions, don’t hesitate to contact our team at [email protected] or call us on 01538 750 538.  Not sure what social media site is right for you, take a look at another blog of ours that will help you choose.