11 Creative Ways To Use Twitter’s New 280 Character Limit | Social Media Today

This might be the most ridiculous post I’ve ever written.

But I’m okay with it.

I’m okay with it because people are getting way too heated over whether or not Twitter should have 280 characters or whether Twitter should stick with 140.

Here’s the thing:

As much as we love Twitter, as much as we grew to adore the 140 characters, and as much as we’re attached to the nostalgia of finding a creative way to be witty in 140 characters, here’s what all of us need to keep in mind when it comes to the 140 vs. 280 debate.

This really doesn’t matter.

Yes, Twitter is important for media.

Yes, Twitter is important for politics.

Yes, Twitter is important for global communication. I agree, Twitter is an important part of the world around us and the way countries, leaders, professionals, teachers, students and organizations connect, share, collaborate and every other term for communication under the sun, I get that.

But getting upset over 280 characters is not something worth being so upset about that you’re truly draining your energy on this new move. That’s why I’m okay with this being a ridiculous post, because I know that there are far too many things going on in this world that need attention than this idea.

And while 280 characters has some people losing their minds, I’m using the news about this 280 characters as a mental break from the chaos happening all around us.

So let’s get to it – without further ado, here are eleven creative ways you can use the new 280 character limit on Twitter to tell your story in unique, compelling and interesting ways.

And note, none of these en endorsement of what you should do, just an overview of what’s possible

1. Share Multiple Links In One Tweet

In the past you had to annoy your followers by tweeting out back to back to back tweets with different links. Thanks to the 280 character limit, you’re now able to take a page out of Bill Simmon’s book and include all of the articles in one tweet:

2) Tweet In Two Of Your Favorite Languages

I’m still waiting for Justin Trudeau to catch onto this one, but never again will Canadian politicians and governments be forced to send a tweet twice. Or at least now they have the option to simply include both French and English in one:

3) Tell Two Stories In One

You’re no longer limited to be witty with 140 characters, or rely on a threaded tweet. You can now break up two tweets into sections and deliver gold like this:

4) Create A Ridiculously Long Tweet Using Breaks

Want
To
Make
People
Scroll? 

Kidding. Please don’t do this.

5) Create Character Art With Your Messages

You can now get even more creative with your character tricks. Whether it’s creating a happy birthday message like this, or building a bus with the different letters of the alphabet, you now have more space to do it.

6) Tweet More Emojis and Make Emoji Patterns

Emojis are all the rage these days, and the introduction of 280 characters is only going to make the world of emojis a little bit more special.

Create your own emoji patterns based on your brands story and the things that make you unique like this:

7) Create Clever Vertical Tweets

Want to create a ladder with a snake climbing up it? You’ve always been able to do this, but now you can make the ladder even longer than it was before.

8) Share Memorable Long-Form Content

Whether you’re into Backstreet Boys or Drake, 280 characters gives you even more room to share lyrics, poetry and creativity.

This tweet from The Muppets is pure gold, as it shows us the full potential of 280 characters:

9) Share Photos With Repetitive Text

I bet ya can’t say Otter 20 times fast.

Ready? Set? Go…

10) Make List Posts On Twitter

Do you have three reasons why you’re so over avocado toast? Maybe four reasons you want to see the Fresh Prince on Netflix?

You can now use a more robust list format like this:

11) Make Fun Of The Fact That You Don’t Have 280 Characters Yet

Kinda like this…

Wrapping Things Up

If this post provided you with inspiration for how you can share creative 280 character tweets – awesome. If this post provided you with a mental break from chaos happening in either your life or in the news – awesome.

Let me know if you come across any other creative examples of accounts leveraging the 280 character limit – I’d love to see them. 

This post was originally published on Ross Simmonds’ blog.