Marketer Concern: From 140 to 280 Characters

On Tuesday, September 26th, Twitter began testing tweets that doubled the character count limit from 140 to 280.

Following this increase, Twitter CEO and Cofounder Jack Dorsey tweeted a public statement: “This is a small change, but a big move for us. 140 was an arbitrary choice based on the 160 character SMS limit. Proud of how thoughtful the team has been in solving a real problem people have when trying to tweet. And at the same time maintaining our brevity, speed, and essence!”

In theory, this is a much-needed capability: It allows for fluid conversation, so social customer service representatives can have conversations with consumers more naturally. It would also give users the ability to complete thoughts and be more responsive when tweeting to friends, brands, or celebrities.

However, once the announcement was made, many marketers shared their thoughts on how the larger count could negatively impact advertisers.

Rachel Spiegelman, CEO of Pitch, said: “The 280-character tweets will likely dilute Twitter as a receptive marketing platform for consumers engaging with brands. Some of the most successful brands on Twitter, including Wendy’s, JetBlue and DiGiorno Pizza, have gotten to the peaks of brand engagement because of the discipline and rigor it takes to fit a message into 140 characters.”

In short, many marketing agencies and professionals feel the higher limit takes away the appeal and creativity of Twitter from advertisers who use the platform to create short, enticing copy to drive specific actions from their intended audience.

As this test pilot rolls out to agencies and brands, the benefits could include better community management and customer service, and the ability to include legal terms and conditions. But it should also challenge marketers to create more compelling and platform-appropriate creative if they choose to go over the traditional 140-character limit.

To see more thoughts on the new Twitter feature, click here.