After expanding its character limit for tweets a few years ago, Twitter is testing a new feature called Notes that lets users ditch character limits altogether.
The company confirmed testing the new feature in a tweet, along with a longer Note explaining everything Notes can do:
“Notes will give people the ability to go over 280 characters on Twitter in a single piece of content, with the inclusion of photos, videos, GIFs, and Tweets. Notes can be written, published, and shared on Twitter, and read all across the Internet.”
Unfortunately for most of us, the feature is initially being tested among a select number of writers in the US, UK, Canada, and Ghana.
“We’re excited for the moment when everyone can use Notes, but for now, our focus is on building it right. A large part of that is engaging with writers and building community.”
Notably, the feature does not appear to be replacing Twitter threads, at least for now:
“There are situations, however, where threads aren’t enough. From the rise of the screenshot announcement Tweet to the newsletter boom, a new reality became clear: people were writing long elsewhere, and then coming to Twitter to share their work and for the conversation surrounding all those words.”
In the announcement, Twitter also detailed a few unique features which will make Notes attractive to those looking to publish longer content:
Formatting: Formatting tools included bold, italic, and strikethrough text, as well as the ability to add links and create lists.
Include Media: Notes can include one GIF, one video, or up to four static images.
Embedded Tweets: Include traditional tweets in Notes by pasting a URL or from your bookmarked tweets.
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/FV3oUZ-VUAI1zeW.jpg194679Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2022-06-23 20:42:352022-06-23 20:42:37Twitter Test Long-Form Content With ‘Notes’
Instagram has begun showing postings for users you don’t follow when you’re all caught up on posts from those you do follow. The decision is not without controversy, however.
Starting this week, users are seeing a new “Suggested Posts” section filled with content similar to those they already follow. The section doesn’t appear until you’ve scrolled past everything shared from people you follow and you have seen the “You’re All Caught Up” screen.
Though brands, marketers, and publishers may be excited about Instagram introducing organic related content into users’ feeds for the first time ever, the user base has largely been critical of the decision.
What Are Instagram Suggested Posts
Once users have scrolled to the “You’re Caught Up Screen” they are now seeing an option to “View Older Posts”. If selected or the user continues to scroll, they will be shown an infinite feed of suggested posts.
Aside from the banner showing that you are viewing older posts, there is no indication that the content is being automatically selected based on your past browsing behavior.
One complaint many have had is that Instagram already has a dedicated “Explore” section for finding posts and accounts you might be interested in. However, the actual content in these sections differs.
The Difference Between Instagram Suggested Posts and Explore
Though they share some similarities, Suggested Posts are distinct from the Explore section in some key ways.
Primarily, Instagram intends for Suggested Posts to be a curated collection of content based on your interests and activity. On the other hand, the Explore section is intended to be an extension of the search function on the platform, allowing you to explore broad topics and interests.
As Instagram explains in a help center article, the content highlighted in the Suggested Posts section is largely defined by your own behavior:
“These suggestions are based on posts from accounts like the ones you follow and posts similar to the ones you like or save.”
You can also flag posts if they are particularly not of interest to help better refine the content shown to you in the future. To do this, just tap the three-dot icon at the top of the post and select the “Not interested” option.
Another distinction is that Suggested Posts will exclusively feature photos and videos, with no IGTV or Reels content allowed.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the explore section will also include promoted posts and other types of ads.
Why The Decision is Controversial
Complaints about the decision have largely been focused on three issues:
Users are not accustomed to seeing content they didn’t sign up for in their primary feed.
Creating an infinite scrolling feed could encourage users to spend excessive amounts of time on the platform.
The infinite feed makes Instagram too similar to TikTok.
The first complaint is to be expected. Any time a social network has introduced organic content from outside your friends list or follows, users have revolted – whether we are looking at Facebook’s feed or going all the way back to MySpace.
To get an idea how users feel about the decision, just look at some tweets from users over the past few days:
Still, it is possible the feature may gain acceptance as users get accustomed to it. Only time will tell.
“Our goal is to make it clear when you’re all caught up so you can decide how you want to best use your time.
We see people continuing to seek out more posts they’re interested in after catching up with their feeds, so we wanted to learn from that and make it easier to go a little deeper for those who choose to do so.”
Lastly, concerns about Instagram looking a little too much like TikTok may prove to be shrewd positioning on the part of the platform. TikTok is currently facing a ban from operating in the United States unless the owning company ByteDance sells operations in the country.
As the 45-day deadline grows closer, little progress seems to be happening which raises the distinct possibility that users may soon be looking for an alternative.
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/InstagramLogo.jpg441800Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2020-08-20 16:23:132020-08-20 16:23:15“Suggested Posts” Start Appearing On Instagram When You’ve Scrolled Too Far
When it comes to social media, less is often more. That is especially the case for word counts of your social media posts and blog articles, according to an infographic recently shared by Express Writers.
Twitter has a cap of 140 characters per tweet, but that doesn’t mean you need to use every character available. The infographic explains that “tweets that are 100 characters or shorter enjoy 17% more engagement than longer tweets.”
“So-called ‘medium-length’ tweets (between 71-100 characters) are re-tweeted more often than large (101 characters or longer) or small (41-71 character) tweets.”
Meanwhile, you may think of Facebook as the place to go for long-form posts and blog-style content, but you would be wrong. In fact, brevity is the soul of Facebook, with the ideal length for a post being just 40 characters or fewer.
“Facebook posts with 40 characters earn 86% more engagement than longer posts,” according to the infographic, and “the second-best length of a Facebook post is 80 characters or fewer. These posts receive 66% more engagement than longer posts.”
Want to make sure your content is hitting the right notes and not exhausting the short-attention spans so prevalent on social media? Find out exactly how long your content should be in the infographic below:
00Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2016-04-08 10:25:142016-04-08 10:25:14Hit The Sweet Spot With Your Social Media Content Length [Infographic]
