What is Twitter and How Does It Work?

Twitter is a microblogging social network where people publish short public messages, called tweets, of up to 280 characters and follow other accounts to read theirs. Since July 2023 the company has called the platform X, but most people (and most searches) still say Twitter. This guide explains what it is, how it works and what a business can do with it.

You’ve almost certainly seen it mentioned across news, TV and brand ads. For a company, it’s also a channel worth knowing, because conversations about your sector, your competitors and your customers already happen there.

It’s also a channel you’ll want to weigh when you build the Social Media Plan of your company or digital business. Below you’ll find the definition, where the name came from, what the platform is for and the basic terms you need to start.

What is Twitter?

Twitter is a microblogging social network that lets you send messages of up to 280 characters, visible to other users. You follow accounts that interest you, and other people follow you in return. X now calls these messages “posts”, but “tweet” is still the word people use.

Tweets are public by default. You can also start private conversations, where the messages are called DMs (Direct Messages).

Twitter has long been one of the largest social networks in the world, with a global audience that reads and posts in real time.

How was Twitter really born?

Twitter was founded in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone and Evan Williams.

At the start, the idea was to bring the feel of mobile text messages (SMS) to the web, so users could stay connected and aware of each other’s updates.

The first name was “Status” (stat.us). But the founders wanted a name that captured sharing your thoughts with friends from wherever you are.

Then, they had the great idea to come up with a new name: ” twitch ” ( tic ).

This came to simulate the vibration sound of smartphones when receiving a short message from this social network. But they weren’t too convinced either.

They finally settled on “Twitter”. A tweet is a short burst of chirps, which fits a service built on brief, frequent updates.

The bird logo came from the same idea. The name was short, easy to say and recognizable in a fraction of a second. In July 2023, the company retired both the name and the bird and rebranded the platform as X.

Now that you know where it came from, here’s what it’s good for.

What exactly is Twitter for?

With the use of this platform, we can achieve several beneficial effects for our brand and to generate a reputation in accordance with our institutional values:

Create brand image

As I mentioned earlier, this social network allows us to publicize our company and the values we want to promote on the Internet, helping more people around the world learn about it every day, given the platform’s international reach.

Thus, by maintaining consistent activity and being present at online events in our commercial sector, we will achieve better Brand Positioning in the minds of our potential clients.

Promote products

We can use the “tweets” to promote our products, although we must not abuse the commercial nature of these messages, if we want to get followers on a recurring basis.

The best thing, as with all social platforms, is undoubtedly to provide valuable content to users, while occasionally mentioning our products or services and their benefits.

Communicate relevant facts

If we make any relevant change within the company, such as the creation of a new division, we can use this channel to communicate it in an agile and useful way.

Its markedly informative and journalistic nature means that any evolution in our company may be of interest to the users who are there and who follow us.

Analyze the competition

Just as you can share news, your competitors will too. Following their accounts lets you watch their messages and conversations, and see which relationships they build, before you make business decisions. For your own account’s numbers, see how Twitter Analytics works.

Private lists are useful for this. You can group competitors, journalists or customers into a list and read it without following the accounts publicly.

Customer Support

The platform can work as a customer service channel because replies are fast and public. Many companies add automated replies or a chatbot to handle the first response.

Email is still a common way for customers to contact brands, but many customers also send questions and complaints through social media. If you offer support there, decide who answers and how fast.

Learn more about our client

Given the incessant conversation on this social network, we can talk with our customers and potential buyers about issues that concern them and relate to our company or sector.

Therefore, we must take advantage of each of our followers’ comments to turn them into business opportunities and, in turn, identify our online Target Audience or buyer persona.

Networking

We can also take this wonderful “offline” marketing technique online, thanks to Twitter, since it allows us to connect at the company level with influential people in our sector, who we can turn into ambassadors for our brand or simply people who know us.

In this way, they will be able to recommend us in the future.

In addition, by networking “at the same level”, we can also establish “win-win” relationships with other professionals or other businesses, which can lead to beneficial joint actions for both parties.

Human resources management

Like any social network, it leaves a mark on the people who use it, which is why it is a powerful tool for potential candidates to learn about our organization, whether we are recruiters for a company or managing this type of task.

Thus, we can monitor and investigate any candidate who has previously submitted their Curriculum Vitae to our offices.

Transmitter of knowledge

Our company must demonstrate sufficient knowledge of our sector of activity for clients to trust us.

One way to transmit this knowledge is through social networks, where we can disseminate articles from our own blog or share valuable content from others.

I am sure that after learning about the many utilities this social platform offers, you will want to start using it.

If so, you are ready to learn how to create a Twitter account, both for yourself and for your own business.

In addition, once you open your profile, you will be interested in knowing these concepts of the network:

Basic Twitter terminology, do you know them all?

Once you have fully understood what Twitter is, to better understand how it works, it is necessary that we master some terms that are basic and essential terms:

• User: a person with an account, shown by a username preceded by the at sign, such as @username.
• Tweet (or post): each message of up to 280 characters, which can include images, video or links to external pages. Paid X Premium subscribers may get a higher limit, so check X’s official help pages for current details.
• Timeline: the feed where you see messages from the accounts you follow, plus suggested posts.
• Retweet or RT: when we share another user’s content that we find interesting, so that our followers can see it.
• Follower or follower: is the user who has decided to follow us to see the messages we publish.
• Following: the action we perform when we start following a user.
• List: we can create lists of users, grouping them by theme to follow them in a unified way; these lists can be public or private.
• DM (Direct Message): a message you send privately to a user.
• Like: a heart you tap to show you find a tweet interesting.
• Hashtag: a hash sign (#) followed by a word or phrase that groups posts on a common theme. Hashtags are also a handy way to follow all the conversation around a conference or online event.
• Trending topic: a ranking of the most-discussed terms, which can be filtered by country or city.

How does Twitter work, and how can I use it within my Social Media strategy?

There are many and varied objectives that we can consider meeting within our social media strategy. The first thing is to be clear about these objectives to define how we are going to achieve them.

Some of the most common uses are:

Be a channel for capturing Web traffic

This network can be used to disseminate the content of our website. Creating quality content is just as important as ensuring it reaches as many people as possible.

In this way, we will get more and more Web traffic and, therefore, more people interested in visiting our website in search of content that interests them.

Build customer loyalty

When there is some interaction, it is easier to maintain contact with the client, both before and after the purchase, and thus be present in future purchase decisions.

Brand recognition

We can increase our brand’s visibility by being present on it, given the high number of users who use it daily.

Thus, the more mentions and interactions with positive connotations we obtain, the better.

A sales channel

Although neither this nor the other current social networks have been designed to sell directly, if we include links to our product sheets in an eCommerce context, we can use them to offer exclusive discounts to our followers.

In this way, we will increase other factors mentioned above, such as loyalty and recognition of our Trademark.

How can I send a tweet?

At the point where we have already decided on our strategy, we must be clear about how to send a tweet.

Once your account exists, you click the “Tweet” button (called “Post” in some versions of the app) and a window opens where you write your message, up to 280 characters.

You can add a link to your website, blog or a product page.

You can also attach images and GIFs, run polls and use emoji. Then click the button again to publish.

If you link to an article that adds value, influencers are more likely to share it, and it can reach a much larger audience than your own followers.

This is one of the platform’s biggest advantages: you can talk with any type of user, whether they have many followers or few, and over time turn them into ambassadors for your brand. If you’re starting from zero, how to get more followers on Twitter covers the next step.

Frequently asked questions

Is Twitter the same as X?

Yes. Twitter was renamed X in July 2023, and the bird logo was replaced. The service itself, with public short posts, followers and DMs, works the same way, which is why many people still call it Twitter.

How many characters can a tweet have?

A standard tweet can have up to 280 characters. Images, GIFs and links can be attached to it. Paid X Premium accounts may have a higher limit, which X’s official help pages describe.

Is Twitter free to use?

Creating an account, posting, following and sending DMs is free. X also sells optional paid subscriptions with extra features; see X’s own pricing page for current prices.

What’s the difference between a tweet and a DM?

A tweet is public and visible to anyone who can see your profile. A DM, or Direct Message, is a private conversation between you and one or more users.

What can a business use Twitter for?

Businesses use it to build brand awareness, share news, drive visits to their website, answer customer questions and follow what competitors say. It works best when most of what you post is useful and only occasionally promotional.