How to make a “thread” (or “tweetstorm”) on Twitter

If you’ve been on Twitter recently, you might have noticed more and more people have a topic they want to discuss that takes far more than the 140 character limit per Tweet allowed. When they have a long topic to discuss, they create a “thread” on Twitter you can read all at once.

Here’s an example of a “thread” that was recently posted by Twitter…

Example of a Twitter thread

The way to create a “thread” like the one above was outlined in a recent Twitter Business post.

The process is very simple…

  1. Create a “first” tweet
  2. Reply to your own “first” Tweet
  3. If your @name appears in the Tweet compose field, delete it. The reply you type will nest under your first Tweet automatically.
  4. Continue replying to the newest / most recent Tweet in your thread until your narrative is complete.

That’s it!

For clarification, multiple posts in a row on the same topic are sometimes also referred to as “tweetstorms”, especially if they carry on for awhile.

If you want to create a “tweetstorm” with a numeric tally at the beginning of each tweet so your followers know how long the post will be (EX: A prefix of 1/12, then 2/12, then 3/12, etc…) there’s a freemium web service called WriteRack that will do that for you. You just paste your entire topic to their website (after you authorize WriteRack to access Twitter), and their service will break up your topic and post it for you with the appropriate sequence.

WriteRack’s free version limits you to 15 tweets in a “thread” and does not allow you to post images or space the postings out in a specified timeframe. Their premium service ($19.95 annually) allows for 100 tweets in a “thread” and removes the restrictions from the “free” version.

Be careful with all the other online apps that offer to post threads / tweetstorms for you. Some “need” to update your profile and add followers to your account as well as access your contacts. Choose another service if you see those requirements when connecting the app to Twitter.

3 thoughts on “How to make a “thread” (or “tweetstorm”) on Twitter

  1. I can’t seem to delete my @name either in IOS 10 on iPad when I hit reply. Using the twitter app. If I tap on it, I can delete others in the conversation but my @name is greed out. Maybe twitter ‘fixed’ this?

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