How to tweet: from tweeting at someone to Twitter threads [Answered]

How to tweet - Every tip you should know to master Twitter

Twitter is a microblogging platform that launched in 2006 with almost 400 million users. That makes for 8,8% of the world’s overall social media user base.

This platform is often used to share breaking news, updates, or unfiltered thoughts.

It is also famous for its virality and all the meme trends that have been born there. These types of content are often shared with 280-character text updates called tweets. A tweet can also include an image or a link.

It’s not the social platform with more users, but it could be considered the one where they are more active. That's what makes it so interesting for individuals and brands alike.

Here are some tips on how to tweet effectively to get the most out of the platform.

How to tweet at someone: mentions and replies

You can use Twitter more than just to publish your thoughts or read the news. If used right, Twitter can be the perfect platform for making new friendships or business networking.

For that, you need to tweet at someone. The one thing you need is their username.

The next step is to open the tweet composer.

There are two things you can do next:

1. If you start your tweet directly by mentioning the username of the person, your tweet will only be visible to that person and not to your followers

2. If you mention the username anywhere else but at the beginning, your followers will be able to see it, as well as the mentioned person

You should know that everyone you mention will be notified, and they will be able to see the tweet and get notifications from any engagement that tweet gets.

Difference between mentions and replies

You need to be aware that these tweet mentions are not the same as Twitter replies. These tweet mentions can be used to tweet directly at someone. But if what you want is to reply to what someone has said, the process looks slightly different.

To do so, you must first find a tweet you wish to reply to. The next step would be to type your reply in the box that appears right underneath, type your reply and then click on the reply button.

Twitter will automatically mention the person you are replying to, so you don’t need to worry about it.

As you're responding to what they've posted, it's a great way to spark new conversations.

Reply using Tweet Hunter

Tweet Hunter is an all-around Twitter tool. One of our features, it’s the CRM feature, which allows you to stay connected to the people you follow as well as help you get more Twitter followers.

To make the replying process smoother, we’ve created the Engage tab. There, you’ll be able to reply to the people that you follow, as well as the people that mention you, or even to people who tweet about certain keywords.

It’s as simple as typing your reply to the tweets that appear and clicking the Reply button. Easy!

How to tweet a thread

We know that the 280 characters that make up a tweet can be limiting. That’s why the platform allows for the existence of threads, or tweetstorms.

A thread is nothing else than a series of tweets, posted by the same user, connected to each other. When you see one on your Twitter feed, it will look like this:

If you click the “Show this thread” button, the entire thread will open. The result is something like this, where all tweets are connected.

Now you might be wondering how to tweet a thread. It’s actually really simple to do.

Step 1: Write your first tweet

First, you need to log in to your Twitter account and go to the Home screen. There, you’ll see the “What’s happening?” box to write tweets. That’s where you’ll type your first tweet.

Step 2: Add more tweets

Once you've done that, you can add the next tweet by pressing the plus sign next to the tweet button.

This will open a window where you can start crafting your thread. Keep pressing the plus button to add more tweets.

Your thread will be then published once you click "Tweet all".

Optional: Use Tweet Hunter for your threads

This is a pretty straightforward process, but to make things even easier, at Tweet Hunter we have our own tweet composer.

Our composer allows you to create a new tweet by pressing the "Enter" key instead of clicking the plus button all the time.

The writing experience is even smoother than on Twitter because you can also preview the thread before publishing it. Also, if you want to get inspired, read this collection of Twitter Threads that have gone viral.

Now you know how to tweet a thread. Yay!

If you are interested in leveling up your thread writing skills, we recommend you take a look at our The Twitter Thread Formula: How to Write Great Threads article.

How to tweet a picture

Twitter is a word-centric social media platform. That doesn’t mean that writing is the only form of content that Twitter allows. In fact, Twitter has seen a rise in the use of images and visuals to communicate ideas.

That brings us to the question of how to tweet a picture. Using the Tweet composer is the first step.

Once there, you’ll see a little picture icon in the bottom left corner. Click it and your file explorer will open automatically. There you can simply select the picture you want to upload, and that’s it.

You can also drag and drop the picture into the composer. Twitter will automatically detect that you want to upload it.

After that, you'll be able to see a preview. You can then tweet the picture directly or add text to complete your tweet.

Tweet a picture using Tweet Hunter

Our own Tweet Composer at Tweet Hunter allows for the same.

It’s as simple as clicking the picture icon or drag and drop the pictures you want to see uploaded.

How to tweet multiple photos

We have seen how to tweet a picture, but you might be wondering if it’s possible to tweet multiple photos. And the answer is yes, with a maximum of 4 photos per tweet.

The process is practically the same as uploading a simple picture. What you need to do is open up your tweet composer, click on the little picture icon on the bottom left of the composer and upload the pictures you want to share.

The only difference is that instead of uploading one picture, you are now uploading up to 4. This is what it looks like:

How to tweet a GIF

There are other types of visual components you can tweet. One of the most popular is GIFs. Gifs are great for your own tweets, but they are also awesome as a reply. Sometimes a GIF can convey way more than a tweet.

To tweet out a GIF, you need to get back to the tweet composer and click on the GIF icon next to the picture icon.

Once that’s done, a GIF search window will open. There you can select from the pre-selected GIFs or type something to look for a different one.

Once you find one that suits you, simply click on it and it will immediately be added to your tweet.

How to add a GIF as a reply

GIFs are often great to react to what someone said. What you might struggle to say with words, you might say with a GIF.

This is how you add a GIF as a reaction: When you are about to reply to a tweet, the same GIF icon will appear on the bottom left side of the tweet composer.

Simply click on it, select the GIF you want to use as your reply, and post it.

Next steps

Our goal with this post was to provide you with everything you need to get started with Twitter. To get the most out of Twitter, you need to know the absolute basics.

If you are looking for something a little bit more advance, check our how to get your first 1000 followers article, it will help you get there faster.

And if you are looking for the perfect tool to come on that journey, that’s Tweet Hunter.