Retweets

What Is A Retweet?

A retweet is the re-sharing of a post or tweet on Twitter. When someone “tweets” or shares some form of content on the social media app Twitter, you can retweet it, so it appears on your profile too. And your followers will see that you’ve retweeted something.

At times, people may add "RT" at the beginning of a Tweet to indicate that they are reposting someone else's content. While not an official Twitter command or feature, it only shows that they are quoting another person's Tweet.

It's easy to remember the term "retweet" since it sounds a lot like "repeat." In other words, you’re repeating what the other user wrote. And you can abbreviate the term "retweet" as "RT."

You may use the term as a noun:

Retweets are a form of applause for a Twitter user.

Or as a verb:

John's off-the-cuff post has been retweeted more than ten million times.

Many Twitter users retweet posts that they find amusing, interesting, or provocative. It’s a way of exposing an original Tweet to more people to reach a wider audience. And it can at many times be one of the most effective ways to timely get your follower’s attention in case of urgent matters or just to update them.

So, let’s find out how, when, and why to retweet.

How to Retweet

To manually retweet another writer's post, write a post that uses the abbreviation RT followed by the original poster's name and message, like this:

RT @twitteruser I love orange juice!

This indicates you are sharing the message "I love orange juice," which was originally posted by @TwitterUser.

But you don't have to retweet manually; Twitter and most Twitter clients, like Tweetdeck, make it even easier to share an interesting post by using the retweet icon underneath each tweet. This icon looks like two arrows forming a square.

What’s more, when you retweet, you have the option to add your comments to it, which means you may share your opinion on any information you're sharing. And since Twitter doesn't count the content of the tweet you’re sharing in the 140-character limit, you’ll have some additional room to speak your mind.

Retweet Etiquette: When and Why to Retweet

There are many good reasons to retweet a post. Here are some examples:

• Retweet a political statement you agree with, so more people read it.
• Share a helpful tip with your friends.
• Link to an interesting article you think your followers would like to read.
• Retweet a sweepstakes post to enter to win.
• Retweet something you disagree with along with your counterargument.

Retweeting can help you share valuable content with your followers and help build a connection with the original poster. In other words, a person you retweeted is more likely to retweet your posts in the future, which will expose your writing to a broader audience. 

What’s more, retweeting causes a kind of ripple effect. When your friends retweet your retweets, and their friends do the same, and so on, it can make a post visible around the world in a concise amount of time!

As a result, if you continue to post and repost effectively, you can build a following of millions of people over time. 

Some mutually understood Twitter rules include when people add “Please RT” to their tweets, which essentially means that they’re asking you to retweet or share the post with your followers. It can help when it’s important to circulate a piece of crucial information, such as news relevant to a location.

Key Takeaway

Overall, retweets are a way to reshare previously published content on Twitter and allow you to interact and engage with other people on the platform consistently. Retweeting things is a great way to increase their visibility or just to share your interests with your followers! It can also allow you to build genuine connections with people and benefit your followers.