Twitter Users Now Click Links Before Sharing Them

Twitter Users now Click Links Before Sharing Them

In June 2020, Twitter began testing a feature that requires users to read an article before sharing them.

A prompt would appear when trying to retweet a specific link, asking if you would like to open it first. That way, you can avoid sharing misleading content with other platform users.

“Headlines don’t tell the full story,“ the prompt reads. “You can read the full article on Twitter before retweeting.”

As subtle as the message may seem, it turned out to be useful.

According to Twitter, people now open articles 40 percent more often after seeing the prompt. Also, about 33 percent more users now open articles before sharing them with other people. Finally, a few people changed their minds about retweeting an article after reading it.

And that’s fine, says Twitter. It’s why the platform introduced the prompt in the first place — to help people make informed decisions about sharing content.

The feature was only available on Android devices in specific regions.

However, following the success, Twitter is now extending it to everyone globally. Also, the prompt will now appear smaller after seeing it once.

So how does the prompt affect publishers?

Getting More Twitter Users to Read Web Content

As said earlier, these prompts lead to more clicks, and that’s a good thing for publishers.

Indeed, the social media platform could drive more traffic to a specific page. But it’s only useful to publishers that continually upload high-quality content, says Search Engine Land.

Here’s why.

Before now, clickbait headlines could go viral even if the page contains spam content and harmful or incorrect information. However, with more people reading the content before sharing, that now seems unlikely.

In other words, the prompt “has the potential to expose bad publishers as much as it can reward the good ones.”

So, the solution here is obvious. Publishers must focus on creating content that users enjoy reading and sharing with others.

“Sharing an article can spark conversation, so you may want to read it before you Tweet it,” says Twitter.