Twitter says it will ease its 140-character limit for tweets, allowing users to add links, attachments and some other features without adding to the count.
The move comes as Twitter's efforts to increase its user base and engagement have been sputtering, raising questions about its growth trend.
"Over the past decade, the tweet has evolved from a simple 140-character text message to a rich canvas for creative expression featuring photos, videos, hashtags, Vines and more," Twitter product manager Todd Sherman said in a statement.
"So, you can already do a lot in a tweet, but we want you to be able to do even more."
Sherman said names in replies, and media attachments such as photos, videos and polls would no longer be counted toward the character limit.
He added updates would be implemented "over the coming months" and said developer partners would be given the tools to enable the change on sites that use Twitter.
Relaxing the 140-character limit, which was set due to mobile-phone text-messaging constraints in place when Twitter launched in 2006, is expected to encourage more use and sharing of pictures, videos and links.
Another new feature will enable users to retweet or "quote" their own messages "when you want to share a new reflection or feel like a really good one went unnoticed".
Twitter will also broadcast the "reply" tweet to all followers of a given user. This will eliminate the need for a sometimes misunderstood technique in which users had to add a character to a reply to allow it to be viewed broadly.
Twitter trending flat while other social media grow
Greg Sterling of the Local Search Association, a marketing trade group, also played down the change as "incremental" for Twitter's efforts.
"It's a positive move and will enhance usage," Sterling said.
But Sterling said Twitter is struggling because it has not kept pace with other big networks like Facebook and Instagram.
"Facebook, Instagram and others have sucked some of the engagement out of the room for people to share pictures and other content, and they are pre-empting Twitter," he said.
Last month, Twitter released a quarterly update that showed little change in its user base. In a key metric in the fast-evolving social media world, Twitter's trend was flat.
The number of monthly active users was 310 million, up 3 per cent from a year ago and only slightly higher than the 305 million in the previous quarter.
Marketing experts said the changes would also be welcomed by companies looking tell a deeper story to push their product.
AFP