Twitter is a globally used microblogging platform with a limit of 280 characters to break and spread news, share opinions, and anything else in typed form. Users can quote a tweet from someone else as well to share with their followers.
Businesses and brands use retweets in several ways to engage with their audience and grow their following. However, sometimes you may accidentally share a tweet and may not want it to show on your timeline anymore. If you’re looking for how to delete a retweet on Twitter, then let’s get started.
What Is A Retweet?
For anyone not familiar with a retweet, it is a re-posting of a tweet to share with everyone who follows you. You can retweet tweets from someone else or your own as well. Users usually type “RT” to indicate that they are quoting someone else; i.e, sharing their content. It is not an official Twitter command though.
Twitter users frequently hit the retweet icon to share tweets with followers. There are various valid reasons behind it with the most important being getting noticed. Retweeting can help you gain authority and mentions, but only if you do it right, which we’ll learn later on in the article.
How Do you Share A Tweet On Twitter?
To share a tweet that you come across from someone, you simply click the retweet icon that appears below the tweet. It will give you two options, as shown below:
The difference between the two is that clicking retweet will instantly share the tweet whereas by quoting the tweet, you can add your thoughts.
Doing this will show the tweet on your profile making it visible to all your followers. Similarly, tweets from people you follow will show up on your timeline. Users on Twitter usually share comic tweets or news that they want to spread.
Sometimes you may be unable to retweet a tweet. This is because users can protect and restrict their tweets from being retweeted. You’ll know this when a lock icon appears next to a profile name, as shown below:
How To Delete A Retweet On Twitter?
To understand how to delete a retweet on Twitter, first know that there is no specific “delete” button to remove it. You can follow the steps mentioned below to remove it from your profile:
- Go to your profile on Twitter
- Find the retweet you want to delete
- Click the retweet button to remove it from your Twitter timeline
- You can refresh the page to confirm.
Deleting a retweet does not delete the original tweet. It just deletes the retweet that you have made. Sometimes, chances are that your retweet will automatically be removed. In case if the original tweet was deleted by the author or their Twitter account was removed or suspended, then your retweet will no longer remain visible.
How To Turn Off Retweets
Now you know how to delete a retweet on Twitter. You can also turn off retweets from people when you don’t like the content they share. To do this, simply go to their profile and click “turn off retweets” from the menu that appears as you click the three vertical dots, as shown below:
This option does not apply to retweets already on your timeline, however, it is effective for new ones. Also, you may not be able to restrict all retweets from all accounts according to Twitter Help Center.
Using Retweets To Build Your Brand Identity
Retweeting is a great way to build your brand, engage followers and gain new ones. However, retweeting anything and everything on Twitter may not get you the desired results, or worse, it could backfire.
Businesses need to align their social media strategy with their brand values. Here are some ways you can use retweets to build your social media presence on Twitter:
Don’t Just Retweet
See a tweet that could benefit your followers? Avoid just retweeting it. The better way to retweet is by quoting it and adding your thoughts to it. A good way is to start your retweet message with “RT” and then follow with your opinion.
This shows your followers that you’re acknowledging someone’s tweet and spending time editing it to share something valuable with them.
Connect With The Right Accounts
Retweeting can help you get your message in front of a larger audience and benefit from the following of others. However, to do that, follow and share relevant content from similar pages in your niche.
Retweeting a couple of times from key influences and brands in your industry can help you get noticed and gain retweets in return. However, be mindful of not being spammy by retweeting everything they post. Striking a balance is important to get noticed.
Share Educating Content
You can gain the trust of your followers when they view you as someone sharing useful and educative content. By retweeting insightful and thoughtful content from industry leaders, it is much more likely that you will get retweets from them as well. This allows you to get in front of a larger audience and thus gain more followers.
Show The Lighter Side
For a business, it is important to strike the right balance when it comes to retweeting. You don’t have to always just retweet content about your business or business tips. Occasionally, it could be the funny memes that show your brand’s human side.
You can also retweet your users and get creative with your retweets. Putting a smile on your follower’s faces is just another way of connecting better and humanizing your brand.
Knowing how to delete a retweet on Twitter is a useful thing. It can help you undo a blunder you may have made unknowingly or delete retweets that no longer align with your business vision and values.
However, retweeting in the right way can help you gain an engaged and relevant audience. It can also make your account come across as relevant, thus gaining respect and followers. All of this can work wonders for your brand presence.
Not sure what everyone is saying about your brand? Use our Notifier app to stay top on all social mentions. A social listening tool is a great addition to your business tools that allow you to address social mentions timely. It can also help generate valuable insights and alter your social media strategy as and when required.