The latest updates to Twitter - hashtag definitions and Tweets embedded within Tweets - makes it even easier for brands to launch social marketing campaigns.

The Twitter environment can seem intimidating to a social marketing novice. It has its own language (@replies) and behaviors that don’t always make sense to newcomers (Favorites), so some marketers are understandably wary about dipping their toes into the Twitter water. The social network is aware of this and is working to make it more approachable every day without limiting the appeal of one of the fastest and most buzzworthy marketing channels on the web.

Am I #doing this #right?

First up: hashtags. For new users, this is one of the most confusing aspects of the Twittersphere. When do you use them? What exactly do they do? Even a basic understanding of hashtags leaves room for interpretation, as there are so many unique tags currently in use – and thousands more appear every day. How might a brand just starting out on Twitter know what #ftw (for the win) or #imo (in my opinion) mean, let alone something much more complicated and industry-specific?

The Wall Street Journal did some investigating and found Twitter has begun testing a new feature designed to make hashtags a bit easier to follow. Searching for a hashtag that’s somewhat well-established won’t just turn up posts tagged with it – the Twitter interface will also break down exactly what the hashtag means. Now social marketers can get active sooner, without worrying about using the channel’s lingo incorrectly.

Tweets within Tweets

Another new Twitter feature has already gone live: Tweets embedded within Tweets. This update was ostensibly made to differentiate one person’s content from another. Some new users might find Retweets confusing and don’t necessarily know that “RT” signifies someone rebroadcasting another person’s post.

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To access this feature, users just have to paste a Tweet’s URL into the Twitter interface and set it live. This is also a great way to make sure that a Retweet doesn’t deprive posters of too many of their 140 characters. The URL for each Tweet counts toward the overall number, but the text within the embedded Tweet can take a post beyond 140.

Twitter: Calling all content

As far as social marketing channels go, Twitter is one of the best. Find out why our social media strategists agree. Yet Twitter’s real strength is in the fact that a single 140-character post can be seen by millions of people – both on Twitter itself and through impressions across the web. Influencers, news junkies and high-volume content readers call Twitter home, so there’s never been a better time to take advantage of these new features to share blog posts, videos and infographics.

Alex Butzbach is a Marketing Writer at Brafton. He studied Communications at Boston College, and after a brief stint teaching English in Japan, he entered the world of content marketing. When he isn't writing and researching, he can be found on a bike somewhere in Metro Boston.