Twitter recently introduced Circles, which revolutionizes how you can target tweets. Rather than broadcasting to all followers, Circles let you segment followers into private groups for more exclusive posting.
This guide will walk through everything you need to know to master Twitter Circles. We‘ll look at:
- What Circles Are and Their Key Capabilities
- Step-by-Step Setup Instructions for Mobile and Desktop
- Circles Privacy, Limits, and Expected Evolution
- Expert Analysis on Ideal Circles Use Cases
So whether you want to filter tweets for closer friends, segment your audience, or just understand this major new feature, read on!
What Are Twitter Circles and Why Do They Matter?
Historically, everything shared publicly on Twitter goes out to all your followers by default. Outside of private DMs, you couldn‘t segment followers.
Enter Twitter Circles, which let you target tweets to specific subsets of followers rather than everyone. Essentially, custom share groups.
With Circles, tweets stay visible only to the people you designate within your Circles. This table summarizes the key capabilities:
| Capability | Details |
|---|---|
| Custom Tweet Targeting | Share tweets just to your Circle members rather than every follower |
| Private Tweeting | Tweets within Circles don‘t appear publicly on your profile or to followers outside your Circle |
| Refined Audience Segmenting | Curate custom follower groups for more relevant posting |
| Limits? | One Circle max per account with up to 150 members |
Circles aim to make Twitter feeds more relevant by targeting content, while having private conversations. Personalization and intimacy at scale.
This is especially powerful for public figures or brands managing huge followings and interactions. It prevents every tweet needing to resonate across all groups.
Bottom line? Targeted tweet visibility to connect closer with the audiences you want.
Now let‘s get into the step-by-step setup details…
How to Set Up and Use Twitter Circles on Mobile
Ready to start segmenting your tweets with Circles? Here is an in-depth walkthrough for mobile:
| Step | Action | Screenshots |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open your Twitter app and log into your account if needed. Tap your profile icon to go to your Twitter feed. |  |
| 2 | Tap the compose tweet icon (quill pen) at the bottom to open a new tweet window. |  |
| 3 | By default your tweet goes to "Everyone" publicly. Tap this and choose "Twitter Circle" instead. |  |
| 4 | If you haven‘t already made a Circle, tap the + icon to create one now. Search and select followers to add to your Circle. |  |
| 5 | Craft your tweet as normal, then tap Tweet to share exclusively with your Circle rather than all followers. |  |
And that covers the full setup process on mobile!
It takes just minutes to start segmenting Twitter followers into Circles for more relevant tweets. Set up your Circle once, then use it forever after for private sharing.
Example Twitter Circle Use Cases on Mobile
Once you have Circles configured in the app, how might you use this improved audience targeting?
Here are some example Circle use cases specifically on mobile:
- Create an inner circle for casual thoughts to share with close friends rather than professionally
- Build Circle with your organization‘s team to share context others shouldn‘t see
- Use Circles for feedback groups around early-stage projects or concepts
- Designate Circles for family, friends, work peers, fans/followers, or any other segments
Twitter product designer Esther Crawford shared her testing of Circles for personal, work, friends, and more intimate groups. The configurations are extremely flexible.
Segmenting audiences this way keeps Twitter interactions more contextual. And doing so from mobile makes building those circles easy anytime.
Up next, let‘s explore managing Circles from the web…
Configure and Manage Twitter Circles from Desktop
In addition to mobile app functionality, Twitter Circles work seamlessly from the Twitter web experience as well.
While the core concepts carry over from mobile, here are the steps adapted for desktop usage:
| Step | Action | Screenshots |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | On your web browser, navigate directly Twitter.com or find any Twitter link online. In the top right corner, click Login to access your account. |  |
| 2 | From the left sidebar, click the Tweet button to open a new tweet window. Alternately, click the "What‘s Happening" box at top. |  |
| 3 | Rather than tweeting to all followers as default, click the Everyone dropdown and select Twitter Circle instead. |  |
| 4 | If you don‘t already have a Circle made, click the + icon to create one now. Search and choose followers to add just like on mobile. |  |
| 5 | With your Circle designated, craft and send your tweet normally. It will now only reach members of that Circle rather than every follower. |  |
This mirrors much of the functionality from mobile – segment followers, target tweets, enhance privacy.
Doing so from the Twitter website grants larger screens and keyboards for ease of use. But mobile certainly works as well.
Unique Twitter Circle Use Cases on Web
Aside from portability differences, web vs mobile Circles come down more to use case nuances.
Some examples best suited to desktop Circles configuration:
- Building Circles via browser for easier visualization and bulk selection from all followers
- Using Circles integration with TweetDeck or other Twitter dashboards
- Analyzing Circle member data and tweeting patterns through exports
- Coordinating Circles across team members for streamlined workflow
Web access allows power users, brands, agencies, or anyone managing larger follower bases more tools to benefit from Circles groups. Mobile works great for personal accounts.
Now that we‘ve covered Circles foundation, let‘s explore advanced details including limits, privacy protection, and more…
Key Circles Details: Membership Limits, Tweet Privacy, Expected Evolution
We‘ve walked through getting started on mobile and the web. But Twitter will likely expand over time. Here is a deeper look at current details and analysis:
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Membership Limit? |
|
| Number of Circles Allowed | One Circle per account. So segment followers, but only tweet privately to one custom group now. |
| Privacy Protection |
|
| Expected Evolution | As Twitter rolls out and tests, likely possibilities over time include:
|
The above shows key current functionality. But also possibilities like expanding groups, adding more simultaneous groups per account, or enabling tweeting across different circles rather than just one designated space.
Product designer Esther Crawford mentioned multi-circle testing to let brands compartmentalize community conversations.
We could also see audience analytics around Circle members and tweet resonance to inform content. Promotional options to get your circles more followers. And more!
But for now, core components like 150 members and single Circle tweet segmentation are still extremely useful.
Best Practices and Use Cases for Twitter Circles
Covering capabilities and limitations provides the mechanics of Circles groups at launch. But when and why might you want to use this updated selectivity?
Let‘s explore some smart use cases with best practices as you manage audience targeting via Circles:
Private Sharing With True Inner Circles
Rather than choosing public figures or celebs you don‘t know as followers, build Circles with friends, family and close acquaintances. Share casual moments without professional filtering or risk of public judgement.
Exclusive Content and Interactions
Reward Circle members through exclusivity. Give them early access to news, content or promotions before wider release. Ask for input using Circles polls only select members can view and contribute to.
Contextual Community Building
Group superfans in a branded Circle. Politicians might segment donors vs volunteers. Schools can target parents vs teachers. Circles keep interactions hyper-relevant to the right crowds.
Funnel Marketing & Nurturing Sequences
Build circles for subscribers at various product funnel stages. Engage cold leads differently than trial users or longtime power customers. Continue nurturing sequences even post-conversion.
Those demonstrate just a few ways to tap the targeted reach of Circles for more meaningful exchanges on Twitter. The flexibility is extremely powerful!
Recap and Final Thoughts
That wraps our complete overview on maximizing Twitter‘s new Circle capabilities!
Key takeaways:
- Circles segment followers into private groups for targeted tweeting rather than default public
- You can craft custom share groups based on any relationship or traits
- Keep conversations contextualized and relevant to the right audiences
- Tightly control privacy around vulnerable sharing or early content
We also covered mobile and desktop setup, usage ideas, limits, and analysis around potential expansion of the functionality.
As Twitter continues refining features in coming months, this guide will equip you to benefit immediately from the game-changing audience and privacy superpowers of Circles.
Time to put this new tweet selectivity into practice! Start building exclusive crowds, then make them feel special through VIP access and interactions possible with Circles filtering.
What use cases are you most interested to try with Twitter‘s new segmenting capabilities? Which bits of our guide resonated most or any other feedback to improve it? Let us know in the comments!
