There are over 540 million X (formerly Twitter) users worldwide, with around 350 thousand tweets sent every minute. America has the highest number of users. And some of them are hilarious. They manage to make us laugh, even with a 280 character limit.

Experts say using humor is a great way to build your social media following. But there’s an art to writing a funny tweet. “You don’t have to be a seasoned comedian to write funny tweets. A little practice and the willingness to indulge in some self-deprecating humor can go a long way,” reads this blog.

Before you start thinking up your 280 character jokes, you need to research your audience. And find out what they think is funny. One way to do this is by using Google Analytics to determine who your followers are. Where do they stay? What’s their gender? You can also look into their topical interests. And tie these into your funny tweets.

It also helps to research the funny people on “X”. Check out their writing style and some of the conventions they use. “For example: hashtags, the use of understatement, all caps for emphasis, all lowercase with no punctuation, sentences that get cut off on purpose, abbreviations like tfw and tbh, etc,” suggests the Gold Comedy site.

One characteristic that sets “X” apart from other apps is the need for tight, concise writing. You only have 280 characters to get your point, or punchline across. The Gold Comedy site likens it to being stranded on an island… and writing a letter in a bottle. “You would need to maximize each sentence in order to provide the most information,” reads the site.

“Regardless of whether you’re writing comedy/drama, words are a currency that fund your message. Always think, can I say the same thing in one word instead of two? Which is actually a great exercise to apply for joke-writing in general.”

Many of the funniest tweets are one-liners. And while they’re short, they need to have two parts. The first is the setup. It’s what gets the reader hooked and leads them down a particular journey. The second part is the punchline. “This is where you deliver a surprise twist, making the joke funny,” reads Tweet Hunter. 

“There are two basic rules to follow when writing one-liners. The punchline should always come at the end of the joke. The distance between the set-up and punchline should be short to make it funnier.”

Experts say it’s better to avoid offensive jokes. They probably won’t help increase your following. And could even cost you followers. Another tip is to time your tweet well. And be witty. This means posting when your followers are most active but also taking advantage of trends or events.

When Facebook changed its name to "Meta" in October 2021, Wendy’s was one of the first to jump on the bandwagon. Their simple tweet “Changing name to meat” quickly went viral. It was reposted by tens of thousands of people. And received hundreds of thousands of likes.

Once you have some ideas, test them to see what works for your personal style. Run your jokes past your friends. And practice practice practice. “The best way to decide whether that new joke you made up is Twitter-worthy or not is by first testing it out on a few people,” reads the Tweet Hunter’s blog. “Having a vetting process will help you weed out the not-so-good jokes from the true gems.”