How to Use Twitter (Now X)

What is X?

X is a social media platform where users post short messages, images, videos, polls, and more. These posts, previously called “tweets,” are now called "posts," with a 280-character limit per post. X is ideal for sharing quick updates, product announcements, links to other content elsewhere, or even conducting polls.

As of 2022, Twitter (now X) boasted 229 million monetizable daily active users globally, making it a crucial platform for businesses to establish an online presence. Even if your business isn’t heavily active on X, maintaining a profile helps customers find and connect with your brand.

In 2022, Elon Musk acquired Twitter and rebranded it to X, a move aligned with his vision of creating an "everything app" beyond a traditional social media platform.

The rebranding into a super app involved several key changes:

• Logo: The original blue bird logo was replaced with a simple black and white "X."
• Naming conventions: Tweets were to be called "X's," though the new term for retweets is "reposts."
• Domain: While Twitter.com remained functional, X.com began redirecting to the platform.
• Branding inconsistencies: The rollout was noticeably inconsistent, with references to "Twitter" and the bird logo remaining in various parts of the site and app.

The rationale behind this massive change stemmed from Musk's long-standing interest in the letter "X" and his ambition to create a multi-functional app similar to China's WeChat to deliver real value to those using it.

It's unclear exactly why the name "X' was chosen, and the abrupt nature of the change and lack of clear communication left many users confused about what to expect moving forward.

While Musk and then-CEO Linda Yaccarino hinted at expanded functionalities, the immediate impact on user experience was cosmetic. Under its new branding, users can expect a continued evolution of the social networking site, though the specifics remain unclear.

What is X used for?

X (formerly Twitter) is a social media platform businesses and individuals use. Content on X varies widely, from advertisements to simple jokes and personal thoughts. As a brand, it’s essential to understand how X works and how you can leverage that knowledge to engage with X users.

Brands use X to promote content related to their business. For instance, you might post a link to a current sale or share information about upcoming events. X allows brands to reach a larger audience organically, promoting products, sales, and events.

Individuals use X for various reasons. Some follow their favorite athletes, while others post one-liners and opinions. Many also follow brands they like, allowing businesses to build rapport with their customers by consistently sharing valuable content.

How does X work?

X (formerly Twitter) is a micro-blogging platform that functions as a blog for shorter posts. While a typical blog post may have a few hundred words, posts on X are limited to 280 characters. Many posts are often fewer than 50 words.

When a user publishes a post, other X users can engage with it in various ways. They can click the heart icon to "like" a post  or use the circular arrow icon to "repost" and share it with their followers. Users also have the option to "quote ," allowing them to share a post while adding their commentary.

Like other social media platforms, X allows users to comment on public posts. Engaging with your customers through replies on X can effectively build and maintain relationships, especially if your target audience is active on the platform.

How to use X: A guide for beginners

X provides an excellent platform for businesses to share content, promote sales, and build a community. Here's a step-by-step guide for beginners looking to use X effectively:

1. Create an X account

To get started on X, the first thing you need to do is create your X account. Creating an account is as simple as providing essential information and choosing a name for your X account. In addition to your display name, you'll need to choose a unique name known as your handle. This handle is how other users will find your company's X account.

Regarding your X handle, you want to choose something simple to remember. Try to avoid using too many memorable characters and numbers in your name so that you can make it easier to read and write.

2. Upload a profile picture

Your profile picture is one of the first things people see on X, so choose a picture representing your brand. This could be a picture of your storefront, for example, or it could be a brand logo or something similar. You don't have to spend too much time finding a good profile picture, but you should at least find something that fits your brand.

3. Write your bio

When people visit your X profile, your bio is one of the first things they will see. This bio should contain basic information about your brand, including anything important you want people to know when they first visit your profile. You can also include any hashtags related to your brand and your location in your profile's “Location” section.

4. Link to your website

If you want your posts to help grow your website, you must ensure your X profile has a link to your website. If one of your posts gets many impressions and people start visiting your profile, you want them to see a link to your website as quickly as possible.

You can add a link under the “Website” section. If you want to add multiple links to your bio, you can also include links in the written portion of your bio.

5. Follow other X users

X isn't much fun if you're not interacting with people, so take some time to follow other users who may be in a similar industry as you. X can help you find people to follow based on your interests, or you can start by searching for the names of some of the people and brands you want to follow. Following and interacting with other users is a great way to increase visibility and help boost your brand.

The last thing you need to do to take advantage of X is share content. Your content can be anything you want, but the main goal should be getting people to read, reply, and share. The more people look at your content and share it on their timelines, the more that content will spread and reach a larger audience.

Good examples of shareable content include informative blog posts and stories, videos about your products or services, links to sales and deals, infographics, and funny content. As is the case, the content you choose depends on your brand and the tone you want it to have.

6. Share content

The last thing you need to do to take advantage of X is share content. Your content can be anything you want, but the main goal should be getting people to read, reply, and share. The more people look at your content and share it on their timelines, the more that content will spread and reach a larger audience.

Good examples of shareable content include informative blog posts, videos about your products or services, links to sales and deals, infographics, pictures, and funny content. As is the case when you build a website, the content you choose depends on your brand and the tone you want it to have.

7. Customize your feed

Customizing your X feed is a great way to tailor your experience and see the most relevant content.

Follow specific accounts in your industry, including thought leaders, customers, and even competitors. You can also create lists to group accounts by themes, making it easier to focus on specific content when needed. X suggests topics based on your activity, so following these can help you see more related content.

Remember to engage with posts by liking, reposting, and commenting because X's algorithm will show you more of what you interact with. If you come across unwanted content, don't hesitate to use the mute or block features.

8. Enable two-factor authentication

Securing your X account is crucial, especially for businesses, and enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) is one of the easiest and most effective ways to add an extra layer of security.

To set up two-factor authentication (2FA) on X, start by going to "Settings and privacy" in the side menu, then navigate to "Security and account access" and click on "Security." Select "Two-factor authentication" from there and choose your preferred method: text message, authentication app, or security key.

Follow the instructions on your screen to complete the setup process, which may involve confirming your email address, entering a verification code, or linking an authentication app.

Once enabled, you'll need to provide both your password and the secondary authentication method when logging in, significantly enhancing your account's security.

Remember, as of March 2023, text message 2FA is only available for X Premium subscribers, so consider using an authentication app or security key if you don't have a premium account.

When you're just getting started, X can be a little confusing with all the terminology people use. From posts to mentions and handles, many simple words take on different meanings when it comes to X. Here's a breakdown of some of the most popular X terminology.

Handle

An X handle is the unique name that people use to find your profile. When people say their X handle, they typically say “at” before their handle; this is written as “@[your handle]”. Your X  handle is also used in the URL for your profile page, where you can find it after the “/” at the end of the X URL.

When you start an account, take some time to find a good handle that's not too complex. You want an X handle that's easy to type and read, so try to avoid overusing numbers or special characters.

Hashtags

Hashtags are one of the most important aspects of X especially if you're a brand trying to reach a larger audience. Hashtags starts with “#” followed by a single word or combination of words.

When an X user clicks hashtags, they can look at all the recent posts that have used hashtags. Using hashtags in posts can help you reach a larger audience, including people who don't follow you.

Like

When someone sees a post they like, they can express that by clicking the “Like” button. The “Like” button is a small, heart-shaped button beneath every post. When a person likes a post, the number of likes is displayed next to the heart. People can look at what others have liked on X, and those liked posts will even show up on the timelines of users who don't follow you from time to time.

Mention

When a person types “@” followed by your X handle, you get a notification when the post is sent, known as mentioning someone. It's common for big brands to mention celebrities in their posts, whether they're working on an ad campaign together or simply trying to engage with another profile.

Keep in mind that mentions can be annoying if you overuse them. For the best results, you should try to use mentions somewhat sparingly.

Quote post

A quote post is like a quote from the old days of forums. When you quote a post, you share the original post and add your thoughts to it. You might use a quote post to voice an opinion or publicly respond to your customers. When you quote a post, it's shown on your timeline as one of your posts.

Quote posts can be a great way to interact with your customers and jump into conversations to help grow your X presence. Simply quoting a post and sharing your opinion on a topic can boost your brand greatly.

Repost

If you simply want to share a post without adding any of your thoughts, you can repost it.

The repost  button is the same as the quote post button; you'll be given the option between reposting and quote posting  once you click the button. If you repost a post, this button should turn green, and you should be good to go.

While reposts can be an excellent way to share valuable content with your followers, try to avoid spamming your timeline with reposts.

Thread

A thread is a group of several related posts. People use threads to have a slightly longer conversation about a topic, with some threads including more than a dozen posts. If you have strong feelings about something or want to share valuable information with customers, threads can help you provide more detail.

Tips for using X

Getting started with X is simple enough, but using it correctly can be tough. Here are some tips for using X for your business.

Define branding guidelines

Start by establishing clear branding guidelines that you can use as a guide for your posts and X presence. You can use tools to manage digital assets to make it easier to keep your branding consistent, but deciding on clear branding guidelines is an essential first step.

It would be best if you tried to find a post format you can reuse, which may include the fonts and colors you use in images you share, your tone of voice, and more. As a brand, you need to know how your posts reflect on your private company.

If you're unsure what look, feel, or presence your brand should have on X, you can always look at your website for inspiration.

Engage with your audience

Engaging with your audience is the most important part of using X the right way. This starts with creating exciting content that gets people to look at and share your posts, but that's not all you have to do.

When somebody quotes one of your posts with a question or gives you constructive criticism on one of your posts, you should take the time to respond to them. Responding to your customers (and potential customers) can help you build trustworthiness and establish brand authority.

You can also engage with your audience by liking and reposting posts that your customers share, especially posts that mention your brand. The more you can do to keep your audience engaged and ready to read your posts, your brand will be better off.

Track performance

Social media marketing doesn't do you much good if you can't measure its performance. Our final tip for using X for your business is to track the performance of your posts regularly to see how you're doing. Are your posts getting a lot of impressions? If so, are people who view your post  liking or sharing it?

Of course, tracking your performance is only part of the battle. If you notice certain types of posts don't perform particularly well, consider switching those posts up a bit or eliminating them. Taking action based on performance data is essential to successful social media marketing.

Leverage trending topics

Keep an eye on the "Trending" section of the platform to see what's currently capturing users' attention. When you find a trend relevant to your brand or industry, join the conversation by creating content that aligns with trending hashtags.

However, ensuring your contribution is meaningful and not forced is crucial. Avoid jumping on every trend; select those that genuinely relate to your brand's voice and values. Remember, authenticity is critical – users can quickly spot and may negatively react to blatant attempts to capitalize on unrelated trends.

Use X analytics

X analytics is a valuable tool for tracking and optimizing your performance on the platform. To access it, navigate to the "Analytics" section in your account settings. Here, you'll find a wealth of data about your posts, followers, and overall account performance.

Pay attention to metrics like impressions, engagement rates, and follower growth.

Use this information to refine your content strategy, experimenting with different post formats, topics, and posting times based on what the data shows is most effective.

Best practices for X posting frequency

Finding the right posting frequency on X is crucial for maintaining engagement without overwhelming your followers.

While there's no one-size-fits-all answer, most experts recommend posting 1-5 times per day for businesses. However, quality always trumps quantity – sharing fewer, high-quality posts per week is better than flooding your followers' feeds with low-value content.

Pay attention to your analytics to see when your audience is most active, and only schedule posts when they're likely to be online.

Experiment with different posting frequencies and times, then analyze the results to find what works best for your specific audience. Remember to maintain a consistent presence – sporadic bursts of activity followed by long silences can be detrimental to building a loyal following.

X's role in modern social media marketing

X has cemented itself as a crucial platform for businesses and personal branding in the modern digital landscape. Its real-time nature makes it ideal for sharing breaking news, engaging in timely conversations, and providing customer service.

X offers unique opportunities for businesses to connect directly with customers, gauge public sentiment, and participate in trending discussions relevant to their industry.

The platform's ad targeting capabilities allow for precise audience targeting, while features like hashtags and trending topics enable brands to increase their visibility organically.

X has become a powerful tool for thought leadership, allowing individuals and companies to establish authority in their fields through consistent, valuable content sharing. As the app continues to evolve and adapt, its role in social media marketing strategies remains vital.

It offers a dynamic space for brands to build relationships, drive engagement, and stay relevant in fast-paced digital conversations.

Final notes

X is a great social media marketing tool if you use it right, but there's a bit of a learning curve. As a business owner, you must take the time to figure out the basics of social media and how to use social media to boost brand awareness and marketing efforts.

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