X for business
The benefits and challenges of X for business, how to set up and manage an account, use advertising and track and evaluate your success.
X, formerly known as Twitter, is a micro-blogging social media platform where users communicate through publishing posts. Posts, formally known as tweets, are messages that are limited to 280 characters. A post can be made up of text and can include links to websites, pictures and videos.
Many businesses use X to communicate with their customers, promote their products or services and share information and advice.
This guide outlines the pros and cons of X for business. It explains how to set up and run a X account for business. This guide includes a video tutorial on how to use X for business.
Advantages and disadvantages of X for business
There are advantages and disadvantages for businesses using X to reach their audience online, consider the benefits and challenges before you start.
X has over 450 million users with many businesses using it to reach and connect with their customers.
Consider if an X account will benefit your business. Are your competitors using it? How do other people in your industry use it? What success are your peers having on X?
Benefits of X for business
There are a number of advantages that using X can bring to a business.
Reach a wide audience
X has a large user base, which could include your potential customers. Using hashtags and other targeting can help you reach an audience interested in a particular topic or in a particular location.
Deliver customer service
The platform allows direct two-way communication with your customers. Because it's a public interaction, if you do it well it will show your business in a positive light
Brand identity
Being on X can help communicate your brand ethos and personality. This should help your business appeal to your target audience and build a loyal follower base.
Feedback
X can be a useful resource for gathering feedback about your products and services from customers.
Cost
It is free of charge to set up an X account. While paid ads are available, many businesses see benefits from organic posts and interactions.
Crisis management
X allows you to be reactive and communicate with your customers during a crisis.
Challenges of X for business
It's important to be aware of the downsides of having an X account.
Resources
Maintaining a presence on X requires a time commitment. It's also important that the staff looking after the account have the right skills and training.
Negative criticism
Customers could complain publicly about products or services. Negative comments can reflect badly on your business. However dealing with complaints well can have a positive impact on your reputation.
Time sensitive
Unless you post at the right time, when your followers are online, your posts could easily be missed.
Spam
Be wary of spam accounts on X. In particular, do not click on suspicious links from users you don't know.
Set up and run an X account for business
How X works and how you can use it as part of your marketing plan, including setting up your profile, getting started and running the account.
If you've decided that running an X account will benefit your business, set up a profile that communicates your brand. Plan regular, relevant content and interact with your audience.
Choosing your name and customising your profile
Your X handle is your how your business will be identified and you should choose your business name if it is available. Once you've selected your handle, eg , you should customise your profile. This will involve adding your introductory bio, which briefly explains your business.
A bio has a character limit, so it should be to the point. For example, the nibusinessinfo.co.uk X page has the following bio: 'Official online channel for business 91Ïã½¶»ÆÉ«ÊÓÆµ, information and advice.'
Complete your profile by adding your company location and web address. You should add a profile picture. This could be your company logo or an individual if it is for a member of staff. Finally you can choose a cover image. You might want to use something that strengthens your brand or represents what your business does.
Get started
When starting out on X you may want to follow like-minded people or organisations. These could be:
- competitors
- suppliers
- other local businesses
- industry experts
- influencers
- customers
You can also raise awareness of your X channel by including your handle on your website, business literature and email signature.
Posting content
A post on X may consist of up 280 characters of text, an image, GIF, video, poll or link. You may choose to post a few times a week or up to several times a day. It may be useful to create a content plan to help you decide when and what to post. See content marketing.
Remember to focus on content that your audience will find useful, relevant and engaging. A smaller portion of your posts can be sales-focused with a call to action. It may be worth paying for extra promotion on your sales focused posts.
X's [registration required] can help you easily share media content like images and videos.
X interactions
An interaction is when someone engages with your X channel - interactions include:
Follow - someone who follows you on X. Your posts will appear on their timeline.
Repost - when another X user shares one of your posts with their followers. This does not necessarily mean that they are endorsing your content, but it does suggest that you have posted something that is of interest to them and their followers.
Mention - when someone else includes your X name in a post that they send. Mentions could occur if someone is referring to you or asking you a question.
Like - when someone likes your post. This can be an acknowledgment or 91Ïã½¶»ÆÉ«ÊÓÆµ of your message. It can be used as a response from a person or organisation that you have mentioned in a post. It is a positive interaction and should be measured in this way.
There are no set rules for who should be using X, or indeed how to use X. Some digital marketing experts refer to X etiquette but it's about finding out what works for your business. The basic communication elements remain - be polite, be courteous, deliver clear and concise messages, and respond to questions people ask you.
Hashtags
By placing the # symbol at the start of a keyword or phrase you can search for posts relating to it. For example if you are looking for information on starting a business you could search the hashtag #startup.
When you are logged into your X profile you will see the top trending hashtags in real time. These can often be specific to a breaking news story, a celebrity or popular television programme.
Use hashtags in your posts to help them be seen by people interested in a particular topic. You can also start your own hashtags for events and campaigns.
X polls
You can use polls to ask questions to your X audience. Polls allow you to add four answer options. Your poll's duration defaults to 1 day, but you can change this. The minimum amount of time for a poll is 5 minutes, and the maximum is 7 days. How each individual votes in the poll is not shared publicly.
Using X polls you can increase engagement by letting customers interact and engage with your brand. You can also use the data collected as useful market research.
X Premium
is a subscription service that anyone can opt-in to. It adds a blue checkmark to your account and offers early access to select features like edit post.
X Premium+
includes all Premium features with additional benefits like no ads and largest reply prioritisation.
X advertising
How to choose the right advertising option on X to meet your campaign goals, and how to use the targeting options to find the right target audience.
You may choose to complement your organic X efforts with paid advertising. This is a more guaranteed way to ensure your post is seen by the right people. X offers a range of paid advertising options to help you achieve particular business goals. Your ads can also be targeted to reach specific audiences.
X advertising options
Choose the right ad format based on what you are trying to achieve. Some of the options include:
Website traffic campaigns
This type of advertising uses a 'website card' that displays an image and text preview of a link to encourage users to click. It works best when your goals are to increase website traffic or secure online sales or registrations.
Increase followers campaigns
If you want to grow your audience on X so your organic posts get a bigger reach, this type of ad is suitable. It focuses on increasing your number of X followers. It's important to set the targeting options correctly so your new audience is relevant to your business.
Promoted posts
Increase the engagements and reach of particular posts by paying to have them promoted. This type of advertising can help share your content across X and stimulate conversations.
Mobile app promotion
This type of ad can send users straight to the app store or open a particular app.
X targeting
Targeting the right people will make your advert more effective and help you to achieve your marketing goals. You have the option to target users based on certain characteristics including:
- language
- gender
- interests
- accounts they follow
- device they are using
- behaviours like online shopping habits
- keywords they have posted or engaged with
- location
You can also use your own email marketing lists to reach your current audience on X.
It's important to evaluate the success of your X advertising and check if are getting a return on investment.
Measure and monitor your X activity
Analyse important X metrics like reach and engagement to help your business effectively market to your online audience and continuously improve.
It is important to measure and monitor certain metrics on your X account to analyse how well your posts are performing. This will help you find out the type of content that works best so you can make improvements.
X metrics
Some important metrics include:
Number of followers
See how many people follow your account over time. Analyse spikes and dips in new followers.
Impressions per post
The number of people who saw your post in their timeline.
Engagements per post
The number of times your post was interacted with. This includes but is not limited to people clicking images and links, reposting and replying.
Link clicks per post
The number of clicks on a link that has been included in your post. This is a particularly important engagement if your goals include driving traffic to your website.
Engagement rate
The impressions received divided by your engagements give a good indicator of how interesting or useful your audience finds your post.
Referrals
Check your website analytics to see how important X is in driving traffic to your site.
Conversions
By adding a tracking code link to your post, you should be able to track how many conversions (eg sales or newsletter registrations) they generate.
You can also analyse your audience and see their demographics and interests. This offers a useful insight into who is following you and how to capture their attention.
Measurement tools
X offers its own free analysis tool - - which allows you to examine data about your posts and audience. This information can also be downloaded into a spreadsheet for further analysis. If you use paid advertising, you will be able to see how this affects your impressions and engagements in comparison to organic posts.
There are also other tools available from third parties that can help you analyse your X activity.
Using website analytics such as can also help you keep track of X referrals and conversions.
There are a number of tools available to help you manage your business' presence on X. These tools allow you to manage tasks that include, scheduling posts, monitoring interactions and saving searches. Some examples include:
• (X's tool, part of X Premium)
• (third-party, paid but offers a free trial)
• (third-party, free basic account with options to pay for more features)