Kim Jordan When X (formerly Twitter) launched in 2006, many misunderstood the platform’s purpose. With posts ranging from current events to what users ate for breakfast, the social network was widely discredited. Now, nearly 20 years later, X has gained worldwide popularity with over 540 million monthly active users. Some of X’s top 100 users include household names, like Bill Gates, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and President Barack Obama. A community of this size and with this much influence makes taking a business’ online marketing efforts to X a no brainer. So, how does a company get started—or optimize its current social media presence?
Let’s go over the best practices that all small businesses should know before entering the X community:
Your small business needs to follow a few rules of thumb when posting on any social media platform. These include sharing a mixture of industry-related and promotional content to position your company as a thought leader without appearing spammy. Be sure to include a call-to-action in your post copy and link to shortened URLs that are easy to remember.
X does play a slightly different game than some of those other social platforms, however. For starters,X restricts users to 280 characters per post or 4,000 characters per post if you’ve subscribed to X Premium (AKA, verified X account). This character count includes user tags, hashtags and links, so be sure to craft these posts strategically and tweak the content calendar specifically for X. A verified account on X can also help build trust and credibility with your followers, as many users associate the “blue checkmark” with credibility. This means more engagement and more recognition for your company!
To create a more unified brand image on social media, it is also best practice to update your company’s X profile to match your other social properties. When designing an X profile, resize your existing profile picture and cover photo to the platform’s unique dimensions. Cover photos on X are 1500 pixels wide by 500 pixels high. Profile photos should be no smaller than 400 pixels high by 400 pixels wide. Without proper resizing, profile images will appear pixelated or unclear, which can come across as unprofessional and lacking attention to detail.
A powerful and highly underestimated tool on X is the hashtag. The hashtag first made its way to social networking via X in 2009, allowing users to tag their messages using the pound sign (#) and a relevant keyword. These hashtags are clickable and allow for users to find conversations amongst the X community that relate to any topic they desire.
Using hashtags in posts that relate to a business’ industry and subject matter can be very helpful in making an X profile more visible. We recommend attaching one to two industry hashtags on every post your company makes. It is also possible to increase your visibility on X by simply incorporating SEO-friendly keywords as hashtags in their bio section.
Even more, wouldn’t it be nice to see what your customers are posting about your business? A quick, easy and instantaneous way for small business owners and customers to collaborate with one another is by using a branded hashtag. This shared hashtag is intended to generate brand awareness and filter relevant messages to your business. Examples of a branded hashtag could be #YourBusinessName (ex. #KickCharge) or #YourTaglineAbbreviated—the possibilities are endless. Be creative and make sure that the shared hashtag is unique.
At its core, X is a communication platform. It was developed to allow for quick conversations in large quantities. Therefore, interacting with other members is key to success for any business on the network.
To begin, it is important to follow industry influencers. Industry influencers are defined as personalities already discussing your subject matter, at scale. These individuals have already successfully attracted the audience that you are targeting, so interacting with them can get your business one step closer to that audience. Strategically follow influencers’ interesting audience members and monitor their activity. What types of content do they like? What topics are they discussing and with who? Repost these individuals to begin correspondence. Then, move on to replying to their questions with valuable answers that showcase your level of expertise.
X Lists are a way to organize people your business is following into groups. These groups can be based around topic, origin or company. When viewing these Lists, users are often in search of new accounts to follow. By providing valuable content and having interesting conversations, a business can often land itself a spot on one of these Lists. This is a great way to increase long-term exposure. Keep in mind that a business can interest its target audience by creating Lists of its own that feature accounts they may find helpful or exciting.
Interacting with influencers and using proper hashtags is important, but determining and sticking to your brand voice is what pulls it all together. Having an authentic brand voice that is in line with your company values can turn a good social media presence into a great one. X is a unique platform that allows brands to be more casual than most platforms. Having a more laid back tone can help users relate to your brand on a more personal level and allow them to connect with in ways they could not on a professional-oriented platform like LinkedIn. Fast-food chain Wendy’s (@Wendys) is a perfect example of a brand voice on X that is more playful and fun. This leads to them having excellent interaction and a genuine and engaging line of communication to their audience.
It is important, however, to be original and not copy another brand simply because they’ve had success with their curated brand voice. Finding inspiration from competitors and successful brands is a great way to find your company’s brand voice, but what works for them may not work in the same way for you. Plus, no one likes a copycat—imitating someone else’s brand voice can be painfully obvious to your audience. Determining a brand voice is essential on X and can be extremely beneficial when trying to engage with followers or draw attention to your brand, so be sure to get creative and find one that works for you!
Social media marketing is an ever-changing game. Experiment with these best practices on X and see what works best for your small business. If you start by being present, being helpful and being friendly, you can’t lose! Interested in learning more ways that you can take small business marketing to the next level on social media? Read our recent Facebook Best Practices and Instagram Best Practices articles for tips on how to maximize your efforts on those platforms as well.
