X (formerly Twitter) is a fast-paced platform that pioneered limiting post length, introduced threads, and has a paid version with enhanced features. What to expect, how to stand out, what to do, what not to do? Let's dive in!
Overview
After Elon Musk acquired Twitter and rebranded it to X, the introduction of new features and improvements rapidly accelerated. Allowing long-form videos opened new horizons, but the nature of X stayed the same - it's all about now. While X is best known for fiery political posts and discussions, there are strong "subcultures" from other areas like startups, design, health, etc.
Peculiarities
Most posts on X are very short, so wit and personality are key. You have to find your style, but it has to be distinctive - if your posts look generic and lack character, you will have a very hard time distinguishing yourself.
When you post something on X, you'll quickly know whether the post is going somewhere or not. If it doesn't get a substantial engagement early on, you can rest assured that the post is dead. X is all about news. Whatever is trending is trending only for a short period. Once the post is older than a day or two, it's done. When you look at your timeline, even the recommended posts are usually not older than 24 hours.
X is the only major social network with certain features behind a paywall. Purchasing an X Premium Subscription allows you to create longer posts, upload longer videos, have your post replies prioritized, and enjoy some other perks.
There's a subset of creators who want to appear like experts without having something to back it up and are happy to participate in follow and comment exchanges with vague and generic posts that have absolutely no substance or value. These are not the people who will become your clients or push you forward, and doing this will only harm your reputation. It's easy to spot, same as it's easy to spot serious people who post interesting stuff and are worth following.
Posts and threads
X is known for punchy one-liners, or whatever you manage to pack into 280 characters. Your posts can be much longer if you have an X Premium subscription. But clicking on "Show more" is a big deal for users, so think twice whether your post is interesting enough to make them expand it to the full length. Posting your longer content as a thread has the advantage that people can read, react, and share the posts individually. Unless you're a well-known figure, you should probably stick to the shorter posts that are easier to catch attention and get viral.
Threads are the right option if the longer post can be broken up into multiple paragraphs that have value on their own, don't entirely depend on the text before and after them for context, or have a high engagement potential. They're also useful when you need to use many images to support your points - they allow you to add an image to a particular post.
Use a regular post if you're publishing an essay that would be uncomfortable to read as a thread or a text that, by its nature, wouldn't benefit from the advantages a thread offers.
Ultimately, it depends on what works for you and your posts. If they're high-quality, they will do well regardless of their format. If you're not sure, a couple of A/B tests will show you which one you should stick to.
Focus on real followers
Personal brand and name recognition is obviously super important on every platform, but it's perhaps most important on X. There's a constant influx of new posts from countless accounts, and it's not easy to get noticed. Aim to get quality followers who engage with your content and will push you forward. Accounts who follow you only because you follow them are almost worthless, and this strategy doesn't lead anywhere in the long run.
💡 Keep in mind
Even a few thousand real followers can do wonders.
Comments vs reposts
If you have no reputation in your field's microcosm on X, one of the ways to get in front of your target audience is to comment on posts of well-known accounts or well-performing posts in general. Becoming a top dog in the comments section requires you to comment really fast. Consider this: if a certain post gets 500k views over its lifespan and you comment on it when it's at 450k views, most of the people who will ever see the post already saw it. If you comment at this point, you are only left with 50k potential viewers, out of whom you will only reach a very few because the best comments are already on the top, gaining the most exposure and likes. There are plenty of other comments, too, so there's very little chance someone will scroll down to your comment somewhere at the bottom.
Comments are tricky, though - there's no guarantee they will get the attention even if they're good. And as we mentioned, it may be a case that you see the post you have something good to write about too "late" to comment. We put the late into quotation marks because it only applies to commenting - even though the post already has 90% of the views it will eventually get, it doesn't mean it's not relevant anymore. In that case, putting your reaction into the repost has much bigger potential. Also, reposts count as regular posts, are visible on your timeline, and will appear on your followers' feeds. That's not the case for comments - only a fraction of them will be seen by your followers on their feeds. A nice example is to look at some of Elon Musk's comments, which have around 10-20k views, while his regular posts (including reposts) are seen by millions.
Stay on point
There are people with a substantial amount of followers who strayed away from what made them successful and started posting their opinions on other topics. A huge part of their audience doesn't find these posts interesting because that's not why they follow the person and don't interact with them. This signals to X that the audience doesn't find the person's posts interesting anymore, and it shows them less. So keep your football insights, movie questions, and other random thoughts for your private accounts. Yes, some super famous people can share anything and get huge numbers - but people follow them because they are interested in them, not just their insights. With you, it will be about the insights.
Don't compare yourself
When you start posting, you will see that your numbers are at first very low, and even if you manage to get it going, they probably won't be stellar. That can hit hard when your timeline is flooded by viral and often politically-oriented content with hundreds of thousands of views and engagement you can only dream of. This content belongs in the entertainment category, and it's simply impossible for you to compete with it. Those posts are meant for everyone - yours won't be. Be laser-focused on your field's microcosm and getting attention from the people who matter, which are your potential clients and authorities from the industry, not random people looking for fun or politics.
Remember
👉 X prioritizes brevity and personality. Stand out with wit and a distinct voice.
👉 Engage fast with comments on trending posts - timing is critical to visibility.
👉 When you’re late to the commenting party, put your comment into repost.
👉 Threads work best for content that can be broken into standalone points.
👉 Focus on your niche and audience, not competing with viral general content.
👉 Build a meaningful follower base; avoid shallow follow-for-follow tactics.
Homework
1️⃣ Find successful creators on X you can emulate. You may be surprised to find that many of your favorite creators from others social networks aren’t doing very well on X.
👏 Victory is yours!
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