Learning to Use X

There is no single right way to use X, but incorporating best practices into your X activity can help you benefit more from the platform. Some best practices include mapping out a plan for the content you post using a content planner or calendar and establishing a publishing routine that considers optimal days and times to post.

If you are new to X, start using it by following trusted accounts and selecting some of their content to share with your followers. Conduct searches on relevant topics to become familiar with what people are talking about, as well as to see if there are conversations on the platform from your customers that require your attention. Save the key searches to reference as needed.

Your posts can be a mix of different types of messaging such as:

Announcements

Share information that is relevant about your company and that could be of interest to or useful to your followers such as product or service details, promotions, events, and discounts or sales. Because the X feed moves rapidly and many posts can get lost in the fast-moving stream, plan to publish key messages often to remind your followers of relevant news.

Because of the limited character count, add a link that leads people to additional information on your website. If you publish content on a blog or are mentioned in an article, post a link to that content as well. Include a call to action to encourage clicks.

Here are sample announcement posts:

My latest blog post is up here: 7 Tips for Producing Winning Webinars http://link.com/

Love fashion? Check out our upcoming fashion show and sign up to attend! http://link.com

Responses

Interact with others on X by using the @ sign followed by their X handle. This action is referred to as an “at mention” or a “mention.” You can respond to something another X user has said publicly or something they’ve said directly to you.

When you reference or respond to someone using an @ mention, they will see what you’ve said in their Notifications. If they mention you, you’ll see a notification, too. Clicking the Reply icon on their post will automatically add their X handle to the response you’re composing.

Here’s an example of what a response to someone else’s post could look like:

@JaneDoe posted:

I am going off the grid for a few days, a special retreat!

Sample response:

@JaneDoe A retreat sounds wonderful! Enjoy!

When responding to others on X, don’t automatically include a sales pitch. Take time to establish a genuine connection to form or strengthen a relationship.

Reposts

Reposting what someone else says on X gives you the opportunity to share information from people, organizations, or companies you trust. The main way to repost is to use the Repost icon button that appears at the bottom of each published post.

When you click the Repost icon, you can either share the original post as is or opt to add your own comment above the shared content.

Another way to share content and credit the person who originates a post is by adding a mention to them manually like this:

REPORT: Only 47.6% of companies believe the business case for social media is clear http://dld.bz/fpud via @JohnDoe

While sharing other people’s content and manually adding their handle is still a recognized technique, most people these days opt for clicking the Repost icon so the original post is automatically included.

Statements

A statement on X is something that doesn’t necessarily require a response but hopefully elicits some reposts. There are many types of statements you can make on X such as posting quotes, a tip, an opinion, a brief narrative, or a call to action.

Here are a few examples:

Gotta love a hotel with a sign that says this: "Nightly Bed Time Cookie Buffet (8-10pm)" Enjoying my stay at @hotel.

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. - Dalai Lama #quote @dalailama

Tech Tip: Always remember to back up your computer at the end of each day. Better yet, backup in the background throughout the day.

If you have more to say than the 280-character limit allows, you can also add comments on your own posts to create a series of threaded posts that are attached in sequence. It is common to number the threaded posts so people know there is more to read after the first one:

This is a longer, threaded post that I’m using to be able to share more information than the character limit allows. 1/3

By adding a comment to my post as I’m composing it, I can string these posts together. 2/3

By stringing these posts together, I can create or compose a longer narrative and by numbering the posts, I can signal to other users that there is more related content to read. 3/3

Questions

Asking questions on a social network can spur conversations. Craft questions that are easy to answer with limited characters. Plan out questions that give you some quick insights to your followers including customers and prospects.

Here are some sample questions:

For a pet products company: What are the names of your pets, their breeds, and ages?

For a day spa or wellness company: When did you last practice self-care and what did you do for yourself?

To increase the chance of getting responses to your questions or to bump up engagements, X provides the option to pay to promote posts.

With so many different types of posts on X that you can publish or consume, it is important to establish a clear process for using the platform to get the most out of your efforts.

Here are some steps to take to use X efficiently:

1. Check to see if you have any direct messages or DM’s and respond.
2. Check to see if anyone has referenced you in a post and respond.
3. Check your saved searches to see what conversations are happening.
4. Peruse your main X feed to read posts from the accounts you follow.
5. Repost a few interesting and relevant posts from others to your followers.
6. Schedule strategic posts to publish throughout the day to promote your business and provide value to others.
7. Ask a question to elicit responses from your followers for market insights.

If you have time during your day, return to X periodically and repeat these steps. Set a timer if it helps you stay on track. Always pay attention to what works and what doesn’t to refine how you use X.