What is an X/Twitter business account?

X/Twitter is a social media platform that limits the length of each post to 280 characters. Posts can also include photos, videos, links and hashtags. It allows you to quickly share information about your business, educate people about your industry and talk about relevant trending topics. You can create original content or share posts from other users on your X/Twitter for business account.

How to create an X/Twitter account for business

Here’s a step-by-step guide for creating a business Twitter account.

1. Download the X app

To sign up, download the X app or visit the X website. The sign-up process requires you to enter your name, a phone number or email address and your date of birth. You also need to verify the account before moving on to the customization process.

2. Add a profile picture, cover photo and description

Customizing your profile with photos and a detailed description helps brand your platform. Consider using your company logo or a professional headshot as your profile picture. You might include your company tagline or purpose statement in the description.

3. Follow influencers, industry celebrities and related businesses

Following other people and companies could help you build a following. For example, if you’re a local restaurant, follow other businesses in your area and well-known chefs. You could also follow locally owned farms to create business connections.

4. Create your first post

What you include in your first post is up to you. You could share content from your website or post that it’s your first tweet.

Regardless of what you choose to write, make sure you include hashtags in your post. If you own an online boutique, you could include hashtags like #onlineboutique, #womensclothing or #womensfashion. If you’re a locally owned business, you might include your general location.

5. Get your account verified

To verify your business on X, consider subscribing to Verified Organizations, which provides a gold checkmark for businesses. This service ensures your account’s authenticity by verifying your organization and its affiliates. Verified Organizations also provides custom badges and protection against impersonation, enhancing your brand’s credibility.

What to post on your X account

Creating a business Twitter account is relatively easy, but deciding what to post can feel overwhelming. Keeping your target audience as the focus helps you choose topics that attract their attention. Consider what type of content would interest, educate or entertain your audience. Here are some content types and ideas you can adapt to fit your company:

Short bits of information

The short character limit makes X ideal for quick tips, statistics or powerful bits of information about your industry. This information educates your audience and could convince them to use your services.

Questions or polls

These types of posts encourage followers to interact, boosting your engagement. You may also gain customer insight to improve your company.

Reposts

Sharing content from authorities or influencers in your field allows you to provide useful content without creating it from scratch. Mix in reposts with your content.

Business announcements

Keep your followers informed on what’s happening with your business. You might post about upcoming product launches, business changes or other relevant announcements. Another option is linking to your press releases.

Industry news

Sharing industry news, such as regulation changes or new technology, may engage your followers. For example, explaining how industry news might affect the customer experience gives followers the information they need. It also shows you stay current with industry changes, which can increase confidence in your company.

Blog posts

Consider promoting the content you create for your website on X. Include a short overview along with the link to encourage followers to read the full post.

Humorous content

Memes related to your industry add a touch of humor that can make your business relatable. You could look for existing memes or create your own.

Job postings

Social media platforms offer another way to tell people you’re hiring. Mention details about the job, why your company is a good place to work or what you’re looking for in candidates. Include a link to your careers page or the application.

Specials

Let your followers be the first to know about upcoming specials or sales. You can also post updates as the special comes to an end to create urgency.

Visual content

Create infographics, charts and other visual content to convey information in an easy-to-digest format. Visuals often stand out against written posts on X, which could help you gain attention and followers.

Reviews or testimonials

Share customer testimonials and reviews to lend credibility to your company.

Timing

Pay attention to the time you post to best reach your target audience. This can vary by industry and your X account followers. The analytics in your X account can help you find patterns to determine which posts perform well.

Benefits of using Twitter/X for your business

Learning how to use a social media platform takes time and effort. If you’re hesitant about promoting your business on X, consider these benefits:

• Brand awareness: Like other social media platforms, X lets you customize your profile and share opinions to increase brand awareness. Posting regularly, expressing your brand’s personality and using hashtags can help you reach a larger audience while strengthening your brand image.
• Communication: Your X profile provides a quick way for customers to contact you and enables quick responses. Consider creating a customer service profile so customers can easily reach you, provide feedback or ask questions.
• Community building: Posting regularly and engaging with users on X can help you build a virtual community. When consumers feel connected to your brand, they may be more likely to buy from you.
• Increased website traffic: Sharing links to blog posts, videos or product pages may help drive traffic to your website. Once there, customers can engage with your brand and potentially make a purchase.
• Staying current on industry trends: X has a trending page and rated news, sports, fun and entertainment categories so you can see what’s trending in topics related to your company. It can provide valuable information for making business decisions and guide your content strategy to gain more followers.
• Customer insights: X also gives you insight into what consumers want and what performs well. The analytics within the platform can help improve your posting strategy and engagement.
• Finding influencers: Connecting with niche influencers on X offers another way to promote your company. With influencer marketing, you provide free products to someone with a large following in exchange for a post about them.
• Brand monitoring: When you have a business X account, you can see when users mention you. This allows you to monitor public opinion of your business and respond appropriately. You can also engage more with users who praise your company.

Best practices for using X/Twitter for company promotion

Following X best practices helps improve content quality, potentially expanding your reach. These tips can help:

• Create guidelines for consistency: Write a social media policy to outline what employees should and shouldn’t post online. You might also create a brand style guide to ensure consistency in everything your team posts or shares publicly.
• Customize your content: Incorporating your company’s voice and considering your target audience’s preferences can increase content quality.
• Balance your content: You can offer more value to followers by posting a mix of educational, promotional and entertaining content.
• Interact with users: Reply to followers, share other people’s posts and like relevant posts. Interacting with users and acknowledging the people who interact with your content can boost engagement and build community.
• Promote your X profile: Add an X button to your website so it’s easy for visitors to find. If you have a physical location, post your X handle where customers can see it. With Indeed Company Pages Premium, you can add your business X feed to the “Why Join Us” section to reach more job seekers.

FAQs about an X business account

Is X for business free?

An X (Twitter) business account is free to create and use. When you use the platform consistently and follow best practices, you can promote your business effectively for free. You could pay for advertisements to promote your business if you want to increase your reach quickly.

Is there a difference between personal and business X accounts?

Creating an X business account is the same as creating a personal account. Once you set up the account, you can switch it to a business account to get performance metrics on your dashboard. Professional accounts also offer advertisement and promotional options.

Are there drawbacks to using X?

Businesses typically work hard to get noticed on X and gain a large following. It’s also time-consuming to create content, post regularly and interact with others. One way to create a successful X account for your business is to outsource your social media activities. You can hire social media professionals to produce content and manage your online reputation.