How to Advertise on Twitter

Ready to get your brand in front of the millions of people driving conversations on X (formerly Twitter)? Advertising on this fast-paced platform can seem intimidating, but it’s a powerful way to connect with a highly engaged audience looking for what's new and what's next. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know, from setting your objectives and choosing the right ad formats to defining your audience and launching your very first campaign.

Why You Should Consider Advertising on X

While other platforms focus on aesthetics and trends, X thrives on real-time conversation, news, and niche community engagement. This makes it a unique and valuable space for brands, especially those in tech, B2B, news, and e-commerce. The audience on X is often described as "receptive and influential" - they are there to discover new ideas, products, and brands.

Unlike other platforms where advertising can feel disruptive, ads on X can feel like a natural part of the conversation when done right. Your ad appears directly in the timeline where users are actively looking for information. This gives you a direct line to people who are in a discovery mindset, making it an excellent platform for driving brand awareness, website traffic, and a genuine connection with potential customers.

Before You Start: Setting Your Foundation

A successful ad campaign begins long before you click "launch." Taking a few minutes to establish a clear foundation will save you time and money, and set you up for much better results. Ask yourself these three questions:

1. What is My Main Goal?

What do you want people to do after seeing your ad? Be specific. Your primary goal will shape every other decision you make. Are you trying to:

• Build brand awareness? Your goal is getting your name in front of as many relevant people as possible (Impressions).
• Drive traffic to your website? You want people to click a link to read a blog post, check out a product page, or sign up for your newsletter (Link Clicks).
• Generate leads? You need people to fill out a form or download a resource (Conversions).
• Increase app downloads? A straightforward goal of getting new users for your mobile app (App Installs).
• Grow your following? You want to build an engaged community right on the platform (Followers).

Pick one primary goal per campaign. Trying to do too much at once will dilute your message and make it impossible to measure what's actually working.

2. Who Am I Trying to Reach?

X offers incredible targeting options, but they only work if you know who your ideal customer is. Think beyond basic demographics. Consider:

• Their interests: What topics do they actively follow? (e.g., "marketing automation," "vegan cooking," "independent video games").
• Their behaviors: What accounts do they follow? (e.g., your competitors, industry influencers, complementary brands).
• The conversations they have: What keywords or hashtags do they use in their own posts?

For example, if you sell productivity software, you're not just targeting "any business professional." You're targeting people who follow productivity thought leaders, use hashtags like #GSD (Get Stuff Done), and talk about tools like Asana, Notion, or Trello.

3. What's My Budget?

You can start advertising on X with a moderate budget. The important thing is to decide on your spending limits upfront. You'll set two main budget types:

• Daily Budget: The maximum amount you want to spend per day. This is great for an ongoing "always on" campaign.
• Total Budget: The maximum amount you want to spend over the entire life of the campaign. This is ideal for specific promotions with a set end date, like a new product launch or a holiday sale.

Even a budget of $10-$20 a day is enough to start gathering valuable data on what resonates with your audience.

Understanding X Ad Formats

X ads are designed to blend into the user's timeline. This is a good thing - it means your ad feels less like an interruption and more like a relevant piece of content. Here are the main formats you’ll encounter.

Promoted Ads

These are the backbone of X advertising. They look and function just like regular posts but are labeled with a small "Ad" disclaimer. Promoted Ads come in several variations:

• Image Ads: A single, high-quality image accompanies your ad copy. This format is perfect for showcasing a new product, featuring a customer, or sharing a powerful visual that grabs attention.
• Video Ads: Video remains one of the most engaging formats on social media. Use it for product demos, behind-the-scenes content, or quick, thumb-stopping testimonials. Keep them short - under 15 seconds is often best for the feed.
• Carousel Ads: This format allows you to use two to six images or videos that users can swipe through. It's excellent for telling a story, showcasing multiple benefits of a product, or featuring a whole collection.
• Text Ads: The simplest format of all. It’s just like a regular text post but promoted to a larger audience. While lacking visual punch, these can be effective for straightforward promotional messages with a clear call to action.

Follower Ads

Formerly called "Follower campaigns," this ad format is specifically designed for one thing: getting more followers for your account. The ad promotes your account itself rather than a single post and includes a prominent "Follow" button. It's a great way to build your on-platform community.

Amplify Ads

This is a more advanced option where you can run your video ad as a pre-roll before video content from hundreds of top-tier publishers on X. It allows you to align your brand with premium, professionally produced content.

Takeover Ads

These are the highest-impact, highest-cost options available. A Timeline Takeover places your ad as the very first post a user sees when they open their app that day. A Trend Takeover gets you the top spot in the Explore tab. These are typically reserved for major brands with significant campaign budgets.

How to Create Your First X Ad Campaign: Step-by-Step

Ready to build your first campaign? Let’s walk through the process in the X Ads Manager.

Step 1: Get Access to the Ads Manager

If you haven't already, sign in and set up your ads account by visiting ads.x.com. You’ll be prompted to enter your country and time zone, and then add a payment method to get started.

Step 2: Choose Your Campaign Objective

Remember that primary goal you defined earlier? This is where you put it into action. X will ask you to choose an objective, which tells the algorithm what result you care about most. Your options are broken down into three stages of the marketing funnel:

• Awareness: Get your ad seen by as many people as possible.
• Consideration: Get users to take an action - think Website Traffic, Engagements, App Installs, or Video Views. This is the most common category for new advertisers.
• Conversion: Drive specific actions on your website or app, like a purchase or sign-up. This is a more advanced objective and requires you to install the X Pixel (a snippet of code) on your website to track those actions.

Select the objective that matches your main goal. For a first campaign, Website Traffic or Engagements are great places to start.

Step 3: Define Your Targeting

This is where the magic happens. Fine-tuning your audience is the most important factor in your campaign's success. X offers powerful targeting layers:

• Demographics: Basic targeting by age range, gender, geography (country, state, or even metro area), and language.
• Audience features: This is where you can get really specific.
  • Keyword Targeting: Reach people who have recently posted a Tweet, engaged with a Tweet, or searched for a specific keyword. Think "looking for a new laptop" or "#SaaSmarketing."
  • Follower Look-alikes: This is an incredibly effective strategy. You can tell X to target an audience that looks and behaves like the followers of any public account. Target the followers of your direct competitors, industry news outlets, or key influencers.
  • Interest Targeting: Select from over 350 interest categories packaged by X, from "Action &, Adventure" movies to "Financial Planning."
  • Conversation Targeting: Target people who are engaging in conversations about specific topics, from popular sporting events to industry releases.
• Custom Audiences: You can upload your own customer list (like an email list) or create an audience of people who have previously visited your website (requires the X Pixel).

Step 4: Design Your Creative

Here you’ll choose what your audience will actually see. You have two options: select from your existing posts or create a new "ad-only" post.

Some tips for powerful creative:

• Keep it visually strong. Use a high-quality, professional, and eye-catching image or video. Avoid stock photos that look like stock photos.
• Write clear, concise copy. Get straight to the point. What are you offering, and why should they care? Asking a question is a great way to start.
• Include a clear Call to Action (CTA). Tell people exactly what you want them to do: "Learn More," "Shop Now," or "Download for Free."
• Use video whenever possible. Video autoplay in the feed and is the best way to stop someone mid-scroll.

Step 5: Review and Launch

This is the final check before your campaign goes live. Carefully review every setting:

• Your objective and budget.
• Your start and (optional) end dates.
• Your targeting selections.
• Proofread your ad copy and links.

Once everything looks good, hit "Launch campaign," and you're live! Your ad will go into a short review process, and once approved, it will start being delivered to your target audience.

Measuring and Optimizing Your Campaigns

"Setting and forgetting" is not a strategy. The real work begins after you launch. Regularly check your X Ads dashboard to see how your campaigns are performing. Don't just look at vanity metrics like impressions.

Focus on the metrics that tie back to your original goal:

• For a Traffic Campaign: Look at your Cost Per Link Click (CPLC). Is it affordable? Is the traffic converting on your website?
• For an Engagement Campaign: Track your Engagement Rate (Total Engagements ÷ Impressions). A good rate is generally above 1%. Also, check your Cost Per Result (CPR).
• For a Conversion Campaign: Your most important metric is your Cost Per Acquisition (CPA). How much are you paying for each lead or sale?

Use this data to make smart adjustments. If one ad isn't performing well, pause it. If an audience is responding really well, consider allocating more budget to it. Test different ad variations (A/B testing) to see what copy, image, or offer resonates most. This continuous cycle of measuring and optimizing is what turns an average ad campaign into a great one.

Final Thoughts

Advertising on X successfully boils down to a clear goal, thoughtful targeting, and creative that feels like it belongs on the platform. By following these steps, you can move past simple posting and into strategic promotion that drives real business results without breaking the bank.

And as your paid ads drive more visibility and conversations, managing the organic side of your strategy becomes even more important. At Postbase, we designed our platform to help you plan your content pipeline, schedule it reliably across all your channels (including X), and engage with your community - all from one clean visual calendar. It's the perfect way to make sure your paid and organic social media efforts work together seamlessly without adding complexity to your workflow.