How to Advertise Your Business on Twitter

If you want to reach an audience that's plugged-in and actively discussing what's happening right now, advertising on X (formerly Twitter) is a powerful way to do it. Unlike other platforms, users come to X to find out what’s new, share opinions, and engage directly with brands. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to launch your first successful ad campaign, from setting up your account to crafting ads that really connect.

Why Advertise on X (Twitter)?

Before jumping into the "how," it's worth understanding the "why." While other platforms focus on personal connections or visual discovery, X is the world's real-time conversational stage. People are there to get news, follow live events, and interact with brands and public figures directly. This creates a unique advertising environment where your business can join relevant conversations and connect with an active, receptive audience.

The audience on X is often described as "influential and discovery-focused." They are decision-makers, tech-savvy early adopters, and vocal consumers. Ads here feel less like an interruption and more like part of the conversation, especially when done well. Whether you're a B2B service trying to reach industry leaders or a D2C brand launching a new product, X gives you a direct line to the people who shape opinions.

Setting Up Your Twitter Ads Account: A Step-by-Step Guide

Getting started with Twitter Ads is a fairly simple process. If you have a Twitter account for your business, you’re already halfway there. Here’s how to get your ads account up and running.

1. Access the Ads Manager: Log into your Twitter account and navigate to ads.twitter.com.
2. Select Your Country and Time Zone: The first prompt will ask you for your country and time zone. This is important for billing and campaign scheduling, so check that it's correct.
3. Your First “Campaign”: X might prompt you to create a "simple" promoted campaign right away. This is an easy way to get warmed up, but you can also click "Advanced" and go straight to the full Ads Manager for more control. We recommend using the Advanced Ads Manager for better targeting and options.
4. Add a Payment Method: No campaigns will run until you've added a credit or debit card to your account. You can find this in the top right-hand corner under your account name > "Payment Methods." Add your card details, and you're officially ready to spend money and run ads.

That's it. Your account is set up, and you now have access to the Ads Manager, where all the campaign setup and analysis happen.

Step 1: Choose the Right Campaign Objective

The first decision you'll make when creating a new campaign is choosing your objective. Simply put, what do you want people to do when they see your ad? This choice tells X's algorithm how to optimize your ad delivery to get you the most efficient results.

Here are the primary objectives you'll see:

• Reach: This is for brand awareness. Your goal is to get your ad in front of as many people as possible. You'll pay per 1,000 impressions (CPM).
• Followers: Want to grow your account's follower count? This objective promotes your account rather than a single Tweet, encouraging users to follow you. You pay for each new follower you gain.
• Engagement: This is your go-to for getting people to interact with your Tweet - likes, replies, and Reposts. It's great for starting a conversation or promoting valuable content you want people to see and share. You pay for each initial engagement.
• Website Traffic: If your goal is to drive people to your website, blog, or a specific landing page, this is the objective to choose. You'll be charged based on cost-per-click (CPC).
• App Installs: For businesses with a mobile app, this objective helps drive downloads directly from the platform.
• Video Views: Perfect for showing off a product demo, a brand story, or any video content. X will show your ad to people most likely to watch it, and you pay per view.

Selecting the right objective is the most important first step. If you want site clicks but choose "Engagement," the algorithm will prioritize showing your ad to people who like to hit the "like" button but may not click through. Match your business goal to the campaign objective.

Step 2: Master Your Ad Targeting

This is where you can be extremely specific about who sees your ads. Generic, wide targeting is a great way to waste money. Instead, build a detailed picture of your ideal customer and use X's powerful tools to find them.

Demographic Targeting

This is the baseline level of targeting. You can define your audience based on:

• Gender: Men, women, or any.
• Age: Select from specific age ranges (e.g., 25-34).
• Location: Target specific countries, states, metro areas, or even postal codes.
• Language: Reach users who speak a certain language.
• Device: You can even target users based on their mobile carrier, device model, or whether they're on iOS or Android.

Audience Features &, Interest Targeting

This is where things get more interesting. You can reach people based on their interests and behaviors on the platform.

• Keywords: Target users who have recently Tweeted with or searched for specific keywords. For example, a coffee shop could target keywords like "cold brew," "needing coffee," or "espresso." This is powerful for capturing intent.
• Follower Lookalikes: This is one of the most effective targeting options. You can target users with interests similar to the followers of another account. Simply enter the handle of a competitor, an industry influencer, or a complementary brand (e.g., @TechCrunch for a tech product).
• Interests: X has hundreds of interest categories, from "action sports" to "vegan cooking." Choose categories that align with your audience.
• Conversation Topics: You can target entire conversations happening on X. For example, if there's a huge event like the Super Bowl or a major tech conference, you can inject your ad directly into the conversation feed for that topic.

Custom Audiences

For more advanced targeting, use your own data to create Custom Audiences.

• Lists: Upload a list of customer emails or phone numbers. X will match this data to user accounts, allowing you to run ads specifically to your existing customers or leads.
• Website Activity: By installing the X Pixel (a small snippet of code) on your website, you can create audiences of people who have visited your site, added an item to a cart, or made a purchase. This is perfect for retargeting campaigns.

Pro Tip: Start by layering targeting options. Combine a follower lookalike audience with a few relevant keywords and demographic filters to create a highly specific, high-intent audience.

Step 3: Craft Compelling Ad Creative

Your ad's creative - the combination of text, image, and video - determines whether someone stops scrolling or glides right past. Ads on X should feel native to the platform: timely, conversational, and direct.

Writing Ad Copy That Works

• Keep it short and scannable. People are scrolling quickly. Get to the point in the first line.
• Ask a question. Posing a question is a foolproof way to stop the scroll and encourage a reply. Example: "Tired of marketing tools built for 2010?"
• Include a clear call-to-action (CTA). Tell people exactly what you want them to do. "Shop now," "Learn more," "Download the guide," "Follow us for more."
• Use emojis strategically. A well-placed emoji or two can add personality and make your Tweet more visually appealing, but don't overdo it.
• Keep hashtags to a minimum. While organic Tweets can benefit from multiple hashtags, ads perform best with one, maybe two at most. Any more can look spammy and distract from your main CTA.

Choosing the Right Visuals

A Tweet with a visual is far more likely to get attention than a plain-text one. Your visual is your chance to stop the thumb.

• Video is King: Short, dynamic videos perform exceptionally well. Aim for under 15 seconds. Make sure your message is clear even with the sound off by using text overlays or captions. Videos should be vertical to take up maximum screen space on mobile.
• GIFs and Images: A high-quality image or an eye-catching GIF can be just as effective. Use bright colors and clear imagery that shows your product in action or communicates your key benefit.
• Use Ad Formats (Cards): For certain objectives like Website Traffic or App Installs, you can create a "Card." This attaches a rich, clickable preview of your site or app to the Tweet, making the CTA much more prominent than a simple text link.

Pro Tip: Always A/B test your creative. Run the same ad with two different images or two different lines of copy to see what resonates most with your audience. X's ad platform makes it easy to duplicate ads and change one variable.

Step 4: Set Your Budget and Launch

Finally, you need to tell X how much you're willing to spend. You have two main options:

• Daily Budget: Set a maximum amount you'll spend per day. This is good for "always-on" campaigns. X will stop showing your ad once the daily limit is reached.
• Total Budget: Set a total budget for the entire lifespan of the campaign. X will pace your spending over your chosen start and end dates.

Next is your bidding strategy. For beginners, Automatic Bid is the easiest choice. X will automatically optimize your bid to get the best results at the lowest price within your budget. As you become more advanced, you can switch to Target Cost to specify how much you're willing to pay per result (like a follow or a click).

Once you’ve set your budget, dates, targeting, and creative, you’re ready to hit "Launch Campaign"!

Step 5: Measure and Optimize

Running ads isn't a "set it and forget it" activity. After a few days, check your Ads Manager dashboard to see how your campaigns are performing. Don't just look at vanity metrics like impressions. Pay close attention to:

• Cost Per Result (CPR): How much are you paying for each click, follow, or view? This is your key measurement of efficiency.
• Engagement Rate: Are people actually interacting with your ad? A low engagement rate might mean your creative isn't resonating with your audience.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): For traffic campaigns, this shows the percentage of people who clicked your link after seeing the ad.

Use this data to make smart decisions. If one ad creative is getting a dramatically lower CPR than another, turn off the expensive one and allocate more budget to the winner. If your audience isn't responding, try tweaking your targeting with different follower lookalike accounts or keywords.

Final Thoughts

Advertising on X offers a direct path to a highly engaged audience, and setting up a basic campaign is surprisingly straightforward. By aligning your business goals with the right campaign objective, refining your audience targeting, and creating compelling content, you can easily connect with the users who matter most to your brand.

While a smart ad strategy can amplify your message, it performs best when it’s backed by strong, consistent organic content. To handle that side of the equation, we built Postbase to make planning, scheduling, and managing your organic social presence feel painless. When your organic posts are humming along, your paid ads become that much more effective at reaching new potential customers.