How to Create a List on Twitter

Your main Twitter feed is a firehose of information, mixing news, memes, customer complaints, and updates from accounts you followed years ago. Cutting through that noise to find the conversations that matter is a real challenge. That's where Twitter Lists come in. This powerful, underused feature lets you take control of your timeline by creating curated feeds of specific accounts, transforming chaos into clarity. This guide will walk you through exactly how to create and use Twitter Lists to monitor competitors, engage with your community, and stay on top of your industry.

What Are Twitter Lists (and Why Should You Care)?

A Twitter List is simply a curated group of Twitter accounts. You can create your own Lists or subscribe to Lists created by other people. When you view a List, you see a timeline of Tweets only from the accounts included in that group. It's like creating your own custom, topic-specific newspaper right inside the platform.

The primary benefit is focus. Instead of scrolling through an algorithmic feed filled with distractions, you can instantly switch to a timeline dedicated to a single topic, like "Industry News," "Competitors," or "Team Members."

There are two types of Lists you can create, and the difference is important:

• Public Lists: Anyone can see and subscribe to a public list. When you add someone to a public List, they will receive a notification. These are excellent for building your brand authority and sharing resources. Think of them as a resource you're creating for your audience, like a "Top Experts in SEO" list.
• Private Lists: Only you can see and access a private list. When you add someone to a private List, they will not receive a notification. This makes them perfect for quietly monitoring competitors, keeping track of VIP customers, or organizing accounts for personal interest without broadcasting it.

How to Create a Twitter List: A Step-by-Step Guide

Creating a List is straightforward, whether you're on a desktop browser or the mobile app.

Creating a List on Desktop

1. Navigate to your profile and click on Lists from the navigation menu on the left side of the screen.
2. Click the New List icon (it looks like a page with a plus sign on it) in the top-right corner.
3. A pop-up box will appear. Here you need to add a Name for your List. Make it descriptive and clear, like "Marketing Tech News" or "SaaS Competitors."
4. Add a brief Description to remind yourself (and others, if public) what the List is for.
5. Choose whether to make it Private by checking the box. If you leave it unchecked, the List will be public by default.
6. Click Next.
7. You can now start adding people. Use the search bar to find accounts and click the Add button next to their name to include them in your List.
8. Once you’ve added everyone you want, just click Done.

You can also add someone to a List directly from their profile page. Just click the three-dot menu next to the "Follow" button and select "Add/remove from Lists."

Creating a List on the Mobile App (iOS &, Android)

The process on mobile is almost identical.

1. Tap your profile picture in the top-left corner to open the side menu.
2. Tap on Lists.
3. Tap the New List icon in the bottom-right corner.
4. Give your List a Name and Description, and decide if you want to make it Private.
5. Tap Create.
6. Search for accounts to add to your List and tap the Add button.
7. When you're finished, tap Done.

5 Strategic Ways to Use Twitter Lists for Your Business

Now that you know how to create a List, let's get into the strategies that make them so valuable for social media marketing and brand building.

1. Create a Private Competitor Monitoring Feed

You need to know what your competitors are doing, but following them all can clutter your main feed and feel inauthentic. Instead, create a private List named "Competitors."

• What to track: Add your direct and indirect competitors, their key employees, and their brand evangelists. Because the list is private, none of them will know you've added them.
• Why it works: This gives you a dedicated intelligence stream. You can see their big announcements, how they handle customer support, what their content strategy looks like, and how people are responding - all in one clean feed without having to openly follow them.

2. Build a Public Community &, Partner Hub

Use a public List to highlight the people who make your community or industry great. This act of curation is a powerful form of content and networking.

• Who to include: Consider creating lists for "Brand Advocates," "Partners &, Integrations," or "Top Customers." You could also create a resource for the entire industry, like "Must-Follow FinTech Founders."
• Why it works: When you add someone to a public List, they get a notification. It's a small act of recognition that can strengthen relationships. Plus, sharing the list itself positions you as a helpful curator and a central figure in your niche.

3. Curate an Internal Industry News Service

Save yourself time and stop relying on the algorithm to show you important industry news. Build your own news feed with a List.

• Who to add: Include top industry publications, influential journalists who cover your space, market analysts, and respected thought leaders. You can keep this private for internal use or make it public as a resource for your followers.
• Why it works: This becomes your go-to source for real-time trends and breaking news. It's faster than searching Google News and more focused than your main feed. Use it to find content to share, stay informed for strategy meetings, and identify emerging topics your brand should be talking about.

4. Manage Event &, Conference Conversations

Whether you’re attending in person or following a virtual event from afar, a Twitter List is the best way to keep up with the conversation.

• How to use it: Before an event starts, create a public List and add the official event account, all the speakers, key sponsors, and anyone you know who is attending. Be sure to use the event hashtag in the List's description.
• Why it works: During the event, this list will be your command center. You’ll see all the keynotes, insights from sessions, and networking chatter in one place, separated from the noise of your standard feed. It also makes it easier to engage and connect with other attendees.

5. Prioritize Engagement with VIPs

Some conversations are more important than others. A private List can help you prioritize your engagement efforts.

• Who to include: Create a private List for your most important customers, high-profile users, or people you want to build a business development relationship with.
• Why it works: Your general notifications feed can be messy. By checking your "VIP Customers" List feed daily, you ensure you never miss an opportunity to engage with the people who matter most. You can check in on what they're talking about, respond to their questions quickly, and proactively build a stronger relationship.

Tips for Getting More Out of Your Lists

Once you've built a few lists, there are a few simple habits that can make them even more useful.

• Pin Your Favorite Lists: For quick access, you can pin your most-used Lists to the top of your home timeline on the mobile app. This lets you switch between your algorithmic feed and your curated feeds with a single swipe.
• Regularly Revise Your Lists: People change jobs, accounts go inactive, and new voices emerge. Take five minutes every quarter to review your Lists, remove accounts that are no longer relevant, and add new ones you've discovered.
• "Share" Your Public Lists: Don't just make them and forget them. Once you've created a valuable public List, tweet it out. Explain who is on it and why you created it. It’s a great way to provide value and get more subscribers.
• Follow Other People's Lists: You don't have to create every List yourself. When you're on the profile page of someone you respect, go to their "Lists" tab to see what public Lists they've created or subscribed to. It's a great way to discover new accounts and curated communities.

Final Thoughts

Twitter Lists are one of the most practical tools for anyone looking to use social media more strategically. By taking a few minutes to organize accounts into focused feeds, you can transform a chaotic timeline into a powerful resource for competitive analysis, community engagement, and market research.

Once you've used Lists to pinpoint the right conversations and communities, the next challenge is managing the engagement that follows. After all, identifying influencers is one thing, but consistently interacting with them across all their DMs and comments is another. That's a problem we built Postbase to solve. Our unified inbox pulls all your social messages into one place, so you can act on the insights you've gathered from your Lists without missing a single conversation, while our visual calendar helps you plan content inspired by the trends you're tracking.