X (formerly Twitter) Guidelines & Recommendations

Getting Started on X

Signing Up: To create a X (formerly Twitter) account, visit X.com and click the “Sign up” button.

Full Name: Using your real name is suggested as it helps people find you on X (formerly Twitter). Your name will often appear next to your username.

Username: Your username, also known as a handle, is how you will be identified on X (formerly Twitter). Usernames are denoted with @ symbols. It’s recommended to choose a short and relevant username that represents the image you want to present. Check if your first name, last name, or some permutation of it is available. Avoid confusing usernames that others may have difficulty remembering.

Bio: X (formerly Twitter) allows a maximum of 160 characters for your bio. Make it descriptive and engaging, keeping in mind your business or branding goals. Prioritize information relevant to your role, such as being an author, and add personality while staying within the character limit.

We recommend sharing the title and release date of your latest work in your bio.

Profile Picture: For authors, it’s advised to use a personal photo as your profile picture rather than a logo or book cover. People prefer connecting on a direct human level. A logo may create a barrier between you and others. X (formerly Twitter) recommends using a square image with dimensions of 400px x 400px for your profile picture. More details can be found here.

Header: The recommended dimensions for a header are 1500px x 500px. However, if you want to avoid the platform from auto-resizing and cropping the image, use exact dimensions of 1263px x 421px. Consider the space taken up by your profile picture and leave room at the bottom left corner. Your header is visible when people visit your profile, so you can use it to showcase your individuality. Popular choices include landscapes, mood-setting scenes, or images of text. If you have upcoming releases, you can incorporate elements from your book cover in the header.

Following and Subscribing: When you follow someone on X (formerly Twitter), their posts will appear in your feed or timeline when you log into X (formerly Twitter). Others can see when you follow them, and you can see when people follow you. You can also view the people that a specific user follows, which can be helpful in finding interesting accounts to follow. Following relevant handles can potentially result in reciprocal follows.

Finding People to Follow: X (formerly Twitter) suggests people to follow during the sign-up process. Additionally, you can search for individuals by their names, usernames, or keywords to discover more people to follow.

X Basics: Types of Content and Interactions

Listening and Sharing: If you’re unsure about what to say on X (formerly Twitter), you can learn from those who are already active on the platform. Reading posts from people you follow, especially those in communities you care about, can provide inspiration. Some popular things to post include opinions, links to interesting content, pictures and videos (with proper attribution), recommendations, and questions to engage your followers. Reposting allows you to share other people’s posts with your followers. It is advised to have a mix of interesting content, including original posts, reposts, and @replies, while avoiding excessive self-promotion.

On the platform, users can engage in various types of interactions. Some common types of interactions include:

Posting: Users can compose and publish posts, which are short messages limited to 280 characters*. Posts can be about a wide range of topics, including sharing thoughts, opinions, news, links to articles, images, videos, and more.
Replying: Users can reply to posts posted by other users. This allows for conversations and discussions to take place within the public sphere. Replies are typically used to respond to specific posts, provide feedback, ask questions, or engage in dialogue with others.
Reposting: Reposting is the act of sharing someone else’s post with your followers. It allows users to amplify and redistribute content they find interesting, valuable, or worth sharing. When you repost a post, it appears on your profile with an indication that it was originally posted by someone else.
Liking: Users can show their appreciation or agreement with a post by clicking the “Like” button, represented by a heart icon. Liking a post signals that you enjoyed or found the content meaningful without necessarily needing to add a comment or share it with your followers.
Mentioning: Users can mention other users in their posts by using the “@” symbol followed by the username (e.g., @username). When someone is mentioned in a post, they receive a notification and can easily find the post. Mentions are often used to address or involve specific individuals or to draw their attention to a particular topic.
Direct Messaging: Direct messaging feature that allows users to have private conversations with each other. Direct messages can be sent to individuals or to a group of people, providing a more private and one-on-one communication channel.
Pinned Posts: You can ‘pin’ a post to keep it at the top of your profile. Many authors use this feature to share details/links of their latest book release, tour, or other promotions.
Threaded Replies: Threaded replies is a feature where you can reply to your own posts to create a string of posts about a particular topic. Given the character limitations on the platform, many people use this feature to keep the additional posts linked in a ‘thread’.

Here are some of the common types of multimedia assets that can be shared on X (formerly Twitter):

Images: Images can be in formats such as JPEG, PNG, or GIF. Adding images to posts can make them more visually appealing and help convey information or emotions.
Videos: Videos can be recorded and uploaded directly from the app or website, or users can share videos hosted on other platforms by including the video link in the post. Videos can be up to a certain duration, typically ranging from a few seconds to a few minutes.
GIFs: GIFs are short, looping animations that can be shared on the platform. Users can search for and include GIFs in their posts to add humor, express emotions, or engage with trending topics. GIFs can be uploaded or shared from popular GIF libraries.
Live Videos: With the live video feature, users can broadcast and share live video content with their followers in real-time. This feature is often used for events, conferences, Q&A sessions, or sharing live experiences.
Audio: Share audio content in the form of audio clips or podcasts. Users can upload and share audio files or share links to audio content hosted on external platforms.
Spaces: Spaces is a way to have live audio conversations on the platform. Anyone can join, listen, and speak in a Space for iOS and Android. Currently, you can listen in a Space on web. More details on Spaces can be found here.
Polls: Although not strictly multimedia assets, polls can be created and shared on the platform. Users can create polls to gather opinions, engage with their audience, or spark conversations. Polls consist of a question and multiple answer options, and users can vote for their preferred option.

Hashtags:

Hashtags are keywords that users can use to “tag” posts in order to group them with larger conversations and linked chats.

To add a hashtag, type the hash or number sign (#) followed by your keyword. Avoid using spaces or punctuation within the hashtag. Spaces or punctuation will end the hashtag, so if you have a multi-word keyword, make it all one word.
Use Camel Case when writing hashtags to avoid confusion. #BookBirthday instead of #bookbirthday This also helps with accessibility.
Use hashtags when your posts are specifically related to a certain conversation or niche to provide context to your posts and prevent misinterpretation.
Research and use popular and official hashtags related to the topics you’re posting about to reach a wider audience and join relevant conversations.
It’s possible to create your own hashtag, but it’s important to promote it and ensure it’s relevant to your campaign or topic.
Keep hashtags short and concise to allow room for other characters in your post and make it easier for people to repost your content.

X (formerly Twitter) Analytics

Impressions: The number of times a post has been viewed by users.
Engagement: The total number of interactions with a post, including likes, reposts, replies, and clicks on links or media.
Reach: The total number of unique users who have seen a post.
Follower growth: The change in the number of followers over a specific time.
Profile visits: The number of times your profile has been viewed by users.
Post activity: Metrics specific to individual posts, including impressions, engagements, and engagement rate.
Top posts: Identifies the posts that have received the most engagement or impressions within a given time frame.
Link clicks: The number of times links shared in your posts have been clicked by users.
Video views: Metrics specific to video content, such as the number of views and completion rate.

X Premium

X Premium is an opt-in paid subscription service that adds a blue checkmark to your account and offers early access to select features, like Edit Post. Localized pricing starts at $8/month or $84/year to get the blue checkmark in addition to early access to features. More details can be found here.

Some key features of X Premium are:

Editable Posts: allows users to make limited changes to published posts within a 30-minute window. This feature applies to original posts and quote posts.
Prioritized rankings in conversations and search: Posts that you interact with will receive a small boost in their ranking, and your replies will be ranked closer to the top. X Premium subscribers will appear in the Verified tab within other users’ notifications.
Longer Posts: X Premium subscribers can post posts with up to 10,000 characters. This applies to original posts, quote posts, and replies.
Text formatting: Users can now bold and italicize text in their posts on X (formerly Twitter).com.
Bookmark Folders: X Premium subscribers can group and organize bookmarked posts into folders for easier discovery later.
Custom navigation: This feature allows users to choose what appears in their navigation bar for quick access to preferred content destinations.
Undo Post: Users have the option to retract a post after sending it but before it becomes visible to others. It’s not an edit button but a chance to preview and revise posts.
Longer video upload: X Premium subscribers can upload videos up to approximately 2 hours long and up to 8GB file size (1080p)
SMS two-factor authentication: X Premium can add an extra layer of account protection with two-factor authentication via SMS.