X/Twitter for PR & Marketing

By Fran Stevens | 9th September 2024

Social media is a key component of Public Relations (PR) and marketing campaigns, contributing to the fabrication of online and offline relationships. An online presence is just one of the ways to ensure your business is increasing its brand visibility and hitting those media targets.

Using social media as a way of connecting with audiences is an important step in raising your profile, but the landscape is so broad that a lot of businesses don’t know the best place to start. Matter of fact, the industry you operate in is a huge giveaway into the social platforms you should prioritise. Attached to each channel are a unique set of strengths and formatting requirements which will determine whether it’s right for your brand’s messaging.

The platform that stands above all for PR is X, formerly known as Twitter. Journalists and similar industry professionals make up a promising portion of X users and tend to be more open to making online connections here. Newsworthy tweets and industry updates, which are easily shared on X, resonate more with PR specialists rather than main grid Instagram posts, for example.

X underwent a rebrand last year under Elon Musk’s supervision, and the new name isn’t the only change the marketing product suite faced. Here we run through how to use the newest version of X for PR and marketing, along with the benefits it can have on both.

Benefits of Using X (twitter) for marketing & PR

PR is entirely based around methods of communications and who you are communicating with, so selecting the right social platform is very important. Figuring out your target audience and how they compare to your current audience will help map out the next steps of your marketing plan.

As we’ve established, X opens the door to more PR opportunities than any other social platform. This explains why it has become such a valuable and powerful tool for industry professionals and smaller businesses alike, with the key benefits including:

  • Live industry news and updates: With the slogan “it’s what happening”, X is a resource designed to provide its users with the most up-to-date information. Following industry leaders and trending hashtags will keep you fully informed about what’s going on in the PR world.
  • Increase brand visibility: Tweeting and reposting regularly will place your brand in front of more people and help you reach new audiences.
  • Connect with industry professionals: As previously mentioned, X provides some of the best opportunities for building relationships with journalists and prospects. Not only can you engage with your own audience, but you can also listen in to what others think of your brand, competitors and latest news.
  • Performance tracking: Seeing results is the goal for most businesses, but the extent of these results can only be understood if the metrics are tracked. X analytics takes care of this, providing valuable insights into individual posts and Ad campaigns via a monthly report. X have recently changed their terms and conditions, where analytics can only be accessed if you are a premium subscriber.
  • Generate leads: Drive traffic to your website by including links in your tweets and using X Ads to promote specific products or services. The Twitter share button allows audiences to share their current viewing page with their followers in one click, directing more people to your chosen site.

How to use X for B2B marketing

Companies who get B2B marketers onboard are looking to sell their products or services to other businesses, not customers. Product education is therefore the focus of all marketing operations and messaging becomes very formal, as it needs to appeal to business owners who want their brand to be taken seriously.

B2B marketing on X is driven by industry leadership and being an expert in your niche. Published content needs to be well thought out and paint the business out as a hub of knowledge and resources. Overtime, your brand will gain authority as your posts engage with your audience, key decision makers and respected profiles on X.

Some B2B marketers have raised concerns that the revamp of X could threaten the formality and sales opportunities that Twitter was previously praised for. After further investigation, social media experts assure app users that X’s “unlimited interactivity” plans will enhance B2B marketing strategies. New features are said to support podcast distribution and refine video content, whilst improving business relations through untouchable interactivity.

Using X for PR

A thorough plan is the first step in using X for PR. Making a list of who you want to connect with and the topics you want to appear on your feed is a good starting point, for everyone. This helps you get to grips with the app’s features, as simply reaching out to journalists without a strategy doesn’t usually work. Before you begin pitching stories to industry experts, you must make an effort to build relationships with them first and show your worth as a connection.

In PR, the ability to spot a story and transform it into a newsworthy piece is arguably the most important skill to master – this needs to be reflected through your posts. In addition, website links and useful news resources should be embedded in your content where possible to help drive traffic to your page and prove brand authenticity.

Clear and meaningful imagery serves as supportive media when developing and sharing stories on X. Whilst contributing to a more visual profile, it also enhances how newsworthy a story is and adds diversity to page engagements. It’s refreshing for viewers to discover a profile that includes a range of conversations, stories and sales tweets.

Retweeting on X requires little to no work, yet is one of the most assured ways of expanding reach. Experts have found it to be the quickest way of share interesting content with your followers without having to spend lots of time thinking of new ideas. If your page suffers from a lack of activity when workload is high, reposting other professionals’ valuable tweets will refresh your profile, whilst saving time and resources creating posts from scratch. As PR specialists, we don’t recommend replacing all original content for retweets, but it certainly helps fill in the gaps if you’re pressed for time or ideas.

If you need help marketing on X, or any other social media, please get in touch to see how WorkPR can transform your online presence, no matter your entry level.