X moves fast. That can be annoying if you are trying to keep up with everything, but it can also make the platform useful for musicians.

Unlike platforms built mostly around polished photos or videos, X is heavily driven by conversation. Artists can share an update, respond to fans, talk with other people in the industry and react to something happening right now.

That does not mean every musician needs to be there.

However, if your audience is active on X and you like communicating in real time, the platform can be worth your attention.

What is X?

X, formerly known as Twitter, is a social platform built around public posts and conversations.

Standard posts can include text, images, GIFs or video. X also offers longer posts and other additional features through its paid Premium plans.

The important part for musicians is not the character count.

It is the conversation.

If you are still deciding whether X belongs in your marketing plan, our guide to choosing the right social media platforms can help you decide where your time makes the most sense.

1. Talk to people

This is the most obvious advice and probably the most ignored.

Do not use X only to announce things.

Reply to fans. Join conversations. Talk to other artists. Respond when somebody mentions your music. If somebody asks a good question, answer it.

In other words, act like a person instead of a release schedule.

That kind of interaction is one of X’s biggest strengths.

2. Share things while they are happening

X works particularly well for things that are happening right now.

That could include:

• a new release
• a show announcement
• something happening backstage
• a television or radio appearance
• an award nomination
• a tour update
• a conversation happening around your genre or community

You do not need to wait until somebody designs a graphic.

Sometimes a sentence and a link are enough.

3. Give people something besides promotion

If every post says “stream my song,” people will eventually learn to ignore you.

Instead, mix promotional posts with things that show personality, knowledge or perspective.

Tell a story. Share something funny. Talk about the music you are listening to. Show part of the creative process. Ask a question when you actually care about the answer.

Our guide to creating social media content people care about goes deeper into making posts that have a reason to exist.

4. Use hashtags when they are actually useful

A hashtag is a word or phrase beginning with the # symbol that helps group posts around a topic.

You do not need to turn every post into a wall of hashtags.

X currently recommends using no more than two hashtags per post as a general best practice.

Use them when they connect the post to a real conversation, event or topic. A relevant conference hashtag, award-show hashtag or genre conversation may help the right people find you.

Meanwhile, adding unrelated trending hashtags just to attract attention is not a strategy.

5. Pay attention to trends without chasing all of them

X Trends highlight topics people are discussing at that moment.

They can be useful for understanding what people are talking about and finding conversations where the artist genuinely has something to contribute.

Still, being able to join a trend does not mean you should.

If the connection feels forced, leave it alone.

Your audience will survive without your take on every topic on the internet.

6. Use media when it adds something

X is not limited to short text posts.

You can share photos, GIFs and video directly in a post. That makes it useful for performance clips, quick interviews, behind-the-scenes moments and other visual content.

Premium accounts can also publish much longer posts and upload longer videos than standard accounts.

But longer does not automatically mean better.

Use the format that fits what you are trying to communicate.

7. Try X Spaces

X Spaces are public live-audio conversations hosted inside X.

Musicians can use Spaces for:

• fan Q&As
• release conversations
• album listening discussions
• industry conversations
• interviews
• conversations with other artists

A Space can also include multiple speakers, which makes it useful for conversations that would be awkward to squeeze into a normal post.

Promote the Space ahead of time, then give people a reason to participate once they arrive.

8. Find the communities around your music

X Communities are dedicated spaces built around particular interests and conversations.

If there is an active Community related to your genre, city, instrument, scene or another genuine interest, it may be worth participating.

The same rule applies there as everywhere else.

Do not walk into a community, drop your link and disappear.

Become part of the conversation first.

9. Make links worth clicking

If you want somebody to leave X and listen to your music, watch a video or buy tickets, make the reason clear.

A call-to-action (CTA) is the specific action you want somebody to take after seeing your post.

Do not bury it.

Also, make sure the destination is ready before you start promoting a release. Our guide on why you should not promote music before submitting it for distribution explains why that timing matters.

10. Look at what gets a response

Do not judge everything by follower count.

Instead, pay attention to which posts create replies, reposts, clicks, views and actual conversations.

Analytics are the performance measurements a platform gives you about your content.

Use the analytics X makes available to your account, but also pay attention to what you can see with your own eyes.

If nobody responds to the promotional graphics but people consistently engage when you tell stories from the road, that is useful information.

Likewise, if your audience barely uses X at all, that is useful information too.

If you need help putting those audience patterns into context, our guide to defining your target audience can help.

Use X for what makes it different

You do not need to make X behave like every other social platform.

Its strength is conversation.

Share what is happening. Talk to people. Join discussions that make sense. Post the music when you actually have something to promote.

Most importantly, do not spend so much time trying to look active that you forget to actually be interesting.