How to Run X (Twitter) Ads in 2026

The short version

X Ads work best when what you sell connects to something people are talking about right now: a launch, an event, a live moment or an industry with strong opinions.
Keyword and follower look-alike targeting are what set X apart. Use them to reach people while they are in the conversation, not days later.
Before a conversion campaign, X asks for the X Pixel base code and at least one event to be firing. Then test with one objective, a few short ads and a budget you can afford to learn from.

X, formerly Twitter, is where a lot of people go to follow what is happening right now: a product launch, a match, a conference, an industry argument, breaking news in their field.

That is the main reason to advertise there. X Ads let you put a message in front of people while they are paying attention to a topic, rather than days later.

This guide walks through the setup step by step, and is honest about where X fits and where it doesn't.

Who X Ads Are Right For (and Who They Aren't)

X describes its pitch as reaching people in real-time conversations and showing up "where news breaks, products launch, trends start" (X Business). In practice, X tends to suit:

Businesses with something time-bound to announce: a launch, a sale with a deadline, an event, a release date
Brands that sit near a live conversation, such as sport, tech, gaming, finance, media or entertainment
B2B and professional services whose buyers already follow industry voices on X
Apps, where installs can be measured cleanly

It is usually a weaker fit when:

Your customers are not on X, or only read it without engaging
You sell a local service that people find through Google or Maps when they need it
You have no time to watch replies and quote posts, which can turn quickly on X
Your category is restricted or prohibited under X's ad policies

If people actively search for what you sell, read how to run Google Ads first. If you mainly need visual reach with consumers, Meta or Snapchat may be a better starting point.

What You Need Before You Start

An X account for the brand. X says a business or personal account both work for running ads (X Business). Use the account customers will see, with a clear profile, bio and recent posts.
A payment method accepted in your country.
A landing page that matches the ad and loads quickly on mobile.
Tracking, if you want website conversions: the X Pixel, and ideally the Conversions API.
A short list of moments worth advertising around: launches, events, seasonal dates and industry news you can respond to.
A clear goal and a figure for what a lead or sale is worth, so you can judge results.

Ad availability, payment options and some features vary by market. For example, X lists its pre-screened brand-suitable inventory for vertical video as available to US advertisers only (X Business). Check availability in your target country, including whether you can pay and run campaigns from where your business is registered.

Step 1: Set Up Your Ads Account

X's getting-started page sets out four steps: create an X account, create your ads, build your campaign, then launch and measure (X Business).

Log in to the brand's X account and go to ads.x.com to open X Ads Manager, then follow the prompts to set up the ad account.
Add a funding source. X asks you to pick one before you publish a campaign.
Add the people who need access, so the account doesn't depend on one person's login.
Install the X Pixel before you build any campaign that optimises for website actions (see the tracking section below).

Step 2: Choose the Objective

X campaigns are objective-based: they are optimised towards the objective you select, and X says you are billed for actions aligned with that goal (X Business). Objectives currently listed include:

Reach: show your ad to as many people in the audience as possible
Video views: get people to watch a video
Engagement: get people to interact with a post
App installs: get people to install your app
Website conversions: drive actions on your site, measured by the Pixel or Conversions API

X's newer Ads Manager also frames goals as sales, leads, website traffic, engagement, video views and app installs (X Business). The labels shift as X updates the product, so choose by outcome. If you want sales or sign-ups, pick the conversion option, not engagement. Likes are cheap, and they rarely turn into revenue.

Step 3: Set Up Targeting

X says you can reach people using keywords, interests, followers, location and conversation signals (X Business). This is where X differs most from other social platforms.

Keywords

Keyword targeting reaches people based on the words they search for and use in conversations on X. It is the closest thing X has to search intent, and it suits launches and events: target the product name, the event hashtag's words, competitor names and the phrases people use when they talk about the problem you solve. Exclude terms that would put you next to the wrong conversation.

Followers and follower look-alikes

You can target your own followers, or people similar to the followers of accounts you name, such as industry publications, conferences, creators or competitors. For niche B2B audiences, a carefully chosen list of accounts often tells X more than broad interest categories.

Interests and conversation topics

Interest and conversation topic targeting reach people based on the subjects they engage with. These are broader, so use them for awareness or to add scale once keyword and follower audiences have shown what works.

Location, language, device and custom audiences

Set location and language carefully. A business in Lahore selling to the UK and Canada should target those countries and write in the way people there speak. Custom audiences from website visitors or customer lists let you retarget people who already know you.

Step 4: Write Creative That Works on X

On X, an ad appears among posts people chose to follow. It should read like a post, not a banner.

Copy

X's own creative guidance recommends short ads with one clear message, an authentic voice that isn't overly salesy, a single exit point and a clear call to action. It also says hashtags and multiple emojis are prohibited in ads, and recommends avoiding @mentions because they pull people away (X Business). Read the current ad policies before you write, because these rules change.

Images and video

X recommends 16:9 or 1:1 images and videos for the timeline, including at least one video where possible, showing movement and branding early, and adding captions for people watching without sound (X Business). Ad formats include image, video, carousel and text ads, plus collection, dynamic product and vertical video ads.

Vertical video

Vertical Video Ads run full-screen in X's media viewer with sound on by default, and use 9:16 video (X Business). If you already produce vertical video for other platforms, re-edit it for X rather than running it unchanged: open with the point, and refer to the moment people are talking about.

Our content production team builds ad creative for X alongside other platforms, so one shoot can cover several formats.

Step 5: Plan Campaigns Around Launches and Events

Timing matters more on X than on most platforms, because attention moves with the conversation.

Before: build interest with a teaser and a follower or keyword audience. Collect email sign-ups or app pre-registrations if you can.
During: run ads against the event's keywords while people are talking about it. Have someone ready to reply.
After: retarget people who watched or engaged, with a clear offer and a deadline.

Prepare creative and approvals in advance. When the moment comes, you will not have time to brief a designer.

Step 6: Budget and Bidding

When you set up an ad group, you set a daily budget and a start time; a total spend cap and an end time are optional. X's setup guidance recommends automatic bidding (X Business).

For a first campaign, run a controlled test:

One objective, one market and two or three ad groups, for example keywords versus follower look-alikes
Three to five ads, so you learn which message works
Automatic bidding at first, and manual bid caps only once you know what a result costs
A fixed test period and a budget you can afford to spend while learning
A total spend cap, so a campaign can't overspend

Decide what you will judge it on before you start. Our guide to how much digital marketing costs explains how to set a budget from customer value rather than a guess.

Step 7: Track Results With the X Pixel and Conversions API

Before you run a website conversions campaign, X asks that the X Pixel base code and at least one event code are installed and firing on the website the ad sends people to. If you use the Conversions API, set up at least one lower-funnel event such as Purchase or Add to Cart. X's tools for checking this include the X Pixel Helper, a recent activity log and conversion diagnostics (X Business).

Use the Pixel for browser events and the Conversions API to send events from your server, which helps when browsers block some tracking. Then compare what X reports against what actually happened in your sales records. Our piece on which numbers actually matter covers why platform-reported results are generous to themselves.

Common Mistakes

Choosing Engagement when you want sales. You will get what you optimise for.
Launching conversion campaigns without a working Pixel. X can't optimise towards events it can't see.
Running the same creative everywhere. An Instagram Reel with no context often looks out of place on X.
Ignoring replies. Unanswered questions and complaints under an ad are visible to everyone who sees it.
Missing the moment. Campaigns about an event that go live after the conversation has moved on waste budget.

When to Hire Help

You can run a small X test yourself. It is worth bringing in help when:

You are planning a launch or event campaign and need creative, timing and replies coordinated
Conversion tracking needs developer work or a server-side setup
You are spending across X and other platforms and need one view of what is working

Buzzcraft runs social media marketing and paid social for businesses in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan. If X is one of several channels you are weighing, our guides on LinkedIn Ads and Reddit Ads cover the alternatives for professional and niche audiences.

How to Run X (Twitter) Ads in 2026: A Step-by-Step Guide