If you’re still measuring your success on X by how many followers you have, it’s time to rethink your social media strategy.
In 2026, successful X marketing is less about broadcasting messages to as many people as possible and more about earning attention, starting conversations and becoming part of the discussions your potential customers already care about.
X’s recommendation system can surface posts from accounts people do not follow, with recommendations influenced by signals including accounts and Topics people follow, posts they engage with, their network and the content itself. Its search system also considers engagement, relevance, author and network signals when ranking content.
That creates a significant opportunity for businesses.
You don’t necessarily need a huge following to get noticed. You need to create content that the right people find useful enough to read, respond to, share, revisit or discuss.
So, how do you increase engagement on X in 2026?
1. Stop asking “What should we post?” and start asking “What does our audience care about?”
One of the biggest mistakes businesses make on social media is starting with themselves.
“We have a new product.”
“We’re proud to announce…”
“Here’s what we do.”
Those posts can have a place, but they shouldn’t dominate your feed.
Instead, build your content around the problems, questions, frustrations, interests and ambitions of your audience.
For example, a small account selling accounting software might post:
Weak:
“Our latest accounting software update is now live.”
Stronger:
“Three things small-business owners waste hours doing manually every month — and how to automate them.”
The second post gives someone a reason to stop scrolling.
Try the 70/20/10 approach
As a starting point, consider:
- 70% useful or interesting content that helps your audience.
- 20% conversation and community content that gets people involved.
- 10% direct promotion of your products or services.
The exact percentages aren’t important. The principle is.
Give people a reason to follow you beyond wanting to buy something.
2. Make your first line do the heavy lifting
People don’t engage with content they don’t stop to read.
Your opening sentence should create a reason to continue.
Try:
- A useful observation: “Most businesses don’t have a social media problem. They have a content problem.”
- A question: “Would your customers understand what you sell if your logo disappeared?”
- A contrarian opinion: “Posting every day isn’t a social media strategy.”
- A practical promise: “Here’s a five-minute way to improve your next Instagram Reel.”
- A problem: “Getting website traffic but very few enquiries? Check these three things first.”
Avoid unnecessary introductions.
Don’t spend the first two lines telling people what you’re about to tell them.
Tell them something worth knowing.
3. Write for conversations, not just impressions
An impression tells you someone saw your content.
A conversation tells you that it mattered.
Ask questions that people can genuinely answer rather than adding “What do you think?” to every post.
For example:
Weak:
“Here are our five favourite marketing tips. What do you think?”
Better:
“What’s the hardest part of marketing your business right now: finding customers, creating content, generating leads or measuring what’s working?”
The second question gives people something specific to respond to.
And when people respond, respond back.
Social media is not simply a publishing channel. It is a relationship channel.
4. Use X as a listening tool
One of the most valuable uses of X for a business isn’t publishing.
It’s listening.
Search for:
- Questions about your industry
- Problems customers are discussing
- Competitor conversations
- Industry news
- Product complaints
- Emerging trends
- Common misconceptions
- Questions people repeatedly ask
Then turn what you discover into content.
This creates a powerful content loop:
Listen → identify a problem → create useful content → start a conversation → learn more → create better content.
Your audience is effectively telling you what your content strategy should be.
5. Build your own network deliberately
Don’t simply follow people because they have large audiences.
Follow people because they are relevant to your business.
Create lists around:
- Customers
- Prospective customers
- Industry experts
- Competitors
- Journalists
- Partners
- Local businesses
- Industry news
- Specialist topics
Then actually use those lists.
Comment on useful posts. Add something to discussions. Share genuinely interesting information. Congratulate people on achievements.
The aim isn’t to manufacture engagement.
It’s to become a recognisable and useful participant in your industry community.
6. Don’t rely on hashtags to rescue weak content
Hashtags can still provide context and discoverability, but they are not a substitute for useful content.
A post containing ten hashtags isn’t automatically more valuable than a post containing none.
Think about topics and language first.
Use the words your customers actually use.
For example, if you’re a local SEO company, naturally discussing:
- local SEO
- Google Business Profile
- local search
- Google Search
- website traffic
- local customers
may be far more useful than filling a post with generic hashtags.
7. Experiment with different content formats
Don’t make every post look the same.
Experiment with:
- Short text posts
- Images
- Charts and statistics
- Short videos
- Threads
- Polls
- Customer stories
- Case studies
- Industry commentary
- Behind-the-scenes content
- Questions
- Mini guides
- Contrarian opinions
- Links to genuinely useful resources
The important question isn’t:
“Which format does the algorithm like?”
It’s:
“Which format helps us communicate this particular idea best?”
8. Use current events intelligently
X is particularly useful for businesses that have something meaningful to say about what’s happening now.
But there’s an important distinction between joining a relevant conversation and jumping onto every trending topic simply to gain exposure.
Ask:
“Do we have something useful, relevant or genuinely interesting to contribute?”
If the answer is no, move on.
Your reputation is more valuable than a few extra impressions.
9. Make your profile convert attention into action
Getting someone to your profile is only half the job.
Your profile should quickly answer:
Who are you?
Who do you help?
What do you help them achieve?
What should they do next?
Make your bio clear rather than clever.
Use a relevant profile image.
Use your header image strategically.
Pin an important piece of content — perhaps your best case study, service page, lead magnet or introduction to your business.
And make sure the link actually takes people somewhere useful.
10. Measure business outcomes, not vanity metrics
Likes are nice.
Followers are useful.
But neither necessarily pays the bills.
Track the journey:
Reach → engagement → profile visits → website visits → enquiries → customers → revenue.
Look for patterns.
Which subjects generate conversations?
Which posts send people to your website?
Which posts generate enquiries?
Which posts attract the right people?
You may discover that your most successful post isn’t the one with the most likes.
It might be the post that generated three highly relevant enquiries.
That’s a much more valuable result.
11. Create a repeatable X content system
You don’t need to spend hours every day wondering what to post.
Create several repeatable content pillars.
For example:
Teach
Give people useful knowledge.
Comment
Have an informed opinion about something happening in your industry.
Prove
Share results, case studies, testimonials or examples.
Show
Give people an insight into your business, people and processes.
Ask
Start genuine conversations.
Convert
Occasionally tell people how they can work with you.
This creates variety without creating chaos.
The biggest X marketing lesson for 2026
The best social media strategy isn’t:
“How do we get more engagement?”
It’s:
“How do we become more useful to the people we want to reach?”
Create useful content.
Join relevant conversations.
Understand your audience.
Respond to people.
Experiment.
Measure outcomes.
Improve.
That’s how you build an X presence that contributes to a wider digital marketing strategy rather than simply generating a collection of likes and reposts.
Need help with your social media strategy?
At We Are Border, we help businesses make better use of social media, digital marketing and SEO — from strategy and content planning through to campaign management, optimisation and measurement.
If your social media feels inconsistent, isn’t generating enough engagement, or simply isn’t producing enough business value, get in touch with We Are Border and let’s look at what could be improved.
Your social media shouldn’t just keep your business visible.
It should help move your business forward.
