X (formerly known as Twitter) is a platform for people to post concise thoughts and takeaways, and participate in discussions. Through X, they can follow people or organizations that they care about, including nonprofits they support. X may or may not be right for your nonprofit, considering that it is mainly a text-based platform, and that your nonprofit’s audience might not be active it. Also, performing well on X requires consistent posting, which is not always feasible for nonprofits with limited time and resources. However, it can still be a useful tool to spread your message for nonprofits with active audiences on the platform.
How to Join X
To join X, visit www.x.com and click “Create Account”. Typically, most nonprofits use their organization’s name, or a modification of the name, as the username.
A common way to share information on X is to repost, which will include the content creator’s username in the post. It is easier for others to repost messages when the content creator’s username is short. Keep this in mind when creating an account, even though there is no limit on characters that can be used for a username.
To use X, log into the account and enter up to 140 characters, including links to other websites, in the text box. X’s Help Center is a good resource for basic information.
Managing Your X Account
X users can post content directly from X.com or use a third party site that can help your organization manage its X page. Many of these third party sites allow for multiple users with varying levels of access, statistics tracking and URL shorteners such as bit.ly and ow.ly. Some examples of third party social media managing sites include:
X Glossary
For a new X user, the language used came sometimes seem foreign. There are shortened phrases, symbols and lingo that may be new to you. Below is a glossary of terms and how you can use these tools effectively on Twitter.
@ reply: This type of post is directed to a specific X user, but is publicly posted. For example, @SmartNonprofits Please add me to the list of nonprofits on Twitter!
Direct message (or DM): This type of message is a private message for a specific X user that they can only see. These messages can only be sent to X account followers.
Repost: Similar to the forward email function, this type of post is used to resend a message posted by another X user so your followers can see it. For example, RT @SmartNonprofits: Thank you to everyone who attended the Tech Conference! We’ll post photos soon.
Hashtag: A hashtag is a word or abbreviation in a tweet with a # prefix. It allows Twitter followers to search for tweets with a common theme. Several common nonprofit-related hashtags include:
- #Nonprofit: Twitter users can replace the word “nonprofit” with “#nonprofit” in a tweet, or tag it on to the end of tweet that mentions a nonprofit or nonprofit trend.
- #Philanthropy: This hashtag works best for anything related to grantmaking, foundations and donor behavior.
- #Fundraising: This hashtag can be added to a tweet that discusses fundraising trends.
- #Volunteer: This hashtags is useful when asking for volunteers, to thank volunteers, or to promote the work of the volunteer community.
- #NPTech: This hashtag stands for nonprofit technology and can be used in any tweets relevant to how nonprofits are using technology and social media.
- #CharityTuesday: Many people include information about a cause on Tuesday and tag it with this hashtag.
- #FollowFriday: You use it to send a shout out to your followers. It’s a great way to build partnerships and show appreciation.
- Event related hashtags, such as #MNnptech: Nonprofit Technology and Communications Conference, #NPLead: Nonprofit Leadership Conference
Insert Your X Feed on a Website or Blog
Once your X account is up and running, you have the option of inserting an X feed into your organization’s website for a dynamic and updated page. X offers a guide for embedding your feed into your website here.
Find a list of X best practices for nonprofits from Nonprofit Tech for Good.