X currently stands at a crossroads. After a tumultuous period of upheaval since its takeover by Elon Musk, with household names like IBM and Disney abandoning ship over reputational concerns around ad placement, and significant staff cuts, the platform's future seems uncertain.

However, despite this tumult, X is still forging its way to becoming the ‘everything’ app. Over the last year or so, X has been working on adding new features and offerings for businesses, allowing them to get the absolute best out of their presence on X. 

Could this be the game-changer X needs? We’ve explored some of the additions X has made, and how you can leverage them to make the right choice in your marketing platform strategy, based on your brand and how your audience interacts with it.

Job posting

Like LinkedIn’s job posting function, X now allows companies to post current vacancies on their company pages. 

‍X has stated that over 1 million open jobs are currently being hosted on the platform, with users able to discover new roles on company pages and through a simple search function. 

But the key question is, what’s the candidate pool like? According to X, the platform has 250 million daily active users, many of whom take to it for information from their favourite brands. 

‍X has shared that user engagement with brands is increasing, with +63% more likes on branded content. For organisations with a highly engaged community on X, this new feature could provide a great opportunity to bring in dedicated talent.

That being said, LinkedIn has the upper hand with its long-established, and well-utilised job application feature. At the time of writing, LinkedIn has 5.5 million active job openings in the US alone. 

LinkedIn also has a user base of 1bn + professionals, with the vast majority of conversation on the platform focusing on business/career-related matters. X will have a long way to go to convince users that the same platform that brought you the Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy saga is the best place to apply for your new job.

Might this be the innovation that revitalises the user experience? Is there an appetite to move away from the perceived stuffiness and humble bragging on LinkedIn, to engage with employers in a new way? Time will only tell how effective X will be for sourcing and converting valuable applicants.

Long-form content and X articles

X has traditionally been hailed as the home of concise communication, with its remarkably short 280-character limit. Yet, for B2B marketers, adhering to this tight cap could feel like a Herculean task, with many preferring to share their more elaborate (and arguably more insightful) content on alternative platforms (more often than not, on LinkedIn).

The good news is that X has been evolving, embracing longer-form content for more in-depth information sharing. With the introduction of longer tweets in-feed and, more recently, the introduction of X Articles, X is clearly making some significant changes to boost time spent on-platform.

‍X Articles offers all the standard functionalities of similar blogging tools found elsewhere, along with the capability to embed images and videos. Historically the platform for timely news and updates, X Articles opens doors to a world of nuanced storytelling, where users can dive deep into key business milestones such as AGMs, product launches, and financial results with more detail than ever before.

Affiliated accounts

It’s not uncommon for global organisations to have unique social profiles for a wide range of business groups and regions. That’s where the affiliated accounts feature comes in particularly handy, allowing organisations to host their entire business ecosystem in one place, from employer branding pages, to senior leadership profiles. Users can simply use the ‘Affiliates’ tab at the top of the channel to view all affiliated pages. If an account is assigned as an affiliate, they’re given a badge, adding an extra layer of authenticity and discoverability to their senior leadership team accounts.

The affiliates feature is a great way for larger organisations to centralise multiple business accounts and help users (particularly new visitors to your page) navigate through all your company has to offer, from thought leaders, to product-specific pages. Check out Tesla as an example.

When should we use these features?

Brands should ensure their strategy is as informed and agile as the platforms they hope to use to bolster their messaging. In terms of using the new features on X, brands should ask themselves the following questions:

• How reactive is your audience? X users tend to be conversational and reactive, so tailor your content to spark conversation and encourage engagement.

• Are your audience industry professionals who will want to hear about your quarterly earnings in an article? Or are they mostly consumers who only want quick updates and entertaining posts? Consider what your audience needs/wants to know.

• Remember employer branding. Could your page leverage job openings to further this strategic goal? Remember, ensuring any new features complement your overall strategy is key.

It's important to note that many of the features mentioned above require a paid X premium membership for organisations. This pay-to-play approach mirrors LinkedIn's premium features, which businesses have been accustomed to for years. Brand owners must weigh the cost of the premium membership against the potential benefits and utilisation of these features.

What’s next

X's foray into professional networking directly challenges LinkedIn, blurring the lines between these once distinct platforms. This direct competition against LinkedIn is, for many, a surprising move from X. 

It will be interesting to see how the two social platforms continue to play off each other in the year ahead. Brands will need to take stock of their current X strategy and audience. This includes taking into consideration independent sources that estimate a decline in active users, to determine if it should stay a core element of their marketing approach. 

Like the desert sands, the social media landscape is constantly shifting. To stay ahead of the curve, check out what else is on the horizon for social channels in 2024. 

‍To learn how our team can help with your social media strategy and content, visit our website or email hello@battenhall.com.

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