X's algorithm rewards engagement-density much more aggressively than Instagram's. A single thoughtful reply to a big account in your niche can outperform 20 of your own posts. This is the single most-underused tactic on the platform.
The reply game
- Pick 20 accounts in your niche bigger than you. Follow them, turn on notifications for 5.
- Reply within the first 30 minutes of their post going live. Early replies get pinned higher in the reply thread, which means more eyeballs.
- Add value, don't suck up. "Great post!" is invisible. A counter-example, a related stat, or an honest disagreement gets profile clicks.
- Don't self-promote in the reply. Let your bio do that. Self-promo in replies gets you muted, blocked, or worse — ignored.
When to post vs thread
- Single tweet: a punchy take, a number, a screenshot of something interesting. ~70% of your posts.
- Thread: a story or how-to that needs more than 280 characters but less than a blog post. Hook tweet → 3-8 follow-up tweets → final tweet with a CTA. ~20%.
- Image / chart: data, before/afters, screenshots of code or DMs (with permission). Images double median reach. ~10%.
Bookmarks matter
Bookmarks are the X algorithm's strongest positive signal, stronger than likes. People bookmark stuff they want to return to. If your post has high bookmark-to-impression ratio, X will keep pushing it for days. Make posts worth bookmarking — references, checklists, frameworks.
Free tier reality
Free API tier is 1,500 posts/month. Plenty for personal use. Reads are 100/month — too tight to do real analytics polling, so this app intentionally doesn't try.