Please note that this guide reflects the state of Twitter Ads as it was in 2022. The platform has undergone significant changes since then, including being rebranded as "X."

In 2022, Twitter Ads was a powerful tool for businesses and individuals looking to expand their reach, build their brand, and drive specific actions. The platform offered a range of targeting options and campaign objectives that made it accessible to beginners. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to get started with Twitter Ads in 2022.

Step 1: Set Up Your Twitter Ads Account
Access the Ads Manager: The first step was to navigate to ads.twitter.com and log in with your Twitter account.

Select Your Country and Time Zone: Upon your first visit, you were prompted to choose your country and time zone. This was a one-time setting that could not be changed later.

Explore the Dashboard: Once set up, you were taken to the Twitter Ads Manager dashboard, where you could create new campaigns and track your performance.

Step 2: Choose Your Campaign Objective
The key to a successful ad campaign was to align your objective with your business goals. Twitter offered a variety of objectives categorized by the marketing funnel.

Awareness:

Reach: Maximized the number of people who saw your ad. You were billed per 1,000 impressions.

Consideration:

Video Views: Promoted your video content and paid for each view.

App Installs: Drove users to download your app from the App Store or Google Play.

Website Traffic: Encouraged users to click on a link and visit your website. You were billed per click.

Engagements: Maximized interactions with your tweet (likes, retweets, replies, etc.).

Followers: Built your audience by promoting your account to users who were likely to be interested. You were billed per new follower.

Conversion:

Conversions: Drove specific actions on your website, such as a purchase or a sign-up.

Step 3: Set Your Campaign Details, Budget, and Schedule
Name Your Campaign: Give your campaign a clear and descriptive name to easily identify it later.

Set Your Budget: You had two main options for setting your budget:

Daily Budget: The maximum amount you were willing to spend per day.

Total Campaign Budget: The maximum amount you were willing to spend for the entire duration of the campaign.

Choose a Bid Strategy:

Automatic Bidding: Twitter optimized your bid for the best results at the lowest price within your budget. This was often recommended for beginners.

Maximum Bidding: You set the maximum amount you were willing to pay for each engagement.

Target Cost Bidding: You set a target cost per engagement, and Twitter aimed to stay within that range.

Schedule Your Campaign: You could either run your campaign immediately or set a specific start and end date.

Step 4: Define Your Target Audience
Targeting was crucial for making sure your ads were seen by the right people. Twitter offered a robust set of targeting options.

Demographic Targeting: You could target users based on:

Age

Gender

Location (country, state, city, or postal code)

Language

Audience Targeting: This was where Twitter's unique data came into play. You could target users based on their:

Interests: Choose from hundreds of pre-set interests.

Keywords: Target people who recently searched for, tweeted, or engaged with specific keywords.

Follower Look-Alikes: Target users who had similar characteristics to the followers of a specific account (e.g., a competitor or an influencer in your niche).

Custom Audiences: Upload a list of your own customers or use website activity to retarget people who have already interacted with your brand.

Step 5: Create Your Ad Creative
The content of your ad was what captured attention and drove action.

Choose an Ad Format: You could use text, images, videos, or even a carousel of multiple images. Video ads often had higher engagement rates.

Write Compelling Copy: Keep your ad copy short, concise, and engaging. Include a strong call-to-action (CTA) to tell users exactly what you want them to do.

Use High-Quality Visuals: Use high-quality images and videos that stand out in the feed.

Step 6: Review and Launch
Before your ad went live, you had a chance to review all your settings. Check your campaign objective, budget, targeting, and ad creative to ensure everything was correct. Once you were confident, you could click "Launch Campaign." After launch, you could monitor your ad's performance in the Ads Manager dashboard and make adjustments as needed.