X Shares Holiday Ad Tips: Keep It Short and Human

X has released guidance for marketers planning their holiday campaigns, following a webinar last week that covered best practices and audience insights. The advice focuses on how to write ads that perform on the platform during one of the busiest shopping periods of the year.

The company said holiday attention and shopping intent peak at the same time on X, and that users are open to hearing from advertisers. It backed this up with data on shopping engagement from last holiday season, along with notes on key shopping trends, peak activity periods and audience demographics.

Preparing for AI-Powered Shopping

X also addressed the growing role of AI in guiding purchase decisions. It advised brands to describe what their product does, who it is for and what makes it better, using plain words that an AI model can easily compare. In X’s view, if a model can sum up a brand in one line, that brand has a better chance of being recommended. Social Media Today noted this likely oversimplifies how AI recommendations work, but agreed that clarity helps discovery.

Creative Tips for Better Ads

On creative, X said the best-performing ads run between 50 and 100 characters, roughly one sentence. Brands should write the way a real person would speak to a customer and avoid overselling. Limited-time offers or exclusive deals can give people a reason to act now, and every ad should carry a clear call to action.

X also urged advertisers to remove distractions and send users to a single destination, either a website or an app. For that reason, brands should avoid tagging other accounts, since each tag gives users a way out of the ad. Hashtags and multiple emojis are discouraged for the same reason.

While some of the recommendations may be simplified, they offer a practical starting point for brands building holiday campaigns on X, coming directly from the platform itself.