X has taken us through an emotional rollercoaster for some time now. But in answer to the question raised in this article, we think (drumroll), yes. On balance. It absolutely is still relevant. So how should you use it, and how did we reach this conclusion?
Five years ago, a comparatively small number of financial firms were leveraging paid advertising on Twitter (now X) as a core part of their marketing strategy. It was expensive, it was time consuming, and the results on small to medium-sized budgets (in my view), were negligible. But most importantly, at the time – google was the king of digital platforms. Barriers to entry for google were lower, and the results were instant if the campaign was right.
On top of this, in 2019, concerns about compliance, unclear ROI, and limited audience targeting meant most financial institutions focused their budgets elsewhere, typically on Google Ads or LinkedIn.
Is X ads a good option for financial brands?
Fast forward to today, and the picture looks quite different. An increasing number of banks, fintech startups, brokers, and asset managers are now actively running paid campaigns on the platform. The shift has largely been driven by a broader industry push toward real-time engagement and by the platform’s evolution itself. With advanced targeting capabilities, improved ad formats, and the rise of social-first brand building, X (Twitter) has become an attractive space for financial brands wanting to cut through the noise.
It would be irresponsible not to mention the political leanings of X management in this article. Whatever your views are, it can’t be helped that your target market is still having conversations on twitter.
So, should financial brands do paid posts or organic posts on X?
When comparing organic and paid engagement on Twitter, there’s a clear divergence. Organic posts from financial companies tend to receive limited reach—particularly for firms without an established following or consistent posting strategy. The average engagement rate for organic posts in the finance sector hovers below 0.1%. In contrast, paid posts consistently outperform, especially when promoting time-sensitive content like webinars, reports, or product launches. Paid tweets with strong creative and value-driven messaging have been shown to increase engagement by 4–5x over their organic counterparts. The key difference is that paid campaigns give marketers control over who sees the message and when, making them far more effective at reaching the right audience. Paid ads therefore would match a lead-generating strategy.
Why Financial Brands Need a Unique X Strategy
For branding and thought leadership, Twitter can be used organically (i.e. through non-paid posts), however we warn you – copy and pasting existing from your other platforms no longer cuts the mustard. This is what you need to do if your brand has a presence on X:
- Stay active in relevant conversations.
- Add value through content—share market insights, useful data points, and expert commentary that position your brand as a trusted voice.
- Use visual formats to break through the feed—infographics, short videos, or charts tend to get more engagement than plain text.
- Run paid campaigns for high-value content. Whether it’s an event invite or a downloadable whitepaper, boosting this content can drive measurable results.
- Don’t underestimate replies and mentions. Engaging directly with users or participating in trending discussions builds visibility and creates opportunities for meaningful interactions.
Financial marketing may be evolving rapidly, but with the right strategy, Twitter remains a powerful platform for building influence. If you would like to speak to some specialists who have experience using paid and organic ads to build branding awareness and drive traffic, talk to us. Let’s talk at Financialmarkets.media.
