Amongst all of the various social media platforms, Twitter is the only platform that allows the common use of bots. With over 500 million tweets being published every day, not all of them are created by human users on the platform. Most links and articles that are tweeted on the platform are handled by bots.
The abundance of bots on the platform can be credited to the ease of making one yourself. Creating a Twitter bot also lets you automate various functions, and hence increase your social media presence. In this article, we will take a brief overview of what Twitter bots are, and how you can create a Twitter bot that tweets, posts pictures, retweets, easily in just 6 simple steps.
What is a Twitter bot?
Bots are tools that can be used to perform various actions on Twitter using their API. These are usually used for automated functions that can help with engagement on Twitter.
Using a bot allows you to automatically create new tweets and retweets based on various factors. Also, these can be used to directly follow trending accounts, automatically reply to your followers, and comment on your tweets.
It should also be noted that Twitter prescribes various rules and regulations while creating a Twiter bot. This is done to prevent the use of malicious or otherwise spammy bots on the platform.
Let’s take a look at what a Twitter bot can do for your account:
- Create and retweet at regular intervals or by other triggers.
- Analyzing various posts on the platform for analytics and marketing.
- Replying automatically based on the content of the comments.
How to Make a Twitter Bot that Tweets, Posts pictures, Retweets
In this section, we will take a look at how you can easily create a Twitter bot in 6 simple steps. There are no prerequisites for this procedure. You just need to have a basic idea of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces).
Following the steps listed below correctly should help you to complete the process in just 6 simple steps.
1. Apply for a Twitter developer account
The first thing that you require to develop a Twitter bot is signing up for a new account on the Twitter developer portal. You can do this by heading to the Twitter developer page and entering a few essential details to get essential access to the Twitter API. Once you get your account approved as a Twitter developer, you can continue with the steps listed below.
2. Create a Twitter application
Once your Twitter developer application is confirmed, you can get started by naming your app. After this step, you’ll get a unique API and API secret key which would be used further. Additionally, you will also get a bearer token that you need to use later. Once done, tap on “Test on the endpoint”.
3. Edit the Twitter application’s permissions
After the application is created, you can access a special dashboard that allows you to change and monitor various aspects of the app. Now, tap on the “App settings” icon from the dashboard.
Next, from the “Edit app permissions” window, select “Read+Write+Direct Messages”. Finally, tap on the “Save” button highlighted in blue to set your Twitter bot’s permissions.
4. Generate your access token and secret access token
Once you’re done with changing the permissions of your Twitter app, you will get redirected to the dashboard. Under the app name, switch from “Settings” to “Keys and Tokens”. Next, under authentication tokens, tap on “Generate” to get your unique access token along with the secret access token.
5. Program your Twitter bot
This step is the most important in the process of creating a Twitter bot. Open this Twitter bot script and log in with the email that’s connected to your Twitter account. Now, you will be requested to enter the details that you received in the previous steps.
Under this, there are several options that you need to specify, like the Twitter search phrase, the start and end time, and the action that you want the bot to perform. After you’re done with this, tap on “Save”.
6. Test the bot
After you’re satisfied with the bot settings, the last thing that you should do is test it. If you’ve followed the steps listed above correctly, then there should be no problems with it. After using the “Save” button in the previous step, select “Check” to verify whether your bot is working or not. If you run into any problems, check whether you’ve entered the API keys correctly.
FAQ’S
Are Twitter bots legal?
Creating Twitter bots is legal, but every bot on the platform is limited by a set of automation rules that ensures that bots are not used for malicious or spam purposes. The exact set of rules can be found here, and as a developer, it is crucial that these are followed in order for the Twitter bot to be legal.
How can I host a Twitter bot for free?
There are many platforms that allow Twitter bots to be hosted for free. But, there are some limitations as compared to premium bots, such as longer time intervals between each run, lower reliability, and other minor inconveniences.
Are Twitter bots free?
There are several websites and methods by which you can deploy a Twitter bot. The steps listed in this article are completely free to use and should provide you with most of the basic functionality that you require from a Twitter bot.
How much time does it take to make a Twitter bot?
The time required to make a Twitter bot depends on the method you use to create it. In case you want to create the bot from scratch and deploy it on your own terms, then it may take a while, depending upon your experience. But, the process of creating a Twitter bot listed in this article is quite easy, and the entire process can be completed in under an hour.
Automating Tasks with a Twitter Bot
As clarified earlier, you can automate several tasks with bots on Twitter. This can help with your overall presence on the platform, and help you with marketing and other basic tasks. The tool used for creating bots as listed in this article should help you to automate several functions on the social media platform, depending on your needs.
Conclusion
Creating a Twitter bot can have many benefits, but it may seem to be a daunting task for many. We hope the steps listed in this article have helped you to create functional Twitter bots in just 6 easy steps.
While programming a bot from scratch is a great idea and gives you more control over the functions, using the tool listed above is simple and quick, and should let you make a simple Twitter bot without getting into the more complex details.
