1. Opening Problem Statement
Meet Sarah, a small business social media manager who handles her company’s Twitter account, now rebranded as X. Every day, she spends at least an hour manually copying tweets from a content plan in Google Sheets and posting them at scheduled intervals. This manual process is time-consuming, prone to errors like skipping tweets or posting duplicates, and sometimes causes inconsistent posting times that affect engagement. Sarah wishes for a way to automate these repetitive tasks so she can focus on higher-value activities like strategy and engagement.
Sarah’s challenge is not unique. Many social media managers rely heavily on spreadsheet-based content plans and struggle to reliably publish content at set intervals without manual intervention. The repetitive manual process wastes hours weekly, risking missed posting slots and inconsistency that impacts follower growth and brand presence.
2. What This Automation Does
This n8n workflow automates posting tweets saved in a Google Sheet directly to her company’s X account every 6 hours. Here’s what happens automatically when the workflow runs:
- Every 6 hours, it triggers and retrieves the next tweet from a Google Sheet titled “Tweets.”
- It posts the tweet text as a new post on X (formerly Twitter) from the connected account.
- After posting, the system deletes the tweeted row from the Google Sheet to avoid reposting.
- The process repeats indefinitely, ensuring a continuous, error-free posting schedule.
- This automation saves Sarah hours of manual copy-pasting and scheduling each week.
- Consistent posting improves audience engagement and brand reliability without extra effort.
3. Prerequisites ⚙️
- n8n account (cloud or self-hosted) 🔌
- Google account with access to Google Sheets 📊
- X (Twitter) account with API access enabled 📧 🔑
- n8n credentials setup for Google Sheets OAuth2 and Twitter OAuth2 🔐
- A prepared Google Sheet with a sheet named Tweets and a column header tweet where tweets are listed.
4. Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Set up the Schedule Trigger to Run Every 6 Hours
Open your n8n editor. Click + Add node, search for Schedule Trigger, and add it to your workflow.
In the node settings, under Rule, set the interval to Every 6 hours.
This sets the automation to trigger itself every 6 hours automatically without manual input.
Common mistake: Forgetting to set the correct interval leads to either no runs or too frequent tweets.
Step 2: Configure Google Sheets Node to Retrieve Tweets
Add the Google Sheets node and connect it to the Schedule Trigger node’s output.
Choose the operation Read and select your Document ID for the Google Sheet containing your tweets. For the Sheet Name, choose the sheet named Tweets.
Set options to retrieve only the first matching row containing the next tweet.
Ensure your Google Sheets OAuth2 credentials are linked correctly.
Visual confirmation: You should see a preview of the tweet row from your sheet in the node’s execution results.
Common mistake: Incorrect Document ID or sheet name causes read failures.
Step 3: Post the Tweet on X Using the Twitter Node
Add the Twitter node (named “Post on X”) and connect it to the Google Sheets node output.
Under the Text field, use an expression to reference the tweet from the previous node: {{ $json.tweet }}.
Select your Twitter OAuth2 credentials that have posting permissions.
Expected result: When triggered, this node posts the tweet text on your X timeline.
Common mistake: Missing or incorrect Twitter credentials will cause authorization errors.
Step 4: Remove the Posted Tweet from the Sheet
Add another Google Sheets node (named “Remove from list”) to delete the posted tweet from the sheet, preventing reposting.
Set the operation to Delete, use the same Document ID and Sheet Name (Tweets).
Make sure it’s connected to the Twitter node’s output.
This removes the row corresponding to the just-posted tweet.
Common mistake: Deleting the wrong row or misconfigured operation deletes unintended data.
Step 5: Test Your Workflow
Manually trigger the workflow to see the end-to-end process post a sample tweet and remove it from the sheet.
Check your X account timeline for the new post.
Verify the Google Sheet row is deleted.
5. Customizations ✏️
- Adjust Posting Frequency: In the Schedule Trigger node, change the interval hours to your desired time slot, such as every 1 hour or daily at a set time.
- Add Tweet Metadata: Modify the Google Sheets data structure to include extra columns like hashtags or media URLs, then update the Twitter node to append or attach these.
- Batch Posting: Alter the Google Sheets read options to fetch multiple tweets at once and loop through posting them sequentially with a SplitInBatches node (additional node needed).
- Logging Posts: Add a database or external storage node to log tweets posted with timestamps, ensuring audit trails.
- Error Alerts: Use an Email or Slack node to notify you if the tweet posting fails.
6. Troubleshooting 🔧
Problem: “Authorization failed for Twitter node”
Cause: Twitter OAuth2 credentials not set or expired.
Solution: Reauthorize Twitter credentials in n8n with correct permissions by going to Credentials → Twitter OAuth2 → Reconnect.
Problem: “No data returned from Google Sheets node”
Cause: Wrong Document ID, sheet name, or empty sheet.
Solution: Double-check the Google Sheet link and names. Make sure the sheet has tweet data ready.
7. Pre-Production Checklist ✅
- Verify your Google Sheets document and sheet name match exactly in the workflow.
- Confirm OAuth2 credentials for both Google Sheets and Twitter are valid and authorized.
- Ensure your Google Sheet has tweets filled under the column named “tweet.”
- Test workflow manually before enabling the schedule.
- Backup your Google Sheet data before enabling automatic deletions.
8. Deployment Guide
Once tested, activate the workflow in n8n to run automatically every 6 hours as configured.
Monitor initial runs through the executions list and verify tweets are posted correctly.
Set up notifications or logs if extended monitoring is desired for reliability.
10. Conclusion
By automating tweets from a Google Sheet to X with this n8n workflow, Sarah has reclaimed hours of manual posting time each week. She enjoys consistent, error-free posting that strengthens her brand’s social media presence without lifting a finger. You too can leverage this simple yet powerful automation to maintain an active and reliable tweet schedule.
Next, consider expanding this automation to include scheduling replies, tracking engagement metrics, or integrating with other social platforms via n8n for comprehensive social media management.