When one thinks of Twitter, you think of the change in communication it has brought about. Pioneering the instant communication space and now dominating that space, its presence is being felt strongly around the world with recent statistics showing more than 300 million actively having a Twitter account. It is then only natural for marketers to discover ways of using this platform to understand their audience better and enhance the user experience.

Let us discuss some of the analytical tools that serve this purpose. It is important to note that there are certain metrics which allow you to use these tools more effectively, which are:

• Engagement
• Tweet/Re-tweet Content
• Followers
• Clicks
• Audience preferences
• Ideal posting time
• Science behind twitter hash-tags

#1- Twittercounter.com

This is one of the basic analytical tools for analysis. It allows you to export data in the form of flow-charts and detailed info on audience engagement. It brings with it, data on the average number of tweets, most commonly used re-tweets and the ideal time for posting content.

#2- Keyhole.co

Once you know how well your twitter account is performing, it is important to understand the most popular topics, words, hash-tags and links that help you design relevant for your users. Keyhole allows you access to consumer sentiment analysis, the top linked stories along with a thorough demography analysis.

#3- TweetReach

Analyzing your own audience’s reactions is definitely important but you want to know how well your content is being appreciated beyond just your immediate audience. The free version of this tool shows you the people who have re-tweeted the last 50 tweets. If you have organized a campaign, it also shows you the top influencers for that campaign, allowing you to tweak your social media strategy.

#4- Followermonk by Moz

The above mentioned services give you basic information on your audience responsiveness how this advanced tool by Moz gives you the information you need in order to prepare a comprehensive social media strategy. It gives you an insight into competition analysis, audience preferences and also compares the audiences of selected users/competitors to make your strategy full-proof. It essentially breaks down your followers on the basis of different filters selected by you and through the use of interactive charts, checks the quality and performance of your tweets. This is an indispensable tool for those who want to outshine their competitors by knowing everything and more about their audience.

#5- App.buzzsumo.com

With the above mentioned services, you have access to information about your competitors and your audience but the most important part of your strategy is designing the content and increasing your visibility. This app shows you the most popular topics you should cover, the trending topics that could increase your visibility and also get your account noticed by as many users as possible. Certain features of this tool identify top influencers in different industries and closely monitor the amount of mentions made of your brand.