Why Twitter Marketing Matters - TopTenSocialMedia

Hi there! As a fellow marketing geek, I‘m excited to dive deeper into the world of Twitter marketing tools with you. I‘ve done some extensive research and have tons of great insights to share. Let‘s explore how to grow your Twitter account using the latest and greatest platforms available today.

I know you‘re already sold on Twitter‘s potential, but it helps to kick things off by underscoring why it‘s worth investing time and tools into Twitter marketing.

Here are some compelling stats:

Twitter has 237.8 million daily active users. That‘s an engaged audience!
It‘s the #1 platform for real-time engagement – perfect for connecting directly with followers.
Twitter users are 46% more likely to interact with brands than other social sites.
Tweets with GIFs result in 55% more engagement than tweets without.
Twitter ads have a 50% higher recall value compared to other networks.
90% of Twitter users access via mobile so tweets reach people on-the-go.

Those are some pretty promising opportunities! But achieving results takes strategy and effort. The good news is that advanced tools can make Twitter marketing much smoother.

Specifically, you can leverage tools for:

Streamlining publishing and scheduling quality content
Monitoring relevant conversations and brand mentions
Running targeted ad campaigns
Tracking performance and tweaking your approach
Connecting with influencers to expand reach
Analyzing your audience for better targeting
Keeping tabs on competitors

When used right, Twitter marketing tools fill the gaps in Twitter‘s native features. They help you post smarter, track progress, gain insights, collaborate with your team and ultimately amplify results.

Now let‘s explore some top-rated platforms to consider based on your goals…

Scheduling Content Seamlessly

If you want to get strategic with content scheduling, Hootsuite is a top choice. With its bulk scheduling and queue management, you can plan content efficiently.

I like these key features:

The Post Composer lets you draft and schedule tweets, threads, and videos in advance while previewing how they‘ll appear live. This makes it easy to plan content campaigns and promotions.
You can create saved post templates with custom text and branding. This maintains consistent voice, especially when employees collaborate on one account.
Bulk uploading of content instantly turns blogs, news and events into bite-sized tweets.
Auto scheduling takes past performance into account to determine the best times to repost evergreen content. One less thing for you to remember!
You can connect multiple accounts to manage personal and business profiles seamlessly.
Team workflow features like approval processes keep large accounts running smoothly.
Robust analytics track engagement, clicks, traffic and more to optimize your approach.

Hootsuite is trusted by industry leaders like T-Mobile, Cisco, and LG. The platform handles 500 million posts across social networks every month!

So if you‘re looking for seamless scheduling, process automation and team workflows, Hootsuite is a robust choice. You‘ll waste less time on logistics and focus more on strategy.

Competitor Tracking & Monitoring

Monitoring competitors on Twitter is critical for staying atop of trends and benchmarking performance in your niche. For robust tracking, tools like Rival IQ come in handy.

Here are some powerful features you get:

Side-by-side comparison of you vs competitors for tweets, engagement and growth. You can quickly identify your strengths and gaps.
A real-time stream showing competitors‘ tweets as they post them. This keeps you aware of new product launches, specials and more.
Automatic alerts when competitors hit follower milestones or post hot new content. You can stay on your toes reacting to their moves.
Tracking of their most used (and effective) hashtags, mentions and keywords. This reveals what resonates most with shared followers.
Relationship mapping illuminates connections between competitors and influencers in your space. Useful for partnership ideas!
Tracking of competitors‘ tweets and engagement over custom time periods. You can gauge what content and tactics work well for them.
Integration with your own accounts provides a convenient one-stop-shop for monitoring and posting.

With these insights, you‘re better equipped to refine your Twitter strategy based on what engages your shared audience. You can build on competitors‘ successful tactics while avoiding those that flop.

Audience Research & Targeting

Truly resonating with followers requires understanding your audience. Tools like Audiense make this audience research seamless.

Here‘s what you gain:

Detailed follower demographics like location, gender, interests and occupation. This reveals who‘s engaging most.
Analysis of followers‘ habits – when they‘re active, their device use, languages and more. This points to the optimal posting times and content formats.
Tracking of audience growth over time by source. You can double down on tactics bringing in high-quality followers.
Identification of your top performers – loyal followers who heavily engage. You can offer exclusive value to these VIPs.
Monitoring of audience interests so you can tweak messaging and content to align perfectly.
Comparison of your audience metrics vs competitors‘ to improve your strategy.
Segmenting options to group followers by factors like location, interests, job title and recent activity. This allows tailored communication with different audience segments.

These are just a few examples of the rich audience data Audiense surfaces. You gain perspective on follower psychographics – not just vanity metrics like follower counts. This enables content that truly resonates and converts rather than just chasing engagement alone.

Performance Tracking & Analysis

Evaluating the ROI of your Twitter efforts requires digging into metrics beyond likes and retweets. For in-depth analysis, tools like Sprout Social deliver.

Sprout Social provides:

Tweet-level metrics on reach, engagement rate, clicks, retweets and more. You can identify your top-performing content.
Tracking over time so you can set goals and monitor progress month-over-month.
Demographic breakdowns to see which types of audience members engage most.
Comparison of your tweets vs competitors‘ to learn what resonates.
Identification of the times/days when your audience is most active and receptive.
Graphs, exportable reports and presentations to share insights across your team.
Integration with Google Analytics to connect social efforts to site traffic and conversions.

These are just a few examples of the custom reporting and data you gain access to. When you understand what‘s moving the needle with your audience, it becomes easier to justify Twitter marketing investment and continually refine your approach.

Content Creation & Ideation

Of course, all the scheduling and analysis tools mean less if you don‘t have compelling content to share. Tools like Buzzsumo make ideation simple with data-driven insights about trending content.

Here are some key features:

Viewing top-shared articles by any topic or keyword so you can capitalize on existing traction.
Inputting competitor domains to uncover their best-performing tweets and content formats. You can model their success.
Monitoring hashtags and keywords by social volume so you know which are heating up.
Analyzing the social performance of any content link to gauge if it‘s worth tweeting. Higher numbers generally mean higher engagement.
Generating suggested similar articles when you input a high-performing seed piece of content. This surfaces fresh ideas tailored to your audience‘s interests.
Alerts on new viral content related to keywords you track. Timely inspiration delivered right to your inbox!
Uncovering influential authors and publications creating engaging content regularly. Their existing audience can help amplify your tweets.

I don‘t know about you, but I love leveraging data to take the guesswork out of ideation. Buzzsumo makes this so much easier. You can be confident that the content you tweet will hit the mark with followers.

Saving Time With Automation

When used right, automation tools can save you major time on repetitive Twitter tasks without losing the personal touch. SocialPilot is a leading platform here.

Notable features include:

Auto-replying to new follower messages with a friendly, branded note. You show appreciation without manually engaging each new follow.
Automatically reposting top tweets that performed well to re-engage your audience. Curated recycling of your best old content.
Scheduling recurring posts for content series and promotions. These repeat while you tackle more strategic work.
Auto-liking followers‘ content related to your business or important hashtags. A small but meaningful way to show you‘re listening.
syndo these automatic post messages to facebook, linkedin and Instagram Can sync scheduled tweets across accounts to expand reach.
Generating weekly digest emails recapping activity and engagement on your account. Fans still feel connected while you focus on creation.

The key is using automation thoughtfully to handle repetitive tasks vs. replacement for all human interaction. When combined with robust analytics and monitoring, it keeps your account thriving and audience happy.

Making Data-Driven Decisions

Here are a few overarching benefits that arise when you adopt a robust Twitter marketing platform:

1. Measure what matters.

Vanity metrics like follower counts only reveal so much. With in-depth analytics, you can track engagement, click rates, traffic driven, conversions and more. This keeps you focused on tangible ROI vs. hollow social proof.

2. Identify what‘s working.

It‘s impossible to know what content and tactics perform best without numbers. Performance tracking helps you double down on what resonates while phasing out what doesn‘t.

3. Spot opportunities for improvement.

With competitor benchmarking, audience research and past performance analysis, you can spot gaps in your approach. Addressing them leads to better results over time.

4. Justify marketing investment.

Hard metrics make it easier to secure buy-in and budget for Twitter marketing efforts. When you directly connect activity to traffic, conversions and revenue, it becomes a strategic priority.

5. Achieve goals faster.

Tools like saved templates, bulk scheduling and automation free up your time for high-value tasks. Streamlined workflows mean hitting goals sooner.

In summary, data plus tools means clarity and confidence in the viability of your Twitter strategy. You know precisely what‘s moving the needle so you can deliver real business impact through Twitter.

Okay, we‘ve covered the strategic benefits of Twitter marketing tools at a high level. Now let‘s get specific with 7 recommended platforms:

Tool	Key Benefits
Sprout Social	Robust analytics and reporting
SocialPilot	Time-saving automation features
Hootsuite	Seamless content scheduling and performance tracking
Buzzsumo	Content research and ideation
Audiense	Audience research and segmentation
Rival IQ	Competitor monitoring and benchmarking
Socialbro	Affordable analytics starting under $10/month

This table gives you a quick overview of key strengths. Based on your goals, one solution may stand out. But you can also combine tools like Buzzsumo for ideation, Sprout for reporting and SocialPilot for automation. Mix and match to create your ideal marketing stack.

For a deeper look at recommended features and use cases, check out the detailed writeups earlier in this post. I‘ve shared plenty of specifics on how these tools can amplify your efforts.

And if you‘re feeling overwhelmed by choices, you can always start with a free tool like TweetDeck. Its custom columns and scheduling features make Twitter management more convenient. As your needs grow, you can upgrade to more robust platforms.

The key is not overcomplicating things early on. Start small, test what works for your brand and build from there. Even exploring one new tool can net big results.

We‘ve covered a ton of ground here! To recap, thoughtful Twitter marketing paired with the right tools can drive huge growth for your brand and account.

Platforms like the options above help centralize workflows, surface insights and save you time so you can focus on audience connection and strategy.

Choose solutions that align with your current business goals and team bandwidth. Over time, you can expand to an integrated stack of tools driving results across the entire marketing funnel.

Twitter may never be as easy as point-and-click platforms like Facebook. But it holds far more potential for meaningful engagement and viral sharing if you have the right approach.

Hopefully this gives you plenty of ideas and resources to step up your Twitter marketing game. Let me know if any questions come up along the way. I‘m always happy to help fellow marketing nerds like you and me take things to the next level!