8 Excellent Twitter Analytics Tools to Extract Insights from Twitter Streams

Twitter is now the third most popular social network, behind Facebook and MySpace (Compete, 2009). A year ago, it has over a million users and 200,000 active monthly users sending over 3 million updates per day (TechCrunch, 2008). Those figures have almost certainly increased since then. With the torrential streams of Twitter updates (or tweets), there's an emerging demand to sieve signals from noises and harvest useful information.


Enter Twitter Analytics, Twitter Analysis, or simply just Analytwits (in the tradition of Twitter slang). These analytics tools are growing in numbers; even Twitter is developing them.

Besides Twitter Search, the following 8 Analytwits are some of the more useful web applications to analyze Twitter streams. Each of these tools serve specific purpose. They crawl and sift through Twitter streams; also, aggregate, rank and slice-and-dice data to deliver some insights on Twitter activities and trends. There's no single best analytic tool available but use in combination, they can extract interesting insights from Twitter streams.

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Twitter's Tipping Point?

 I was first introduced to Twitter in 2008 while working for a media outlet in Washington, D.C. My editor, a wise newsman (and the person who signed my paychecks) predicted that it would be the next big thing and encouraged us all to sign up for accounts. At this time I was just really getting into Facebook. I had no idea that two years later my career would revolve around these two social networking mediums.

  I guess that's why this video is so funny to me. Three years ago most of us didn't know what Twitter was. Few of us knew that it would reach the heights that it's reached. This got me wondering when was Twitter's tipping point. At what point did Twitter go from being this crazy fad that no one but tech geeks cared about to the hot way to market and sell products, follow celebrities, and communicate with friends. Twitter has more than 100 million users. Companies have had to jump on board and not only admit this is powerful platform for communication, but for their advertising and marketing to consumers. Media have begun to rely on it for real time news dispersal and consumer engagement When did this happen?

 I can think of two big moments that really cemented Twitter as a force. The first was the Hudson River plane crash, when heroic Captain Sully Sullenberger safely landed the flight in the river with no deaths or major injuries. People tweeted photos and real-time updates that scooped even the media. It was the first time that we saw that this medium as a viable source for sending out necessary information to the masses.

  The other is when Ashton Kutcher challenged CNN to see who could get to a million followers first. Kutcher boldly challenged the international network to a duel to see who could hit that million target and he won. The publicity garnered by the "popularity contest" had the dual impact of adding a big surge of followers to the social networking site and publicity and attention to something many people were previously unaware of.

  Those are my theories, what do you think? At what point did Twitter really gain momentum? What was the point in time when it went from fad to phenomenon?




 

Pop Culture Christens Social Media

I was watching the Simpson's this weekend when I saw this little gem. Mark Zuckerberg made a "cameo" appearance on the show this week. Even better, he's a cartoon character who's "Facebooking" (just made up a word). This episode appeared on the same weekend the "Social Network," which features a less likable depiction of Zuckerberg, came to theatres.

Coincidence or conspiracy theory? Who knows?

We do know the movie boasted a pretty good opening weekend draw, spawned a copycat picture, and is receiving Oscar buzz and critical acclaim.

Whether or not you believe the two are an evil marketing plot, it all confirms one thing - Facebook, and thus social media as a whole, has officially been christened as part of pop culture. It may sound crazy, but the fact someone is willing to turn Zuck into a cartoon character on a long-running and popular television show, and that the characters on that show are using Facebook, AND that the movie was number one this weekend goes to prove that social media is relevant. People care about it and it has become a fixture in our lives. It's no longer just for kids. It's a viable platform for communication and business. It's a piece of Americana. It's not a fad and guess what? It doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon.

In my business I often encounter people who say I don't want to get into Facebook or "the Twitter" (I love when people say "the Twitter"). When it comes from a business owner's mouth I'm stunned. Twitter and Facebook alone boast over 600 million users. That's just two of the hundreds of social networking sites out there. Even if you account for overlapping, that's still an incredible fount of potential customers, donors, and users of your products and services. Cutting social networking out of your online marketing strategy is essentially cutting off a very viable source of new business.

This is not an endorsement of Facebook or for Zuckerberg. Love him or hate him (and there are definitely people on both sides of that camp), he's changed the way we communicate and do business forever. I mean seriously, in 20 years how many real life CEOs have you seen on the Simpsons? Yeah, me neither. Guess its just a matter of time before we see the Twitter movie and an appearance on the Simpsons for Jack Dorsey.

Getting Friendly With Social Media

By Eugene Kane of the Journal Sentinel 

The new Facebook movie opened up at the top of the box office last weekend, which no doubt came as a big surprise to many observers.

Who would have guessed so many people would log off Facebook long enough to watch a twohour movie?

"The Social Network" was as eagerly anticipated as any recent Hollywood film based on a hot new trend. After all, 500,000,000 Facebook users can't be wrong. That's right; Facebook has 500 million members across the world.

The most amazing thing to consider about Facebook - and its social network counterpart Twitter - is its rapid growth over such a short time. Not so long ago, these kinds of outlets simply didn't exist, at least not to anyone who didn't live in a college dorm.
In 2004, a Harvard undergraduate named Mark Zuckerberg came up with the idea to create an all-purpose networking site on the Internet that would serve his peers group, only to watch it mushroom to the point where adults in just about every modern country in the world have some sort of Facebook connection.

Clearly, it's not just for college students anymore.

The network Zuckerberg created made him rich beyond his imagination as it grew into a daily touchstone for millions of "friends" of all ages who regularly communicate, update their status, hit "Like" to agree with something and send birthday wishes.

Facebook is free of charge and allows single individuals to amass as many as 5,000 friends for their page in order to create a virtual online community network.

I use both Facebook and Twitter in my career and personal life. My social networks include family, friends and colleagues but also local and national news sources including elected officials and assorted celebrities. They are not all "friends" in the way I usually use the word, but it's better than "followers," the word Twitter uses, which frankly suggests cult-like behavior to me.

The rise in social networks represents an essential tool for journalists who want to distribute news and information over the Internet to a new audience in a new form. Social media like Facebook and Twitter have been derided as frivolous, mainly because of the people who used it in a frivolous fashion to post mundane updates on ordinary life.

(OK, guilty as charged. Sometimes.)

But when big news events happen - an earthquake, a flood, a crackdown on dissidents in Iran - the value of these bold new avenues to relay information becomes starkly apparent.

Because it's the first movie to tackle the subject, "The Social Network" is more concerned with Facebook's origins as an entrepreneurial venture by a young genius than with explaining the impact of technology that has redefined interpersonal relationships during the first decade of the 2000s.
One thing's for sure, Facebook and others are definitely not a fad. Every public school system, in particular, should start training students how to use the current social media to their best advantage. Just like dinosaurs that became extinct because of a too-small brain, failure to recognize changing conditions could signal a death knell for those who get left behind.

Believe me, there will be nothing to "Like" about that.

Your Personal vs. Your Business Brand

By Patricia Wilson-Smith

By now, if you own a small business, you already know that you should be on Facebook. Check. And you know that by now, you should have a Twitter account. Check. And maybe a..blog..thingy. Check. But do you really know why?

Well, if you're like me, you've been personally using these and maybe a few other social networks for some time now - and as the months and years of hanging out online have passed, you've amassed a respectable network of 'friends', all waiting with baited breath for your next clever post. Hee-hee - like my latest from FaceBook this afternoon:

'I just said "thank you" to a voice response system - am I crazy, or just very well-raised?'

Clever stuff like that. And our friends and family soak it up like a sponge, right? Of course they do - because you've somehow, after hundreds of updates and tweets, managed to build a sense of community around yourself that keeps it all going.Cool, right? Imagine if you could do the same for your small business!

 

No need to imagine, because of course, you can. With a little bit of planning, and some patience, your business can spawn the same kind of loyal following, and turn that following into new revenue and more customers for your business. Let's face it - ever since Dell's famed multi-million dollar increase in revenues was attributed to their Twitter activity, businesses large and small have plunged head first into the social networking malaise, with kick-ass results.

 

So what do these businesses know that you don't?

 

It's simple. It takes more to be successful marketing online than putting up a FaceBook page and waiting for the masses to flock to you. Like the carefully crafted community of friends you've built around you personally, you have to have a better, even more well-crafted strategy for how you will engage your customers online - a real step-by-step plan for building a community around your business.

 

The good news is, social networking makes it inexpensive and fun to do so. Anyone can create Facebook fan pages for their business, as well as create any number of other accounts on any of a dizzying array of social networks choices. Part of creating a sound strategy, however, means making sure that you're on the right social networks - the ones where your current and potential customers can be found. 

 

For example, if you're a record label and you're trying to break a new artist, you almost certainly need to establish a presence on MySpace - but cultivating a FourSquare presence? Maybe not so much. And if you sell products and services and you want to get the word out quickly about sales or other deals, Twitter is a perfect choice - a blog would work too, but better in conjunction with Twitter and Facebook. Get the idea?

 

And you must, absolutely must find a way to build a community around your brand, by giving your social networks reason to engage with you online. Whether its free and helpful information, or discounts on your products, the experience you give customers online must be substantive - simply setting up accounts all over the place and blasting daily specials to all who will bother to read them won't cut it - just like there are people who want to be a part of the community you created around your personal brand, there are people who are interested in what you have to offer that may want to be a part of the community that naturally springs out of your business' brand.

 

The other good news is - if you have no idea how to get started, there are many professionals out there who are willing and able to help. You know your business best - running it is your main gig. Don't be afraid to leverage a social media management professional to help you take your business online via the magic of Web 2.0! 

 

Whether you know it or not, you've likely developed a digital footprint over the years. Years of posting comments, downloading music, sharing photos and videos online - has created a virtual view of you that says a lot about who you are. You need to do the same thing for your business, before someone does it for you, and a proactive and comprehensive social networking strategy can help you do just that. Get behind the wheel of your business' brand and drive it into the 21st century - your revenues and new customers will thank you for it!

Are You Taking Advantage of The New Social Media Marketing?

By Carl Gerber

With the advent of Social Media everything has changed. An online community of Twitter or Facebook users can make or break your business with their iPhones. Your company or service may be getting hundreds or thousands of good or bad reviews on the new mobile sites like Gowalla or Foursquare, either building up your reputation or tearing it down without you even knowing it. Social Networking sites are growing exponentially. A Social Media Manager can help you build a positive presence and increase your customer base.

Facebook markting – in 2009, the population of Facebook surpassed that of the U.S.A. If Facebook were a nation, they would have 100 million more people than the U.S’s 300 million. The impact of this on marketing through Social Media is staggering. Big corporations are quickly catching on to the power of Social Media Marketing, which includes Twitter marketing. For the first time, in 2010, ending a 23 year run, Pepsi Cola pulled out of advertising in the Super Bowl ditching it for Social Media. The phenomenal growth of Social Media (texting, blogging, networking)has the attention of every major company. Social Media Management has become an essential component in today’s business.

Are you taking advantage of the new Social Media, which is in many ways free or much less expensive than traditional advertising methods?

Read more: http://socialmediapathways.com/#ixzz10LYjulKu

It's not Facebook's fault you got robbed...(The Pros and Cons of Geo-tagging)

 There've been a few stories in the media this week about a rash of burglaries. Apparently, the burglar was able to learn what houses would be empty because of Facebook statuses and geo-tagging.

 For those who don't know, geo-tagging is a way to include actual geographic metadata location information to your websites or photos. Say you own a restaurant and on your website is a photo of the restaurant. I get a glimpse of your fantastic looking food and must drop everything and eat their immediately (melodramatic I know, sorry its lunch time). Geotagging allows me to find out where you are and get to you easier. We both win. Its also a great for those times when you are like "I'm really in the mood for some coffee, where's a coffee shop around here?" By plugging in your address into a maps site or phone or your car's GPS its gonna pull up the closest coffee shops. It will often times even show you how to get there.

 There are definite business benefits to geo-tagging. Used carefully and creatively they can be a fantastic addition to business digital media network. Contact us at Online Media Interactive (shameless plug) and we can show you how to make them work for your particular business. 

 Personally speaking though, the technology scares me a little. It's available in many of the new cell phones and Twitter and 4square are among the social media networks that utilize the technology. I'm not sure I want everyone knowing where I am all the time. For safety's sake, you have to be careful not to give too much of your personal comings and goings away.

 Here are a few tips for safely using social media:

1. Be careful friending people you don't know. If someone you don't know and have no mutual friends in common with sends you a friend request exercise caution when accepting it.

    2.   Don't  announce you are going away on vacation in status updates and tweets. If you absolutely must brag    about the killer two week vacation you're taking, use your privacy settings to ensure that only the people you trust and know will see it.

    3.  Wait until after you are back home to post those great vacation photos. Taking photos and instantly uploading them to Facebook or Twitter can alert potential thieves that you away.

    4.  Twitter gives you the option to include your location in the tweets you send out. Depending on the Twitter application you use this may be a default setting or something that you have to disable. For safety's sake consider disabling this location setting.

   5.   If you are making plans with people for the evening over Twitter or Facebook use the inbox and direct messaging features. Don't make these plans on your profile walls. Direct messages and inboxes are private. Walls can be seen. The great thing about doing this on Facebook is that as long as everyone you are messaging is on Facebook too you can write one message that includes them all.

Do you all have any additional suggestions on how to use social media safely? Or have you had any horror stories about someone who was victimized? Let us know.

50 Ideas for Using Twitter for Business

By Chris Brogan

(Source: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/50-ideas-on-using-twitter-for-business/)

First Steps

1. Build an account and immediate start using Twitter Search to listen for your name, your competitor’s names, words that relate to your space. (Listening always comes first.)
2. Add a picture. ( Shel reminds us of this.) We want to see you.
3. Talk to people about THEIR interests, too. I know this doesn’t sell more widgets, but it shows us you’re human.
4. Point out interesting things in your space, not just about you.
5. Share links to neat things in your community. ( @wholefoods does this well).
6. Don’t get stuck in the apology loop. Be helpful instead. ( @jetblue gives travel tips.)
7. Be wary of always pimping your stuff. Your fans will love it. Others will tune out.
8. Promote your employees’ outside-of-work stories. ( @TheHomeDepot does it well.)
9. Throw in a few humans, like RichardAtDELL, LionelAtDELL, etc.
10. Talk about non-business, too, like @aaronstrout and @jimstorer.

Ideas About WHAT to Tweet

11. Instead of answering the question, “What are you doing?”, answer the question, “What has your attention?”
12. Have more than one twitterer at the company. People can quit. People take vacations. It’s nice to have a variety.
13. When promoting a blog post, ask a question or explain what’s coming next, instead of just dumping a link.
14. Ask questions. Twitter is GREAT for getting opinions.
15. Follow interesting people. If you find someone who tweets interesting things, see who she follows, and follow her.
16. Tweet about other people’s stuff. Again, doesn’t directly impact your business, but makes us feel like you’re not “that guy.”
17. When you DO talk about your stuff, make it useful. Give advice, blog posts, pictures, etc.
18. Share the human side of your company. If you’re bothering to tweet, it means you believe social media has value for human connections. Point us to pictures and other human things.
19. Don’t toot your own horn too much. (Man, I can’t believe I’m saying this. I do it all the time. – Side note: I’ve gotta stop tooting my own horn).
20. Or, if you do, try to balance it out by promoting the heck out of others, too.

Some Sanity For You

21. You don’t have to read every tweet.
22. You don’t have to reply to every @ tweet directed to you (try to reply to some, but don’t feel guilty).
23. Use direct messages for 1-to-1 conversations if you feel there’s no value to Twitter at large to hear the conversation ( got this from @pistachio).
24. Use services like Twitter Search to make sure you see if someone’s talking about you. Try to participate where it makes sense.
25. 3rd party clients like Tweetdeck and Twhirl make it a lot easier to manage Twitter.
26. If you tweet all day while your coworkers are busy, you’re going to hear about it.
27. If you’re representing clients and billing hours, and tweeting all the time, you might hear about it.
28. Learn quickly to use the URL shortening tools like TinyURL and all the variants. It helps tidy up your tweets.
29. If someone says you’re using twitter wrong, forget it. It’s an opt out society. They can unfollow if they don’t like how you use it.
30. Commenting on others’ tweets, and retweeting what others have posted is a great way to build community.

The Negatives People Will Throw At You

31. Twitter takes up time.
32. Twitter takes you away from other productive work.
33. Without a strategy, it’s just typing.
34. There are other ways to do this.
35. As Frank hears often, Twitter doesn’t replace customer service (Frank is @comcastcares and is a superhero for what he’s started.)
36. Twitter is buggy and not enterprise-ready.
37. Twitter is just for technonerds.
38. Twitter’s only a few million people. (only)
39. Twitter doesn’t replace direct email marketing.
40. Twitter opens the company up to more criticism and griping.

Some Positives to Throw Back

41. Twitter helps one organize great, instant meetups (tweetups).
42. Twitter works swell as an opinion poll.
43. Twitter can help direct people’s attention to good things.
44. Twitter at events helps people build an instant “backchannel.”
45. Twitter breaks news faster than other sources, often (especially if the news impacts online denizens).
46. Twitter gives businesses a glimpse at what status messaging can do for an organization. Remember presence in the 1990s?
47. Twitter brings great minds together, and gives you daily opportunities to learn (if you look for it, and/or if you follow the right folks).
48. Twitter gives your critics a forum, but that means you can study them.
49. Twitter helps with business development, if your prospects are online (mine are).
50. Twitter can augment customer service. (but see above)

What else would you add? How are you using Twitter for your business?

10 Small Business Social Media Marketing Tips: Today's Tip - FaceBook

Late last year, the website Mashable.com offered up "10 small Business Social Media Marketing Tips", which we're going to be sharing with you over the next several days!

Facebook is by far the largest social network. Nearly 500 million people actively use Facebook, including nearly 1/3 of all American adults. This has huge implications for businesses who want to reach the people FaceBook has attracted to its vast network.



Facebook () offers exceptional, low cost marketing opportunities for small business. Facebook now has over 300 million users, and while that seems like an outrageous number for small businesses to be targeting, Facebook offers a very powerful platform on which to build a presence. If you’re not already active on Facebook; you should get started right away.

Basic Strategy: If you haven’t signed up for Facebook yet, you absolutely should as soon as possible. Once you’ve signed up, you should also consider securing your company’s username. Be aware, however, that if you reserve your company name for your personal account, you won’t be able to use it for your Business Fan Page (more on those in the Advanced Strategy), so you may want to create a Page before registering your company’s name. Fan Pages have special rules regarding usernames, which you can read here.

You should do one other thing: search for your competitors and evaluate their Facebook presence. What types of Pages () have they built? How many fans or “friends” do they have? Spend 15 minutes (per competitor) looking at their posts, photos and/or videos to understand how they’re using Facebook.

Advanced Strategy: You may already have a personal Facebook account, but how do you extend that presence for your business? You have several options. You can register a Business Account – which is designed for a very simple presence on Facebook. There are many limitations on such accounts (read the FAQ here), however, so you’ll most likely prefer to have a Business Fan Page. A Business Fan Page lets you create a page where customers or fans of your business can register as a “fan” — expanding the presence of your business (because your updates will also flow to their pages). You might also want to consider running hyper-local ads on Facebook.

Online Media Interactive can help you manage all of your social networking accounts. For more information on what we offer, visit us at http://www.onlinemediainteractive.com/plans.asp.