We’ve been looking at measuring social media the past two weeks starting with Facebook and today we’ll be zeroing in on Twitter.  Twitter has 284 million monthly active users and there are 500 million tweets sent per day.

The dynamics of the Twitterverse is very different from other social media sites. People who use Twitter prefer quick, straightforward, real-time updates. This is great for business especially if you’re running a campaign that runs for a limited time only. Measuring Twitter engagement involves different metrics. Just like in any social media platform you need to pin down the basics by answering these questions:

1. What are your objectives for using Twitter in your marketing strategy?

– This will help you in setting a direction for your marketing efforts. It will also determine your goals both short-term and long-term. For example, do you want to use Twitter to increase site traffic? Drive sales? Boost an ongoing campaign?

2. Who is your target audience?

– This will narrow down the people who want to follow you versus wanting everyone on board. It’s about quality over quantity. Twitter users who are genuinely interested in your product or service will retweet you, favorite you tweets, and interact with you.

3. What are your metrics for Twitter success?

– This is all about putting out specific numbers and targets. It also involves identifying a time frame. Twitter has four basic metrics:

Follower growth: The number of new followers you get daily, weekly or monthly.

Impressions: The number of users who saw your tweets.

Engagement: The number of users who interacted with your tweets through mentions, favorites, retweets, and replies.

Conversion: The number of Twitter users who signed up for your offering or patronized your product.

Tweet Activity Dashboard

Similar to Facebook’s Insights, Twitter also has its own engagement platform called Tweet Activity Dashboard. It shows a real-time performance of your tweets, which can help in improving current campaigns or correcting previous ones. Tweet Analytics allows you to maximize your Twitter marketing efforts. It basically gives you an overview of your brand’s Twitter performance.

You can also click on a specific tweet to give you a more detailed data.

To calculate your engagement rate, simply use this formula:

Engagement + Impressions

______________________     X             100         =             Twitter Engagement Rate

Number of Followers

Aside from the dashboard, there are other tools you can also use to measure your Twitter engagement. Some of them are Klout (analyzes your social influence), Twitalyzer (provides comprehensive Twitter analytics platform), Twtrland (creates a Social Media Resume or a visual representation of your social media activity), and Follower Wonk (focuses on your social growth and increasing your followers).

The Case for Retweets

There are different reasons why users retweet. Some do it because they like the post. Others retweet because they’re participating in a promo, while some just want to disseminate the information. Brands, however, retweet to be seen. You have to understand that Twitter is like watching live TV, you can catch everything real-time but once you turn it off you will miss certain tweets. Tweets can be buried under hundreds of tweets from friends and other personalities or brands that users follow. Unlike Facebook which can show your posts in an orderly manner even the ones posted hours before your last check.

This is why retweets matter because people usually miss your first post. Search Engine Land employs the second chance tweet strategy wherein they retweet their original post after three hours. They found out that second chance tweets picked up 50% more traffic than the original tweet. So if you want to see an increase in your Twitter engagement, you should start doing some second chance tweets and see how it boosts your posts.

Twitter is not another social media outlet for updates. It’s a fast-paced platform that needs close monitoring and proactive interaction with followers such as replies and second chance tweets. Its concise format and real-time updates make posts easily go viral or trending. A Twitter-based promo can trend in an instant when executed properly. By measuring your Twitter engagement, you can optimize this channel to amplify the reach of your brand. Keep in mind that it’s not all about the tweet. Putting out there doesn’t mean anything unless it triggers a reaction from your followers. Engagement is what turns a tweet into a real conversation and genuine connection.

In case you missed the previous posts in this series, you can check them out here:

Overview: Measuring Social Media

How to Effective Measure Facebook Engagement

About Pepper Social Media

Pepper Social Media is an online marketing firm that specializes in social media management, content marketing, SEO, PPC, social media marketing, copywriting, and targeted blogging. Our creative team consists of experienced marketing strategists who can fortify your brand identity and amplify your reach.