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Virginie Dardenne

Last Updated
January 24, 2025

The ultimate guide to X/Twitter analytics

Twitter is a unique social media platform with fast-paced interactions. Understanding its analytics helps you grow your presence and engage effectively.

Social Media Fundamentals
3 min read

Table of contents

why should you keep track of Twitter analytics?

What makes Twitter analytics so important? Twitter is fast-moving and unique among social media. Unlike platforms focused mostly on visuals or long posts, Twitter thrives on short messages, trending topics, and quick replies.

If you're building a personal brand, engaging actively on Twitter can bring great benefits. Joining conversations, retweeting, and sharing opinions on hot topics help you connect with new people and open doors to opportunities. For example, a coach sharing quick motivational tips or a writer commenting on industry news can greatly expand their reach.

For B2B companies, Twitter might seem less impactful than LinkedIn. Creating viral content or driving direct leads is harder here. Yet, maintaining a presence on Twitter still matters. It acts as another touchpoint where customers might discover you, especially since many use Twitter to research brands or get real-time updates.

Tracking analytics allows you to measure if your Twitter efforts pay off. It shows which content works best, who engages, and how you can improve.

What are the Twitter metrics to look out for?

What are impressions?

Impressions measure how many times a tweet appears on users’ timelines. But this number is not limited to your followers. Anyone who scrolls past your tweet counts, even if they don’t interact.

For instance, if your tweet appears 1000 times, it means it was shown 1000 times across different timelines. However, impressions don’t tell you if users liked, shared, or clicked anything. It’s different from reach, which counts unique users seeing your tweet.

Knowing your impressions helps you understand your tweet’s visibility. If a tweet gets lots of impressions but low engagement, it may mean the content isn’t resonating well.

What types of engagement does twitter track?

Twitter offers several unique ways users can interact with your tweets. The combined total of these interactions makes up your engagement.

Here’s what counts as engagement on Twitter:

  • Likes: the familiar heart symbol, showing appreciation.
  • Link clicks: the number of times someone clicks a link you shared.
  • Retweets: how many users share your tweet with their followers.
  • Detail expands: clicks to view the full tweet or conversation.
  • Profile clicks: how often people visit your Twitter profile after seeing a tweet.
  • Media engagements: clicks on photos, videos, or other media attached to your tweet.

For example, a tweet with an interesting article link might get many link clicks. A witty comment or breaking news shared might receive lots of retweets and likes. Profile clicks indicate if your content sparks interest in who you are.

Track your metics in Willow Analytics for an easier overview.

How do you calculate engagement rate?

Engagement rate puts your engagement numbers into perspective. Instead of just counting engagements, you relate them to how many times your tweet was seen.

You calculate it like this:

engagement rate = number of engagements / impressions

For example, if a tweet has 200 engagements and 4000 impressions, the engagement rate is 5%. This means 5% of people who saw your tweet interacted with it.

Engagement rate helps you spot which tweets truly connect with your audience. If your rate is low, try changing your content style or posting time.

Understanding your engagement helps improve your social strategy. Maybe your followers like quick tips but ignore sales posts. Maybe videos get more attention than text alone. Use these insights to guide your content plan.

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