Real-time analytics are proving necessary to compete in today’s digital world. Brands are becoming more analytics-driven and learning to convert data into actionable insights.
Twitter is expected to have 335 million monthly active users (MAUs) in 2024. As the potential audience grows, so does the number of competing voices.
If you’re looking to grow your business and stand out among competitors on Twitter, read on to learn how real-time Twitter Analytics can help. We look at what data is available and how you can track real-time analytics in 2023.

Is Twitter Analytics in Real-Time?

Yes. Twitter Analytics provides real-time insights into tweets, including impressions, engagement, and other metrics. It has been available since 2014, providing users with various key metrics over a 28-day period. Twitter’s analytics data is updated daily, so you’ll always have the most recent data.
Using these metrics you can monitor growth in real-time, determine optimal posting times, and evaluate the success rates of your content.
You can access Twitter Analytics on your desktop by going to More > Creator Studio > Analytics. Your monthly overview will provide you with a high-level overview of your account’s performance. You’ll find some key Twitter stats on the right, great for reporting and gauging your monthly growth.
The Twitter app works a little differently on mobile devices, click the three vertical lines on your own tweets to see impressions, engagement, new followers, and link clicks. Additionally, Twitter Analytics can also be used to manage your paid ads on Twitter.

What Real-Time Data is Available?

Real-time analytics provide insights based on the most recent data available. By utilizing analytics tools and Twitter Stream API, real-time data collected on web and mobile apps can be analyzed instantly, allowing you to maximize profits and minimize errors.
It also provides a near-zero delay between data ingestion and processing. The following Twitter metrics are available in real-time:

Twitter User Stats

Twitter user stats provide insights into user behavior and engagement, including metrics for followers, tweets, retweets, and demographic data.
Using real-time data for sentiment analysis refines traditional metrics that analyze brand performance with powerful opportunities to communicate with your customers. You can also monitor your top followers every month to keep in mind for future collaborations or influencer campaigns. This data can help you better understand your audience and tailor your content accordingly.

Twitter Hashtag Stats

Hashtags help get your content in front of the right audience and help non-followers find you. Twitter hashtag stats give you info on the popularity and reach of specific hashtags, including how often the hashtag was used, by whom, and how far it spread.
With real-time hashtag data from your tweets, you can increase visibility and rank, improving your SEO authority, and allowing you to reach a broader audience, gain more impressions, and engage more users. It’s best to use hashtag analytics tools in real-time to keep up with trending topics and engage with your audience.

How to Get Real-Time Twitter Analytics

Real-time data can help brands be more efficient, but delays in getting that data can lead to delayed reporting, slow decision-making, and poor marketing tactics. So here are 2 ways you can track real-time Twitter analytics:

Use the Twitter Stream API

The Twitter Streaming API (Application Programming Interface) is a RESTful API that allows developers access to a sample (~1%) of all public tweets via Twitter’s Public API.
Streaming API lets you connect to Twitter data streams to gather keywords, brand mentions, hashtags, tweets from specific users, and other Twitter activity through streaming endpoints.
Follow these steps to get real-time Twitter analytics data using the Twitter Stream API:
Register at developer.twitter.com with your Twitter account and create an app.
Generate your keys and tokens or create access tokens.
Set an objective and determine the data needed to accomplish it.
With the Twitter API v2’s filtered stream endpoints, you’re able to stream public tweets that match your filtering criteria in real-time.
Utilize a set of operators to create and apply rules to filtered stream endpoints.
Using your bearer token, connect and authenticate to the appropriate API endpoint.
Make sure you handle errors and disconnections gracefully.
Now you can display tweets and basic metrics about them using a tool like Power BI or Azure Stream Analytics.
You can use the Standard Search API to download historical tweets, or historical search APIs (like Historical PowerTrack and Full-Archive Search) for tweets older than 2006.
The Twitter API is no longer free and can only be accessed with a subscription.
Price:
Basic: $100/month
Pro: $5,000/month

Use a Third-Party Twitter Analytics Tool

Twitter analytics tools offer a greater range of features and insights than the Twitter stream API, which has limitations like data availability, filtering options, and rate limits.
Each Twitter analytics tool offers its own set of features, which usually include a real-time analytics data feed and a data-driven analysis tool. In addition to tracking metrics such as follower growth, engagement rate, topics, and hashtags, you can generate reports as well.
Some tools let you track your competitors’ performance against yours and provide audience demographics to help you refine your Twitter strategy and deliver engaging content.
Third-party tools can have some downsides, such as data privacy, security, and accuracy concerns. When choosing a third-party tool, always do your research and make sure it meets your expectations and needs. Listed below are 2 effective analytics tools that you may find helpful:

Tweet Binder

Tweet Binder may be a lesser known Twitter analytics tool, but it’s quite powerful. You can use it to access historical Twitter data, monitor hashtags in real-time, and identify influencer accounts that are relevant to your campaigns.
You can also track how the Twitter profile has evolved over time, as well as the evolution of its main KPIs, with this Twitter measurement tool.
Moreover, it offers a social media wall with full moderation capabilities. You can generate free Twitter reports based on hashtags, @mentions, or keywords. It is useful for creating a marketing strategy and calculating ROI based on historical data.
Despite Tweet Binder’s positives, it has a steep learning curve, multiple dashboards can be overwhelming , and are not ideal for analyzing historical data.
Price:
Starter: $229.99/month
Advanced: $999.99/month
Enterprise: Approx. $8000/month (contact for pricing)

Social Blade

Social Blade provides social media marketing solutions for Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube, and more. It offers detailed account analytics, lets you track your account’s performance over time, and lists what topics are trending.
Additionally, it can provide you with real-time information on your competitors’ social media profiles, including follower counts and uploads, so you can identify accounts to follow. This tool is great for getting a grasp of the situation if you’re developing a social media marketing strategy.
Social Blade gives you access to transparent information regarding creators and influencers, like who’s getting fake followers. It prepares easy-to-read charts and graphs using the information to track progress and growth for forecasting future earnings.
Price plans:
Bronze: $3.99/month
Silver: $9.99/month
Gold: $39.99/month
Platinum: $99.99/month

Why is it Useful to Track Twitter Analytics in Real-Time?

Tracking real-time data is always a better option for businesses in the long run. It’s because the data can be tracked in a timely fashion, letting them make better decisions down the line.
Real-time Twitter Analytics gives you a snapshot of how your business is doing in the eyes of consumers. It displays your top tweets, brand mentions, followers, ad impressions, etc.
It is also useful for tracking:
Impression and engagement data from organic and promoted ads
Monthly performance, including impressions, engagement rate, link clicks, retweets, likes, and replies.
Real-time engagement metrics for a brand, such as retweets, likes, and replies.
It also helps monitor campaigns, not just standard mentions and engagements, but results.
As an example, if you want more people to watch your video ads, Twitter Analytics tracks each pertinent action people take, including how much you pay.
As for campaigns, it:
Compares the average website clicks or results of your campaigns for varying objectives.
Measures your campaigns’ performance against your objectives.
Finds out which tweets have the highest impact on your campaigns.
If your brand hit its target demographic, how did it go over?
With real-time analytics at your fingertips, you’ll be able to grow your Twitter audience, maintain a following, and perfect your marketing tactics.

4 Key Benefits of Tracking Tweets in Real-Time

Here are 4 benefits of tracking tweets in real-time:

Respond to Customers Quickly

Customer satisfaction is a top priority for most brands. By utilizing real-time reporting, you can respond to customer needs quickly and increase customer satisfaction consistently. Responding to Twitter customer inquiries and complaints faster and providing timely solutions is possible with a listening tool.
Among the benefits are:
Aids positive perception of the brand
Builds trust in your brand through high-level customer service
Keeping your business connected is a must for your customers
Responding right away to prospects’ inquiries can boost sales

Identify and Handle Potential Crises

Tracking potential crises in real-time will help you solve them faster. The problems with your campaign or account’s effectiveness, such as crashed sessions, failed links, and unresponsive gestures, not only cost you sales, but can damage your reputation.
Real-time sentiment analysis lets you see what is being posted and quickly respond to any negative feedback. Imagine someone saying bad things about your brand during a campaign. If you reach out to them early, you can address their concerns. If you wait until the end, more damage may result.
It helps you:
Retain a competitive edge by fixing errors promptly
Establish a strong reputation.
Deal quickly and effectively with potential problems

Monitor Hot Topics and Join the Conversation

Trending topics display the most popular and widely shared tweets, hashtags, and topics. A variety of trending topics exist, including news, entertainment, sports, and politics.
Using hashtags or browsing trending topics, users can discover what’s popular on their homepage and join the conversation. By participating in these conversations, your audience gets to know you better and is more likely to turn to you for solutions.
It helps you:
Boost your follower count, understand your audience’s opinion, and fill your feed with insightful tweets.
Create a brand image with an authentic human touch

Keep an Eye on the Competition

Every marketing strategy begins with competitor analysis. Keeping an eye on your competitors’ tweets in real-time can help you identify the where, what, when, and why of their actions.
Twitter Analytics panels allow you to check which of your top followers are connected to which of your competitors. From marketing and sales to product development and customer service, you’ll discover actionable ways to stand out from your competitors.
It helps you:
Gain a better perspective by setting your own key performance indicators (KPIs).
Develop your unique content ideas by analyzing their results (but always keep your unique perspective and tailor it to your audience).

Conclusion: Use Real-Time Analytics With a Powerful Twitter Tool for Best Results

Investing in real-time Twitter Analytics in 2023 is a smart move to keep your brand ahead of the competition. It will help you make better business decisions, generate faster insights, and increase customer satisfaction. With Twitter analysis in real-time, you can identify your audience’s most active times, assess your Twitter ad spend, and measure engagements.
With a powerful tool like SocialDog, you can make a deep-dive analysis of your entire social presence in real-time. It allows you to track and analyze data over time to continually refine your strategy for the best possible results.