Using Twitter Analytics on Other Accounts Effectively
Learn how to analyze other Twitter accounts using public metrics, manual tracking, and third‑party tools for competitive insights and trend spotting.
Understanding Twitter Analytics Limitations for Other Accounts
Tracking how other Twitter accounts perform can offer valuable competitive insights, but Twitter’s native analytics tools are designed to give detailed data only for your own account. If you’re investigating Twitter analytics on other accounts, your access will be limited to public information. Native tools won’t provide private demographic details or internal engagement breakdowns for competitors, meaning marketers need alternative strategies.
The primary public metrics available include:
- Visible engagement numbers on tweets (likes, retweets, replies).
- Follower counts.
- Observable posting patterns such as frequency and timing.
To overcome these constraints, social media professionals often use careful manual tracking combined with reputable third-party analytics tools to gain deeper competitive intelligence while remaining within Twitter’s terms of service.
---
Leveraging Native Profile Insights
Even without direct access to a competitor’s analytics dashboard, structured observation can reveal useful patterns.
Key Actions
- Track Engagement Metrics Manually
- For prominent competitor tweets, record likes, retweets, comments, and quote tweets. Over time, estimate a pseudo engagement rate:
pseudo_engagement_rate = (likes + retweets + replies) / followers * 100- Identify Content Themes
- Watch for recurring topics, hashtags, and formats to understand what resonates with their audience.
- Spot Frequency Patterns
- Note how often they post and the specific time windows they use.
---
Exploring Third-Party Tools for Competitor Analysis
When manual tracking is too limited, external tools can help analyze twitter analytics on other accounts at scale.
Popular Options
- Sprout Social: Competitive dashboards with engagement trends and custom reports.
- Followerwonk: Follower base analytics by location, influence, and growth.
- Twitonomy: Detailed tweet statistics, mentions, retweet patterns, and hashtag breakdowns.
These platforms allow you to export data, visualize trends, and spot patterns that aren’t obvious through simple observation.
---
Tracking Follower Growth, Tweet Frequency, and Engagement Rate
Combining manual notes or exported tool data into a structured table helps benchmark performance across competitors.
| Metric | Description | Tracking Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Follower Growth | Net followers gained over a period | Weekly/Monthly |
| Tweet Frequency | Total number of tweets (including retweets) posted | Weekly |
| Engagement Rate | (Likes + Retweets + Replies) ÷ Followers | Weekly/Monthly |
These KPIs form the backbone of competitive benchmarking and can inform your own posting rhythm.
---
Analyzing Best-Performing Tweets
With engagement data in hand, identify which competitor tweets produce the strongest response.
Elements to Analyze
- Content Structure: Use of threads, concise posts, or long text blocks.
- Media Integration: Impact of images, videos, or GIFs on engagement.
- Posting Times: Correlating day and time patterns with engagement spikes.
Learning from these patterns can inspire your own campaign ideas.
---
Monitoring Hashtag Usage and Keyword Trends
Competitors’ hashtags and keywords reveal targeting strategies and audience interests.
How to Track
- Manual Observation: Record hashtags from top tweets over recent weeks.
- Tool Integration: Automate hashtag monitoring via Twitonomy or Brandwatch.
- Keyword Trend Analysis: Compare monthly keyword frequencies to detect rising topics.
This research positions your content within active, relevant conversations.
---
Comparing Media vs Text Tweet Performance
Different tweet formats deliver varying results; track them separately.
Performance Comparison
- Media Tweets: Engagement for posts featuring images, videos, or polls.
- Text-Only Tweets: Engagement for purely textual posts.
This ratio can show whether a competitor’s audience prefers rich visual material or straightforward text.
---
Using Sentiment Analysis Tools
Sentiment analysis reveals the tone of responses toward competitor tweets.
Recommended Tools
- MonkeyLearn
- Hootsuite Insights
- Brandwatch
Classifying replies into positive, neutral, or negative categories helps assess overall audience perception and guide your messaging tone.
---
Benchmark Your Metrics Against Top Competitors
Benchmarking contextualizes your KPIs relative to industry peers.
Benchmarking Workflow
- Select 3–5 key competitor accounts in your niche.
- Track identical KPIs for them and your own account.
- Compare trends to set attainable targets.
For example, achieving 5% engagement could be excellent if the industry average is 3%.
---
Legal and Ethical Considerations When Analyzing Other Accounts
Competitive analysis must comply with laws and platform rules.
Key Points
- Comply with Twitter’s Terms of Service: Avoid unauthorized data scraping or API circumvention.
- Respect Privacy: Never attempt to access private account data.
- Be Transparent: Share analysis internally in aggregated formats when possible.
Focus on publicly available information and legitimate analytics tools to keep practices ethical.
---
Summary and Next Steps
By methodically observing competitors’ public tweets and using reputable tools, you can gain strategic insights without breaching rules. Effective Twitter analytics on other accounts involves monitoring follower growth, tweet frequency, hashtags, sentiment, and engagement patterns to adapt your campaigns.
Ready to elevate your social strategy? Start building your competitor tracking dashboard today and let data drive your next viral tweet.
