The 5 Best Twitter tools

Are you getting the most out of your Twitter account? Whether you are using Twitter for business, pleasure, or both, there’s a high chance there are some fantastic tools which you are missing out on. Whether you struggle to keep all your social media sites up to date, want to see recommendations for who to follow, or want the best service for scheduling tweets, there is a tool for you. I have tried and tested some great tools and brought to you what I believe to be the best of the best.

1. Commun.it

I think this tool is brilliant! It’s particularly great for those using Twitter for marketing purposes as it is perfect for monitoring whose engaging with you and finding out about your followers. Although, there are various features which makes it a useful tool for all types of Twitter users. After connecting to your profile and entering keywords about your brand/business it gives you suggestions for who you should follow and unfollow, based on their influence, how active their account is and your engagement with them.  You can easily tweet your new followers and key influencers using tweets composed by the tool, making connecting with followers easier than ever. In addition to all this you can view reports which give you details on activity, and engagement around your handle over the past 3 days. You have to pay to go ‘pro’ which gives you access to more advanced features, however just using the free features makes it a great tool for any Twitter user.

2. inboxQ

This is a must have tool if you’re looking to connect with like-minded individuals on Twitter, and is the quickest way to add value online by answering other users questions. All you have to do is type in some keywords and then questions regarding those topics will be displayed. You can then answer questions sharing your expertise and knowledge which helps others and consequently builds a positive reputation of your brand/business.

3. Tweet Scheduling

There are many services which enable you to schedule tweets and effectively manage your Twitter accounts, which one you chose is largely down to personal preference, however here’s my advice on the most prominent services:

Tweetdeck: the site is easy to navigate and personalise, however I found it quite difficult to manage multiple accounts as it was complicated to switch between different handles.

Tweetlater: enables you to receive email digests of keyword activity in the Tweetosphere as well as planning your future tweets. By doing this you can join a conversation or track topics and trends easily.

Hootsuite: This service, in my mind, tops the others as it allows you to smoothly switch between numerous accounts, view scheduled tweets in publisher, and see analytics for your twitter account (the free version being very basic). Furthermore, you can set up streams for keywords, retweets, mentions etc. so you can easily monitor what is most important for your business.

It’s easy to stick with your current service as you are comfortable with what it does. But why not try out the others and make sure you are getting the best service available for scheduling your tweets. Also, make sure you don’t forget that if you are not scheduling tweets then the Twitter browser is probably the best service to use!

4. TwitterFox

This nifty little tool allows you to view Tweets within your web browser (in a popup menu) which eliminates the need to constantly go to Twitter.com. What this means is that you can constantly have an eye on your home feed whilst continuing with your other work. You may think this is just a plugin for the Twitter addicts among us, but it also acts as a simple tool for those who do not always want to open up Twitter.com in a new browser. The one downside is that it can only be used in the Firefox web browser.
5. Seesmic Ping.fm

With so many different social media sites to update and keep track of it can become a little time consuming. A solution to this problem is the amazing site Ping.fm. Seesmic Ping is the new and improved more reliable successor to Ping.fm with the sole goal to help make sharing easier for you. Currently it allows you to post to Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Tumblr and there are many more to come. You can also schedule your posts to multiple accounts on multiple sites and create and post Groups of accounts. Alternatively, if you just want to co-ordinate your Facebook and Twitter account updates you can connect your Twitter account with Facebook on your profile to share Tweets with your Facebook friends.

 

You should also keep an eye out for Twitter’s analytics product which was previewed at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference . It is currently only available for private beta users but will supposedly available to everyone in the next few weeks and I’m sure it will be enormously popular. The analytics provide data about tweets and clicks facilitated by its t.co link shortening service and “Tweet Button” tool for publishers. Despite Twitter admitting that the analytics will not be as comprehensive as many other tools offered by third-party vendors I’m sure it will still be insightful and cause somewhat of a stir.

Lucidica provides IT support for small businesses in London.