As the use of social media grows, so does the need to track and analyze its use. Social media marketers need to understand where their efforts are best utilized on social media platforms. Other analysts and researchers need to understand the overall impact of social media. For this reason, social media analysis tools are emerging. Most tools gather and analyze text data from various social media platforms. Some are platform-centric, while others gather data from a variety of sources. Thirteen of the most awesome tools for social media analysts include:
1. Author Crawler:
http://www.tomanthony.co.uk/tools/author-crawler/
Author Crawler is an interesting tool that examines a site’s backlinks and searches for author identification for each link. Reports for the tool list the backlinks, along with the author, their social media membership, their circles and number of followers. This tool utilizes the SEOmoz API and generates easy-to-understand reports. The tool is very useful for understanding the value of each backlink and for follow-up with selected authors. Author Crawler is the only tool that tracks backlinks to author for an analysis of the author’s social media participation.
2. Datasift.com
Datasift is a Twitter analysis tool that examines tweet data in real-time. Datasift also utilizes MySpace and Klout data to create profiles of social media users. Datasift filters and organizes massive amounts of raw social media data and provides output in an understandable form.
3. Openamplify.com
Openamplify is an Natural Language Processing (NLP) analytic engine that processes text to extract valuable knowledge from social media conversations. Openamplify operates within the Insights dashboard. This tool analyzes social media conversations for intent, such as intent to buy, to choose, to sell or to go. The tool picks up social conversations about a particular brand and tracks users discussing their intent with regards to the brand.
4. Opencalais.com
OpenCalais enables authors to submit content and have tags and metadata automatically generated by the tool. The data is then used to enhance SEO for the content. The user may build maps or networks, connecting content with people based on the data. OpenCalais analyzes HTML, XML and text documents.
5. Peekanalytics.com
PeekAnalytics is a Twitter analysis tool. PeakAnalytics identifies the other social media platforms in which Twitter users interact, providing psychographic and demographic insights from Twitter aggregate data.
6. Venuelabs.com
Venulabs distributes software for “storefront listening” for many major brands, including McDonalds, Chevron, Mercedes Benz, Domino’s Pizza and many others. Venulabs tools monitor social media sites, mobile sites and local listings for brand reputation management and analysis.
7. Clarabridge.com
Clarabridge is another company with a host of major brands as clients. These brands include Dell, Marriott, Best Buy, Nissan, and H&R Block, among others. Clarabridge provides “sentiment and text” analysis to capture the tone of social media interactions about specified brands. Clarabridge integrates data from other sources into the analysis, such as data from call centers, email and surveys. Three versions of Clarabridge analysis tools are available for purchase: Enterprise, Professional and Technology/Service Providers.
8. Solariat.com
Solariat finds and filters posts on several social media platform enabling quick response for brand and reputation management. Solariat monitors Twitter, Facebook, blogs and other social media platforms to enable analysts to quickly identify positive, negative and neutral posts, tweets and comments.
9. Measure.ly
Measurely monitors social media platforms, as well as content marketing initiatives, for social conversations about brands. Results are compiled into an easy-to-read dashboard format with key performance indicators and intuitive graphs. Measurely provides analyses of channels, content and community members to identify where social media marketing efforts are best implemented.
10. Appstats.eu
Appstats is a Facebook-centric tool that is utilized to analyze games and apps on the social media platform. Because many social media marketing campaigns employ the use of Facebook apps and games, this tool is a great way to monitor the popularity of these marketing strategies.
11. Honestly.de
Honestly provides a platform for users to send instant feedback to companies. This interesting tool manages customer contact for companies after the sale of their product or service. The tool is marketed to restaurants, retail, hotels, educational and public institutions, beauty services, event and exhibitions, and healthcare providers.
12. Cageapp.com
Cage App is a collaboration tool that is used by developers and creative content generators, but also works for social media analysts. The tool allows sharing of creative product and provides workflow for the approval process. The tool utilizes Twitter for collecting feedback about a creative work. Interestingly, the app allows the user to instantly create a task from the Twitter feed interface.
13. Fliptop.com
Fliptop markets their tool as a way to turn a social media ID into a complete digital ID with a usable profile. The tool gathers data from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media platforms. Fliptop serves major brands, including Cigna, Land Rover, Toyota, Volvo and many others.
