Did you know Twitter rolled out a free analytics dashboard to all of its users in late August?
Have you considered how it can help drive your business?

The Twitter analytics dashboard offers a high-level view of your impact on the Twittersphere, as well as reach and engagement data for each individual tweet. It also provides a demographic overview of your audience.

It’s important to note that the dashboard populates with tweet data only after it is accessed by the user. So the sooner you log in, the sooner you can start tracking your tweets!

A Look at Tweet Analytics

The dashboard defaults to a 28 day history overview showing an impression timeline along the top. Below are specific tweets beginning with the most recent and include impressions and engagement data for each. In the right-hand column are additional timelines around engagement metrics including Engagement rate, link clicks, retweets, favorites and replies.

For a deeper look at engagements around a specific tweet, simply click on the listed tweet and an additional analytic panel pops up. You also have the option to export the data as a spread sheet to slice, dice and further analyze as you wish.

A Clearer View of Your Audience  

The “Followers” tab of the analytics dashboard provides a timeline at the top of your total number of followers. Below that are three columns of demographic data including interests, location, gender and a list of the top influencers on Twitter your audience is also following.

How This “Personal” Data Can Help Drive Your Business

How do we connect the dots from personal Twitter accounts to business growth? The answer: brand ambassadors.

Brand ambassadors can make a significant impact on your brand awareness and drive traffic to your content. Add access to Twitter analytics and guidance from you on how to leverage this data, and watch their contribution to your business increase.

Start with Your Brand Experts

Creating awareness for your brand experts is a win for your business as well as the employee. The more influence they hold over an audience in their area of expertise, the more valuable they are to your brand. If they haven’t done so already, encourage them to access their Twitter analytics dashboard to set up a baseline as soon as possible.

As experts, they should keep a close eye on their followers. Do the interests of their audiences align to their areas of expertise? Do their audiences follow similar experts within the brand’s industry? If not, offer guidance on how they can make adjustments to attract more quality followers.

Increase Event ROI

Events have stepped into the marketing spotlight these days, and continue to shine as top quality content. Whether you’re promoting your own events, or you want to get more from events that your employees are attending, Twitter can play a key role in helping to increase your return on investment.

From webinars to in-person presentations and conferences, events generate a ton of Twitter news and attention. Encourage your employees – specifically your brand experts and sales & marketing staff – to participate in this hotbed of conversation by tweeting during events using the event hashtag and the speaker’s Twitter handle. These types of tweets are not only going to be relevant to your audience, but they are also likely to be retweeted by other attendees, event speakers and industry-related media.

After the event, have your ambassadors export and share data around their event-related tweets. This information can provide a broader view of which topics are resonating with your expanded audience. You can also select the most popular tweets from your team to re-tweet from your brand’s Twitter account.

Combining the knowledge and social influence of your employees with data-driven decision making can lead to monumental gains in brand awareness among your desired audiences. Tying the free Twitter analytics into your brand ambassador programs can help you connect the dots of true social impact and drive future growth.

Author Jamie Heckler is the Senior Creative Manager at PR Newswire. Follow her on Twitter @jamieheckle