Beyond Google Analytics: 3 Resources for Even More Data

Every marketer around knows that data is crucial to measuring current campaign success and for informing marketing strategy in the long term. The most well known tool for gathering this data is Google Analytics, and with good reason the program is user intuitive, and the amount of data available and the level of detail users can drill down to is impressive. However, no professional should ever rely on just one source for data collection and analysis – complacency breeds mediocrity. Search Engine Watch warns against staying inside of the Google Analytics box; we agree. But where else can you go for reliable, powerful data analysis tools? Here are some suggestions:

1. Followerwonk

Followerwonk is a segmentation tool for Twitter that offers a wealth of information on the effect of your Twitter account. There is a free and pro version of Followerwonk, but the free version is powerful, offering the following stats:

·         Social authority scores

·         Follower counts

·         Frequency of tweets

·         Total tweets

·         Most active hours

·         Location of your tweets and follower interactions

·         Retweet stats

Why is this information important? They can help you identify industry thought leaders, see what content works best on the platform, and better schedule your content. Followerwonk also allows you to compare your activity with that of a competitor to establish campaign benchmarks. The wealth of information empowers you to create and execute a Twitter campaign more effectively.

2. Tag Manager

Tags are crucially important to digital marketing; they help marketers view traffic on different pages of your website, A/B test pages and content, and evaluate user behavior on social media channels, among others. However, placing tags on sites involves a good amount of coding, and it can be difficult to place them yourself, or a hassle to involve your IT department. Tag Manager allows marketers to create, place, and move tags on pages without actually delving into the actual coding. Tag Manager saves time and stress.

3. Fliptop

The key to digital marketing is careful audience segmentation and targeting; creating those market segments is half the battle for professionals. Fliptop is a service that aims to help with that process; it is a social analytics tool collates and integrates social data, such as demographics, social profiles, and key identifiers. While audience segmentation traditionally falls along sociographic lines, such as income, age, and gender, Fliptop’s data helps further narrow down audiences, and establish which segments are most active and engaged online – valuable information to digital marketers.

Knowing where to collect data, and how to effectively use it, is vital for digital marketing success.