This is actually really good.
Late last week, X rolled out a new update to its analytics features for Verified Organizations users, which enables you to dig into keyword and topic-related trends in the app.
As you can see in this example, the updated X analytics features include keyword analytics, so that you can track conversation volume over time, with a full listing of the measured posts also included.
But more than that, you can also measure conversation velocity. The updated X analytics tools enable you to break down mentions by time, so that you can see when your target terms are gaining, and losing interest.
That’s hugely beneficial for those looking to measure trends, best posting times, industry shifts, etc. In fact, this type of analytic insight, which has only been available via more advanced tweet analytics tools in the past (like the Bloomberg Terminal) has indeed been used to predict major market shifts, helping big organizations to strategize based on the flow of tweet conversations.
I mean, they’re not called tweets anymore, but you get the gist.
The only catch is that these advanced insights are only available to Verified Organizations subscribers, and that comes with a fairly hefty price tag. Verified Organizations costs $200 per month for basic access, and $1,000 per month for full access. So you’ll wanna be pretty serious about using X to drive more business, but then again, if you’re also subscribing to other third-party tools, maybe, Verified Organizations could replace them, and that might make it worth the cost.
And really, thus far, there hasn’t been much else to justify the high price tag for brands.
Look, Elon Musk has made a lot of mistakes in his time at X, but he has also overseen some beneficial moves that, in some ways, have even led the broader social media industry.
On staffing, for example, clearly, the company formerly known as Twitter was over-staffed, which some see as being representative of overall Silicon Valley excess. I don’t know if it was 80% over-staffed, but the platform is still running, with a fifth of the employees, so that’s clearly an area where Twitter needed to improve.
Community Notes has also been a positive step. Originally developed by Jack Dorsey and a special project team at Twitter, the broader roll-out of Community Notes has provided a new means to counter misinformation on the platform. It’s likely not up to the task of replacing all of X’s former moderation measures, as Elon seems to be hoping. But at the same time, Twitter was too slow to implement updates, and as such, Musk’s less cautious approach to pushing such has provided benefits.
And this analytics update may actually be the best yet.
X’s advanced analytics are now beyond what’s available in most third-party apps, and as noted, are more akin to the advanced tools used by stock traders and businesses, who’ve been able to use tweets in the past to predict market fluctuations.
This new dashboard will facilitate more of this type of analysis, and combined with X’s other updates to its analytics tools, this is a significant step for the platform.
And again, with so many social media marketers and analysts paying for various third-party tools to schedule and assess their in-app performance, this could be a valuable area of opportunity. X’s updates could essentially supplant all of these tools, by providing direct insights from the platform, and that could be a solid pathway to driving more subscription sign-ups at the app.
The only unfortunate thing is the timing. A key challenge for X now is that so many brands are abandoning it, largely due to Musk’s own divisive comments, but also his decision to allow many banned profiles and users to come back to the app. That’s enabled a new wave of hate speech and harmful commentary to proliferate, which is turning users, and brands, away.
So while this is a good update, and a valuable tool, it’s likely less valuable than it would have been had X released this when Musk first took over, as opposed to now, with its reputation in decline.
But if you are still using X to reach your target audience, this is a solid addition, and one that you should consider signing up to Verified Organizations for.
