Product Review: The New TweetLevel And Blog Level Provide Critical Tools For Influencer Relations And Marketing Professionals


TweetLevel Competes In A Crowded Field Of Social Analytics Vendors Focused On Twitter

Since Twitter shut off its access to its APIs, companies who rank influence of twitter users have had to find other alternatives.  Jonny Bentwood, Head of Analyst Relations and Strategy at Edelman, is the master mind behind the original TweetLevel, and two new offerings:  The New TweetLevel and BlogLevel (see Figure 1).  While there are other options to compare twitter users and bloggers in the marketplace such as Empire AvenueKlout, PeerIndex, and TwitterGrader, TweetLevel is purpose built to compare influencers.
Figure 1. The New Tweet Level And Blog Level


Applied Science In Action And Influence Flows Drives The Scoring Methodology

Using Topsy as the harvesting tool, TweetLevel applies a considerable amount of research from the work at the Web Science team at the University of Southampton led by Professor Dame Wendy Hall of the Web Sciences Institute. Analytical data focuses on a context of a particular topic and channel and how information flows among tweeters.
Influential people are classified as idea starters, amplifiers, curators, commentators or viewers.  The algorithms determine who's important, what topic areas may be growing, what's being shared, what else are users talking about (see Figure 2).  In addition to all the other levels of who's important or not in the previous areas, the software gives more credit to those who create versus those who spread ideas. Extra weight is given to those who are highly engaged.
Meanwhile, BlogLevel applies the same science and ranks importance at the post level.  The posts most discussed on twitter and optimized for search rank higher.  More importantly, the service has the capability to show context in one's area of influence.
Figure 2. Rich Analytics Permeate The TweetLevel and BlogLevel Products


TweetLevel Hones In On Topics and Tweeters For the PR and Marketing Professional
As Jonny Bentwood noted, "This isn't about competing with Klout, People can use either one. This tool is made for PR and Marketing users.  TweetLevel also works across blogs and Twitter".  Users begin by:

  1. Select a topic and identify the relevant people to that topic
  2. Calculate TweetLevel score of the relevant people to determine who to engage with
  3. Analyze the level of buzz in a topic
  4. Assess the related phrases in a topic
  5. Determine the popular weblinks
  6. Craft targeting messages based on total information
  7. Complement existing efforts

For the individual tweeter seeking information about their influence, new features include (see Figure 3):

  • Tag cloud - aggregates the top topics
  • Who influences - shows the tweeters you are influenced by
  • Who tweeter influences - shows who you influence
  • Who also tweets about similar topics - those who tweet similar stuff
  • Who retwteets - those who spread your tweets
  • Weightage score - this new graphic shows you what comprises the composite scores. Users can sort by influence, popularity, engagement, and trust.
  • Followers count -

Figure 3.  Assessment of Personal Influence


The Bottom Line - TweetLevel's and BlogLevel's Purpose Built Framework Delivers Relevance To Influencer Relations Professionals
The design thinking behind TweetLevel provides a strong approach for influencer relations professionals to quickly assess topics and the relevant players in each topic.  Dashboard access to key metrics, links, and phrases help provide context around influence.  By creating a distinction around relevance by topic and by level of influence, TweetLevel sets itself apart as a purpose built solution.  Hopefully in the next releases, Edelman includes automated process to track and provide fast publish and subscribe services for real time scores.

Your POV
Ready to give TweetLevel a spin?  Let me know what you think!  Add your comments to the blog or reach me via email: R (at) ConstellationRG (dot) com or R (at) SoftwareInsider (dot) com.
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