If you’re a social media enthusiast like us, you’ve likely noticed some changes involving X and its subscription services. Although the platform has consistently hinted at various premium services since Elon Musk acquired it a few years ago, a covert update to restrict basic access to your page’s analytics took effect in mid-June.
Where Did X Analytics Go?
Social media analytics provide critical knowledge about your audience, content performance, and the overall effectiveness of your social media strategy. They empower data-driven decisions, benchmarking, and continuous improvement (something we exercise every day at Random).
Previously, you could access the necessary information and data through one of the basic profile features or a direct link, such as www.analytics.twitter.com. Since transitioning to X, there has been a gradual reduction in methods to access this interface and instances of missing data points – likely a byproduct of the constant construction of the new analytics environment.
Accessing the provided link on a regular account will now prompt a message suggesting an upgrade to one of X’s subscription services. The once-free analytics feature is now locked behind their mid-tier Premium paywall, requiring users to purchase this tier to access it through the direct analytics link.
Is X Premium Worth It?
So, is this Premium service worth the monthly cost? We’re here to dive deeper into the new analytics feature, highlight what’s new and what’s missing, and ultimately help you decide if it’s right for you or your business.
One of the more immediate and obvious changes we noticed is the navigation path to accessing the analytics feature. If the account is logged in as a X Premium account, you will notice the slightly bolder ‘Premium’ text towards the left where all the platform features are listed. If subscribed, it will then introduce additional features in the main portion of the interface, including a direct path to your profile’s analytics.
Upon accessing the X Premium analytics feature, you will be introduced to the overview tab. Much like other social media platforms providing analytics, the overview is typically the central interface. You will usually see line graphs summarizing data (typically in days by default) as well as totals for those accumulated metrics, along with percentage changes relative to the preceding period.
Here is a summary of differences we have noticed having closely worked with the older, previously free, interface over the years:
Improvements
Data visualization improved flexibility: You now have the ability to graph two different metrics simultaneously. The variables of interest can be adjusted using the drop-down feature on the upper left portion of the graph, allowing you to see two different metrics during identical periods. This can be a great strategic tool. For example, graphing follower growth relative to the different social media metrics (shares, replies, etc.) can help you allocate resources effectively.
Less navigation: In the previous interface, retrieving totals for older time periods, like profile visits or new followers, was significantly more complex. Months were segmented into individual cards, necessitating extensive scrolling to access data for earlier months. The ability to manually select time periods represents a substantial improvement in usability, particularly for social media analysts.
Platform definition of variables: Next to each metric total, you can click the information icon to get a clear definition of each platform variable. This saves users the task of having to do any external research or testing to validate a particular metric or understand its functionality.
What’s Missing
Data exports: Previously, you could export and download spreadsheets detailing how these totals accumulated daily. The inability to export data limits analysts’ capacity to manipulate and analyze information using their preferred tools and methodologies. This feature appears to no longer be available, and it’s currently unclear if it will be added back in a future update.
Qualitative information: While the previous analytics interface employed separate monthly cards to display totals, it also featured highlights of the top-performing tweet and media tweet for each month. In contrast, the newer format prioritizes a purely quantitative approach, which may elicit varied responses based on individual preferences and expertise.
The new analytics interface includes an overview and a tab for content performance. Clicking on this tab will show your recent posts and their corresponding metrics.
Similar to the overview portion of the analytics, we were able to pinpoint some key differences:
Improvements
Sorting capabilities: Probably the most significant quality of life change is that you are now able to sort content (ascending and descending) based on different metrics. This was one of the major pain points of the previous interface before the major platform identity shift.
Extensive individual post analysis: Clicking on individual content to expand further details has always been a feature of content analytics. With the introduction of multi-line graph functionality, you are now able to evaluate the daily performance of those posts in greater detail, similar to what is observed in the overview for the overall channel, for each individual post. This is useful for identifying peak periods for any set of metrics on your content.
Image preview: Previews of each piece of content are now available next to their post captions. This can save significant time, as previously, you had to rely more on either the date or captions to identify the post you were searching for.
What’s Missing
Data exports: Much like overview analytics, the ability to export content data spreadsheets has also been deprecated. This is less than ideal for analysts, especially considering that the ability to export data is present across all other major social media platforms at no cost.
Limited data granularity: Although the ability to sort is a new feature in this updated analytics interface, you are currently limited to sorting across only five metrics: date, impressions, likes, bookmarks, and quotes. Total engagement is also not a metric summed across analytics, which is often used for benchmarking and requires additional manual calculations.
Date limitations: Currently, we notice that only posts from the last 60 days are displayed in this portion of the analytics. This is puzzling, as the older interface allowed this feature, and the overview tab already provides similar functionality. We suspect this limitation may be due to development priorities, technical challenges, or a phased rollout rather than platform data storage capabilities.
So the million-dollar (or really, seven-dollar) question remains: Is X Premium worth it for your business? It depends.
If your business heavily relies on X as its primary platform, this subscription may be a necessary investment. Social media analytics will always be better than having no analytics at all, but you should also consider the other premium features, such as claims of increased post performance, creator controls, early access to new features, and more. However, the return on investment may vary if X serves as a secondary platform for your brand.
Feel free to contact usif you want our expert recommendations on whether X Premium is right for your business or if you need help navigating this ever-changing social media landscape!
