One of the amazing things about Twitter, when compared to a LinkedIn or a Facebook, is that it’s core functionality is so simple yet complemented with complexity by hundreds if not thousands of useful 3rd party apps because of its open architecture and growing ecosystem. Where you don’t really need any external tools to maximize your presence on LinkedIn or even Facebook for that matter, using external apps on the realtime platform for tweets can not only help save you time, it can also help you unearth critical business intelligence and allow you to truly maximize your presence for whatever business or professional objective you might have.
The funny thing is that it’s hard to find out which apps are out there and which of them are popular. There are many lists that have been created in the past, but I have found that many Twitter apps, even the beloved Mr. Tweet which I blogged about, no longer exist. On the other hand, there are some excellent Twitter directory websites out there, like oneforty, but there are so many tools listed it begins to feel like you’re a mouse in a maze looking for a morsel of cheese… I won’t even mention that there is still a continuous new flow of great Twitter apps into the market, including the promising Research.ly which was just announced yesterday.
As I proceed forward on writing my Twitter book, I wanted to share with you my initial findings on what the 25 most popular apps are so that you can concentrate on only those tools that others have found valuable because of their popularity. I have listed them below according to their ranking on Alexa, but I have also taken the privilege of omitting those that were either non-English (ごめんなさい!) or I felt were not necessarily useful from a business or professional strategic perspective. What remains are 25 apps that surprised me in their popularity. I am hoping through this exercise that you find a tool or two that you might not have heard of that will enrich YOUR Twitter experience.
Before I provide the list, be forewarned that apps that are popular mean that they get a lot of website visits. Some of these apps are websites that provide services that allow you to manage all of your social media platforms from one single dashboard (like HootSuite) or shorten URL links that you could use to track the effectiveness of your content on various social media platforms (like Bit.ly). I have tried my best to categorize these apps to give you a feel for alternatives if you are looking to move off your current app and try something new.
- Twitpic – Photo Sharing on Twitter Tool
- Bit.ly – URL Shortener
- Yfrog – Photo & Video Sharing on Twitter Tool
- HootSuite – Browser-Based Social Media Client
- TweetMeme – Twitter ReTweet Directory
- Adf.ly – URL Shortener with Advertising
- TinyURL – URL Shortener
- Ping.fm – Social Media Status Update Management
- Paper.li – Tweet (and now Facebook) Digests
- Goo.gl – Google’s URL Shortener
- Topsy – Twitter Search Engine
- TwitterFeed – RSS to Twitter & Facebook Automation Tool
- Ow.ly – HootSuite’s URL Shortener
- TwitCause – Help Support Causes (from the Experience Project)
- Social Oomph – Twitter Automation & Management Tool
- TwitterCounter – Twitter Profile Statistics
- TweetDeck – Browser-Based Social Media Client (note that their PC client is more popular but does not show up as a website visit)
- MobyPicture – Photo, Video, Audio & Text Sharing in Social Media Tool
- Favstar.fm – Analyze Tweets by Number of Favorites & ReTweets
- Sponsored Tweets – Twitter Advertising
- Friend or Follow? – Follower Management Tool
- WeFollow – Twitter User Directoy
- Social Mention – Social Media Search Engine
- Seesmic – Browser-Based Social Media Client
- CoTweet – Browser-Based Social Media Client
If you have already heard and tried out all of these apps, you are a true master of tweeting! Regardless, if your URL shortener or social media client doesn’t appear on the above list, you might want to try out one of these popular apps for a test drive.
My Fave 5 from this list? HootSuite, TweetMeme (as a WordPress plugin), Topsy, TwitterCounter, and WeFollow. How about you?








The 25 Most Popular Twitter Apps : Have You Heard of Them All?
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Black Seo Guy
Neal TweetMeme is by far the one I use the most and it has been a life savor. I just can’t believe you were able to list all of these..thanks bro
BTW Neal..Can you can contact me on my contact page..Its very important..I need your help.
“Black Seo Guy “Signing Off”
nealschaffer
Glad you enjoyed the post. Yes, TweetMeme is the granddaddy, but I noticed that they made changes to their page that make it less of a pure search directory for Twitter RTs…
Eric Mitchellette
Neal – Thank you for the links and summary tools; very helpful.
Take Care,
Eric Mitchellette
nealschaffer
Glad you enjoyed the info Eric.
Michelle Mangen
Neal:
I am familiar with all but three on your list — those three being: Adf.ly, MobyPicture and Favstar.fm.
I love Hootsuite and because I manage accounts for clients I gladly coughed up the money to pay for it. I use three different platforms for actual tweeting (all for various reasons). TwInbox (I have it set up to bring all my DMs and mentions into my Outlook for my personal account) and MyVBO (does more than just Twitter but I only use for Twitter).
While personally I hate, hate, hate (did I mention hate) the Auto Postings from SocialOmmph I do like their keyword digests (especially when setting up a new account and trying to find people to follow) and for the beloved DM Purge feature they offer.
I know your list is based on Alexa rankings but two others that may be worth checking out for “cleaning out” are ManageFlitter.com and JustUnfollow.com.
nealschaffer
Hey Michelle,
Thanks for your resourceful comment! I also was not familiar with Adf.ly and Moby Picture myself. I haven’t seen many Adf.ly links in Twitter, but then again I try to avoid those Internet Marketing bots who are probably using them!
I also evangelize the use of HootSuite and paid for the professional account as well. Haven’t used Twinbox and MyVBO before so i will definitely check them out. Thanks for the advice!
Never really used SocialOomph for the same reason you pointed out. If I want to find people for keywords and do DM purges, my choice tool is Tweetspinner.
Yes, there are a lot of other great tools out there, and introducing the best ones wasn’t the objective of the list. I also LOVE ManageFlitter.com and have used JustUnfollow.com as well. FYI MF would come in at #28, and JU at … wait … how could I have missed them? JustUnfollow.com would come in at #22!!! Uh-oh…may need to revise my post now! Thanks for pointing that one out!!!
Michelle Mangen
Does the free version of Tweetspinner allow DM purges? I played with it for awhile but after they changed it around a few months back I lost interest in it.
And you don’t have to revise your post on my account!
nealschaffer
Hey Michelle,
I actually am a paid user so I don’t know about the free version…
And thanks about not having to revise the post
#phew
Jorg Ruis
Hi Neal, great list and cool to see we’re (Twitter Counter) on it!
Codrut Turcanu
I like TweetCause. I’d love to offer a similar service like the ones profiled in your post. I guess it’s a head ache to maintain such projects, and it’s well worth in the long run, right?
nealschaffer
Thanks for stopping by, Jorg, and thanks for providing us such a great website!!!
nealschaffer
Hey Codrut, to be honest with you I had never heard of TweetCause until I did research for my upcoming Twitter book, but I agree that it’s a cool service.
If you wanted to do your own Twitter, you need to think hard as to how you would want to monetize it…and preferably have an exit strategy
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Goranka
Great list, Neal. Like many others who commented so far, I haven`t heard of Adf.ly.
My favorite ones are TweetMeme, Topsy, Tredistic, TweetDeck and Paper.li. I am big fan of Paper.li and I am especially glad that you included it into your list! It is interesting though that Paper.li is has better ranking on Alexa than TweetDeck.
One of the the apps that I also like is Trendsmap.
nealschaffer
Thanks Goranka. Yes, Adf.ly was a surprise to me. As for Tweetdeck, you have to remember that most people use it as an app, not by going to their site on a browser, so those don’t get registered as website visits. Trendsmap, by the way, was #54
Nate Devore
Neal this is a great list of Twitter Apps. I haven’t heard of some. I am a huge fan of Paper.li though. Thanks for sharing!
Nate.
nealschaffer
Thanks Nate
nealschaffer
Thanks Nate
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