When I first began posting regularly on LinkedIn, I couldn’t figure out why some posts took off while others completely tanked. That changed once I started tracking my social media analytics. Suddenly, things made sense: the data showed which hooks captured the most attention, which posting times drove the highest engagement, and even the ideal post length. Everything fell into place.The same signals are available to you in your own analytics. But if you’re active on several platforms, trying to manually pull insights from each native dashboard is a serious time drain — and those built-in analytics often have annoying limitations (LinkedIn, for example, doesn’t display timestamps on older posts, which makes it tough to pinpoint your best posting windows).That’s where third-party social media analytics tools shine. I tested 11 different options for this guide and grouped them by use case, so you can jump straight to what matches your situation. Creator, marketer, small business, or enterprise — there’s a tool here for you.Key takeawaysAnalytics tools vs. management tools: Standalone analytics tools are built just for measurement. Social media management platforms (like Buffer) combine analytics with scheduling, engagement, and more. For most creators and lean teams, an all-in-one solution is usually the most practical choice.Native analytics leave important gaps: Nearly every social platform offers its own insights, but they often miss key metrics — and if you’re juggling multiple channels, you’ll waste hours stitching reports together. Third-party tools help fix both issues.Pricing…