People have always talked about brands and products. They’ve praised and complained about companies in the dining rooms, by the water cooler, over the phone. With the rise of social media, this previously intangible word-of-mouth has finally become measurable — and thus amplifiable — for businesses. Social media listening, the process of using a tool to monitor online mentions of a brand (or anything else), gives companies access to that data.
For this post, we’ve put together a list of 7 most robust social media monitoring tools to bring you real-time insights on your customers, market, and competition.
1. Awario
Awario is a relative newcomer to the social media monitoring and analytics scene. Its ambition is to make social media insights affordable for any brand, be it a startup, an international company, or a digital agency. With pricing plans starting at $29/mo, Awario offers Enterprise capabilities (from Boolean search to Sentiment Analysis to Share of Voice) included in every plan.
You can use Awario to monitor mentions of your brand, competitors, industry, or set up queries for the less obvious use cases. For instance, the app lets you identify guest blogging opportunities, discover content ideas, and find industry influencers to partner with. That’s where the tool’s flexible Boolean search mode comes in handy: it lets you create complex queries that will satisfy even the nerdiest of marketers.
On top of social media, Awario covers news, blogs, and the entire web to give you a holistic picture of your brand’s online presence.
Supported platforms
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, news, blogs, the web.
Customer rating
4.5/5 (Capterra).
Reviewers mention Awario’s affordability, Boolean search, influencer marketing capabilities, and excellent customer support as the main pros.
Pricing
There’s a free trial that lets you test Awario out before settling on one of its paid plans.
2. Brandwatch
Brandwatch is a suite of 3 tools for marketing and PR teams. Its Audiences product lets you find groups of people based on your targeting rules, such as demographic criteria and interests. It lets you better understand your customers by analyzing their social media posts and pinpointing what sets them apart from the general public.
Vizia is a visualization tool that lets you build custom dashboards based on Brandwatch data. Vizia also works with third-party tools, such as BuzzSumo and Google Analytics, to give you a comprehensive way to measure your marketing efforts.
The company’s social media monitoring tool is called Analytics. It comes equipped with image recognition, API access, and analytical dashboards that can be downloaded as PowerPoint presentations in a click.
Supported platforms
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Sina Weibo, VK, QQ, blogs, news, the web.
Customer rating
4/5 (Capterra).
The tool’s users love its media coverage and customizable dashboards. The biggest con is its cost.
Pricing
Brandwatch offers 3 plans to choose from. There’s no free trial, but you can contact the team for a demo of the product.
3. Hootsuite
If you aren’t looking for an in-depth social media monitoring tool, but would rather opt for something that offers publishing, collaboration, and monitoring features, Hootsuite is an excellent choice.
While the app itself doesn’t monitor sources beyond social media, it offers many useful integrations with tools like Brandwatch and Reputology for your reputation management needs. Some of those are free, while some need to be purchased as add-ons.
Supported platforms
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube. More sources available via integrations.
Customer rating
4.5/5 (Capterra).
Users love Hootsuite’s user-friendly layout and the fact that it supports all major social networks for scheduling.
Pricing
Hootsuite has a free trial that lets you play around with the tool before you jump on one of its three paid plans.
4. Meltwater
Meltwater is an Enterprise media intelligence tool. While not a dedicated social listening solution (Meltwater also offers PR and social media management capabilities), it includes robust tools for monitoring mentions of your keywords across the Internet.
Meltwater’s strength is the analytics the software provides: it lets you create custom dashboards with metrics that matter to you, from audience demographics to the reach of the social media chatter around your brand.
Supported platforms
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, blogs, news, the web, broadcast.
Customer rating
3.5/5 (Capterra).
The biggest pros mentioned by users are Meltwater’s coverage and powerful reports, with the main downside being its cost.
Pricing
Meltwater’s social media monitoring package is priced at $15,000/year. For more information, you’ll need to talk to the company’s sales team.
5. Talkwalker
Talkwalker is a perfect social media listening tool for big brands and agencies. Apart from providing you with the latest mentions of your brand and competitors, Talkwalker offers powerful analytics that let you spot trends in the buzz around your keywords. It goes beyond basic reporting by analyzing your audience’s demographics, occupation, and interests. It also builds powerful word clouds that let you identify hashtags that are most commonly used together with your keyword.
On top of tracking conversations across social media channels and the web, Talkwalker monitors print and TV mentions. Image recognition is also available in the Enterprise plan.
Supported platforms
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Flickr, blogs, news, the web, print, TV.
Customer rating
4.5/5 (Capterra).
Customers mention Talkwalker’s ease of use, extensive coverage, and real-time alerts as the main pros.
Pricing
Talkwalker offers three subscription plans on their website.
6. Tweetdeck
TweetDeck, owned by Twitter, is an all-in-one dashboard for your Twitter activity. It lets you schedule tweets, interact with your feed, manage your inbox, and track mentions of your company (or anything else) on the network.
While the tool’s social listening capabilities are limited to one social network, its search options are pretty impressive for a free app. You can add keywords in flexible formats, exclude certain terms, and filter results by country, language, or date. You can set up as many searches as you need and reply to tweets right from the dashboard by connecting your Twitter account to the app.
Supported platforms
Twitter.
Customer rating
4.5/5 (Capterra).
Customers love TweetDeck’s column layout, multi-account support, and scheduling options.
Pricing
Tweetdeck is absolutely free.
7. Agorapulse
Agorapulse is another two-in-one social media tool: while the app primarily focuses on social media management, it also offers listening capabilities for selected social networks. Though Agorapulse doesn’t include web monitoring, it’s a great option if you’re looking for a scheduling app that will also notify you of social brand mentions.
On top of publishing and social media monitoring, Agorapulse lets you find influencers and streamline outreach and communication with the help of its inbuilt CRM.
Supported platforms
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube.
Customer rating
4.5/5 (Capterra).
Users love the fact that Agorapulse combines social media management with social listening, the tool’s ease of use, and its excellent customer service.
Pricing
Agorapulse offers a free trial. After you try the tool, you can pick one of the four available subscription plans.
Conclusion
Social media has become the place where consumers talk about everything — and that includes your brand. As more companies turn to social media monitoring for insights, social media monitoring tools are catching up and becoming more elaborate and affordable. However, don’t forget that the insights the tools provide aren’t everything — it’s the decisions you make and the actions you take based on those insights that will make your brand stand out.
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