6 Social Media Monitoring Tools For Brands To Utilize
Reading time: ~4 Mins | Written By: Mackenzie Bergman
With how expansive social media is, it can be nearly impossible for you to keep tabs on every single mention of your brand. Luckily there are tools today that allow social media managers to work harder, not smarter! These tools put the work in for you when it comes to various social media functions and ensure that your brand never misses something that could be potentially damaging to your brand reputation.
We did a little experimenting and digging into each of these tools and provided our biggest takeaways from each one! Take a look at what we liked best from each platform and where we think they fell a bit short:
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is one of the most popular social media management platforms, offering a suite of tools for monitoring social media, scheduling posts, and analyzing performance. It allows users to publish content to most social channels, track effectiveness in real-time, and download full reports that makes it easy to identify what your audience is really loving.
Something we loved:
Centralized Management - Hootsuite allows you to manage multiple social media profiles and platforms (including Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok) from a single dashboard. This centralized approach can save time and make it easier to monitor and respond to activity across all channels.
Something lacking:
Overwhelming for Smaller Businesses - Hootsuite's comprehensive feature-set may be overkill for smaller businesses or individuals who have simpler social media needs. It offers a lot of great managing tools but they may not be necessary for one-person teams or small businesses.
Sprout Social
Sprout Social is another comprehensive social media management platform that offers tools for monitoring, publishing, and analyzing social media activity. Its features allow brands to track mentions, monitor keywords and hashtags, and identify influencers.
Something we love:
Social Listening - Sprout Social offers social listening capabilities, wich allows you to monitor and analyze mentions and conversations about your brand or industry, helping you stay informed and engaged with your audience.
Something lacking
Learning Curve - While the platform is user-friendly, it may still take some time to learn and fully utilize all of its features effectively. The time taken to overcome the learning curve should be taken into account for prospecting users!
Brandwatch
Brandwatch is a social media listening tool that allows brands to review social media conversations, track brand mentions, and analyze sentiment. It offers real-time data visualization and allows users to segment data by demographics, location, and sentiment.
Something we love:
Data Visualization - The platform offers visually appealing analytics charts and graphics, making it easier to understand complex data and share insights with team members or stakeholders.
Something lacking:
Limited Social Media Management - While Brandwatch excels in social media listening and analytics, it lacks the social media management features (e.g., scheduling, publishing) offered by some other social media management platforms.
Critical Mention
Critical Mention is a social media monitoring tool that allows brands to track mentions of their brand, competitors, and industry on social media and the web. It offers real-time alerts, sentiment analysis, and data visualization.
Something we love:
Comprehensive Media Coverage - Critical Mention provides a wide range of media coverage, including television, radio, online news, social media, and print, allowing users to monitor mentions across various media channels in one platform.
Something lacking:
Cost - Critical Mention is often considered expensive, making it less accessible for smaller businesses or organizations with limited budgets.
Awario
Awario is a social media monitoring tool that allows brands to track mentions of their brand and competitors on social media and the web. It offers real-time alerts, sentiment analysis, and data visualization, as well as tools for identifying influencers and tracking competitor activity.
What we love:
Real-Time Monitoring - The platform provides real-time monitoring, allowing users to stay updated on mentions and conversations as they happen.
Something lacking:
Limited Historical Data - The ability to access older data may be limited, depending on your subscription level, which could be a drawback for users looking for long-term trends and insights. The cost for the more premium subscriptions may not be feasible for smaller businesses or teams.
Google Alerts
This is an honorable mention for good old Google Alerts. If you don’t know where to start, at least have your brand created as a saved search in Google Alerts so that you get an email every time your specified search is seen in the Googlesvere. This is totally free and a great place to begin.
What we love:
Free to Use - One of the most significant advantages of Google Alerts is that it's entirely free, making it accessible to individuals, small businesses, and organizations with limited budgets.
Something lacking:
No Sentiment Analysis - Google Alerts do not offer sentiment analysis, so users have to use their own discretion when determining whether mentions are positive, negative, or neutral.
We hope you learned about at least one new tool that you feel would be beneficial for your brand’s social media monitoring! By using tools like these, you can make sure to keep on top of any trending news when it comes to your brand and have a clear understanding of what your audience is talking about. Happy monitoring!
