The search query, “Social Media Monitoring,” in the United States has peaked twice over the past five years – in October 2017 and in April 2021. Since the last rise, interest in this topic has been rated above 30 points on the Google Trends scale with periodic jumps to 57, 66, and 79. The main related queries, “what is social media monitoring,” and “social media monitoring services” – are showing an increase of 350%. The states of New York and Kansas searched most of the analytics information. They received marks of 100 and 89, respectively, with the rest of the territories showing an increase of less than 50.
What is Social Media Monitoring?
Social Media Monitor is responsible for tracking and analyzing social media. Namely: the mainstream social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter, as well as websites outside of the primary social networks – blogs, news, and other popular sites. Social media monitoring includes:
- Keyword analysis.
- Collecting brand reputation data.
- Competitor analysis.
- Market research and trends.
The use of social media monitoring goes beyond the regular viewing of information on social media and websites.
The analysis is carried out using special tools. We will return to the must-have collection later. But how do they work? All social media monitoring processes are based on algorithms – continuously crawling and indexing websites. Some are monitored in real-time, while others can be checked every 10 minutes or once a day, depending on the settings. As a result, you get the following information:
- Engagement metrics.
- Metadata about websites and authors.
- Popularity charts.
- Analysis of mood, categories, and topics.
- Comparative analysis of queries.
Companies build reports, conduct research, and make decisions based on this data.
As for the range of information that is monitored, all processes are legal and comply with the requirements of the GDPR. If privacy settings hide some posts in social networks, they will not be scanned.
Benefits of Social Media Monitoring
80% of social media users have mentioned a brand in their posts at least once. As a result of monitoring social media, you will constantly be aware of such “conversations,” – which means that you will react to them instantly. How will this benefit your business? The benefits of timely, rapid analysis can be categorized as:
- Live dialogue with clients: Quality customer service includes answers to their questions, complaints, thanks, and praise. But users don’t necessarily mention the brand directly. Automatic social media monitoring makes it possible to see and respond to a comment or blog post in the blink of an eye. It’s never superfluous to thank buyers for a positive review. And even more so – to resolve the conflict before the storm breaks out.
- Attracting new customers: Through keywords, hashtags, and location, you can find potential customers who may not know about the existence of your product but are looking for it. In addition, through screening, you will find clients of competing companies. You can also start a dialogue with clients of competing companies and make them a lucrative offer.
- Meeting influencers: You may not even know who some influencers are using your product or service. Monitoring social media will help you find and connect with influencers with thousands of subscribers and followers.
- Feedback. By analyzing content, comments, and reactions, you will see which trends are popular, what users need, and what they are interested in. This will allow you to optimize your content and product. This information can also help you develop new products to meet customers’ needs.
14 Best Social Media Monitoring Tools
We have analyzed and compiled a list of the top and most effective tools for scanning social networks and other web resources. We have also added reviews from G2 web resources.
Sprout Social
An all-in-one web platform to help you learn about trends and user thoughts, analyze data and organize your social media experiences, including posting. Such companies have chosen Sprout Social as Shopify, Subaru, and Unicef.
The cost of a package of services per month is:
- Standard – $ 89.00
- Professional – $ 149.00
- Advanced – $ 249.00
Plus, you can test it free for 30 days.
Melissa O. shares that the most practical function for her company has become the ability to analyze competitors’ work and schedule posts on social networks. Skip R., who has been using the tool for eight years, speaks of clarity and conciseness in the reports and the management process.
Hootsuite
The platform helps you plan the timing of your campaigns by providing information on the best moments for posts. You can also manage advertisements using its tools. Ikea, Bacardi, and Oxford University Press use the web platform services.
Pricing depends on the number of features:
- Professional – $ 19.00
- Team – $ 99.00
- Enterprise – negotiated separately.
Manny S., who has been using the tool for ten years, notes how easy it is to group the data to send and talks about the complexity of analytical reports. Chris S. appreciated the ability to publish a post on different social networks simultaneously.
Zoho Social
The tool helps to organize the work of a team within the platform by assigning employees to groups, self-chats, and marking tasks. You can also track the reactions of users to your publications in a separate window in real-time. Clients include WunderTRE, Widoobiz, and ATS.
The cost of services for business per month, when paid for the year, is:
- Standard – € 10.00
- Professional – € 30.00
- Premium – € 40.00
Digital agencies can purchase highly specialized packages to work with a large number of brands:
- Agency – € 230.00
- Agency Plus – € 240.00
Customers can use the trial version for 15 days.
User Dhara B. shares that his subscribers have tripled in the past two months thanks to using Zoho Social. User Tristan H. noted the ease of use.
Agorapulse
The web platform has Android and iOS, so you can easily manage processes, monitor, plan and organize work outside the office. Clicmark, Imagine Social and Digital Butter use Agroapulse.
The cost is formed according to the following categories:
- Pro – $ 79.00
- Premium – $ 159.00
- Enterprise – negotiable.
Beginners can try the Free offer – with 30 days of free use.
Megan M. appreciated that it was possible to track the performance of individual posts and campaigns. And Fransiscus Ismaël appreciates the opportunity to scan who likes publications and conduct comparative analysis.
Falcon.io
This online platform allows you to have one email inbox for all accounts and communities. Falcon.io also creates personalized profile cards for each subscriber or group member. Clients include Carlsberg, TUI Nordic, and Toyota.
The cost of services is broken down into two subtypes:
- Essentials – $ 108.00
- Full Suite – discussed with the customer.
A user named Administrator in Marketing and Advertising drew attention to excellent properties for internal communication between employees, including notes and notes. And Administrator in Publishing writes that the web platform saves time since all monitoring is automated.
Sprinklr Modern Sales & Engagement
The web platform supports 35 social media listening sites. In addition, the data collected by the program is sorted into sections so that you can filter out the less important information. The company’s clients include Philips, WalkMe, and HP.
On the website, you can request a demo version of the tool. Prices are formed individually.
Referring to the product’s performance, Abe B. writes that it is the most comprehensive monitoring tool on the market. And Alyssa B. says it has great features for reviewing work and getting it approved.
Reputation
Users of the online platform can track and analyze customer reviews across various review-focused web media. It helps to provide feedback, increase the number of positive reviews and position in the Google rankings.
To determine the cost, your reputation is assessed, and then the pricing is set. You can also try out single services in test mode.
Leah A., Assistant Manager, appreciated the templates for responding to clients and the ability to respond to their comments quickly. And the user under the nickname Administrator in Automotive noted the convenience of notifications from the web platform.
Meltwater
In addition to all the basic monitoring capabilities, the tool has functions for working with media. Digital assistant clients include Puma, H&M, and Fred Perry.
In the review, user Vinay P. noted the convenience and simplicity of the process of analyzing opponents. And Alexandria M. discussed the support of the team of Meltwater, as they assist clients at all stages of using the tool.
Sendible
One of the practical functions is to preview publication and offer suggestions for adjusting the text length, image quality, and hashtags. Clients of the web platform include Olive & Milo, Fearless & Framed, and The Social Reach.
You can test the instrument for two weeks, then a monthly fee depending on the tariff:
- Creator – $ 29.00
- Traction – $ 89.00
- Scale – $ 199.00
- Expansion – $ 399.00
Meredith K. commendably offers templates and options for posts. Mysty S. is enthusiastic about the support for the LinkedIn web platform, which is not found in all tools of this type.
eclicher
The users have at their disposal a rich library of visual content such as photos and illustrations for commercial use. Clients are Digible, Tegile Systems, and Writers Ice Cream.
You can choose one of the service packages:
- Basic – $ 59.00
- Premier – $ 119.00
- Agency – $ 219.00
What do the reviews say? Adam R. appreciated the ability to schedule posts months in advance and display all reports and posts on one page. Daniel C .writes that the company’s support representatives respond within minutes.
Mention
The web platform offers various brand management options – analysis, strategic campaign launches, and productivity measurements.
The monthly cost is regulated depending on the selected type of service:
- Solo – € 29.00
- Pro – € 99.00
- ProPlus – € 199.00
- Company – negotiated individually
Janhavi R. praises the Mention’s search feature on the Internet but says the program doesn’t always see abbreviations or unfamiliar websites. And Sandeep S., on the contrary, writes that the tool has no shortcomings and has shown itself to be an excellent assistant.
Brand24
Using the tool, you can set a threshold for the number of mentions you want to control to monitor the slightest change in your brand image that matters to you. The company’s clients include Futuramo, Uber, and Mobidoctor.
The service pricing system looks like this:
- Plus – $ 49.00
- Professional – $ 99.00
- Business – $ 149.00
- Max – $ 249.00
A user named Administrator in Information Technology and Services praises the accuracy and speed of verification. They also praised the fact that the program does not miss mentions even in foreign languages. Administrator in Non-Profit Organization Management notes the practicality of daily and summary reports separately.
Dataminr
The company’s products aimed at monitoring are divided into three segments – for entrepreneurs, government agencies, and the media. So, depending on the goals, the approach to research changes. The clients of the web platform are The Washington Post, Dyson, and Netflix.
Shannon L. noted the company’s approach to customer training and the individual characteristics of the web resource for various fields of activity. Austin T .writes that as one uses the Dataminr’s tools, its benefits grow exponentially.
NetBase
In its work, the company uses a new generation of artificial intelligence, due to which the speed of all processes is five times higher than analog instruments. Clients include Coca-Cola, Ogilvy, and Edelman. Prices are formed individually for each client.
Jocelyn S. notes the practicality of integrating with Quid and the speed of collecting information about users of their products. And user Administrator in Financial Services says that the vastness of the program’s functions is so great that you will find answers to almost any of your questions.
Output
The need for quality brand tracking and analysis on social media is growing and will continue to grow. Monitoring is an engine for development, regardless of the company’s size. That is why you should not hesitate in choosing the best tools to optimize your work.
