5 social media monitoring and social listening tools that every entrepreneur should consider
Social media monitoring and social listening have grown immensely important for a business’ survival. By maintaining a prominent, active and positive presence on the internet a business can quickly grow and compete aggressively. However, since companies now balance multiple social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter accounts, it is critical to have the right services that will make balancing and analyzing data efficient and easy.
Deciding on the best software to fit your company can be tough and time-consuming. However, I have put a list together of some of the top social media monitoring and listening services to consider.
#1 Hootsuite
Balancing several social media platforms in an expanding business can be tough and at times very time-consuming, however, with Hootsuite they make balancing all of your platforms effortless. Hootsuite is a software that enables the user to have access to all of their social media platforms in one place. Starting at 30-day free trial at $0 ranging to $499/month, business’ can join and set up their accounts in order to remain active and engaged at all times. Key features found on Hootsuite include tracking mentions, which allows the user to engage with the consumer’s impressions towards the business, this allows the user to address negative feedback and value positive insights. Moreover, Hootsuite allows for users to create different streams where you are able to track other business’ and interests that may relate to your company. Also, Hootsuite allows for content to be created in bulk, therefore, making it easier to spread content across social media platforms. Additionally, users can plan out pre-scheduled posts which can be done for the day, month or even year which is beneficial for when you are planning ahead for events or a busier week ensuring that content is always being put out for an audience.
However, taking on Hootsuite as a new user it may appear to be overwhelming and will need some time to get used too. Additionally, Hootsuite can become quite costly for a startup company beginning with the monthly subscriptions to paying for different analytical reports, the cost will eventually add up. Yet, with a free trial, the user is allowed to upload three social media platforms and 30 posts a day which may be sufficient for a startup company. Hootsuite is a powerhouse social media monitoring platform that should definitely be considered.
#2 SproutSocial
Another top contender for managing all of your social media accounts is SproutSocial. Similar to Hootsuite, SproutSocial is a software that manages and organizes all of your social media platforms. However, SproutSocial is heavily based on team collaboration. It has many tools that make it easy to collaborate with a team by responding to messages or completing tasks. SproutSocial begins with a 30-day free trial, however, after in order to continue the prices ranges from $99/month to $249/month.
What can be done on SprouteSocial? Well, SproutSocial allows users to compose messages to all of their platforms at once as well as pre-planned posts similar to Hootsuite. The inbox features connect messages from all of your platforms, which can be replied to or sent to other team members in order to reply. Additionally, the listening tab allows users to monitor what is being said directly about the company but it also allows for users to listen on other interests of the consumer giving the user a better overall insight as to understanding the consumer as a whole. Finally, the users have the option of scrolling through their different reports such as engagement reports, team reports, competitors, comparisons, and trends.
If you are looking for a collaborative social media monitoring and the listening tool then consider trying out SocialSprout.
#3 TweetReach
Understanding the impact of your words is important not only in the real world but in the business world as well. Being able to track and analyze how your words have been received online is incredibly useful for a business. By using TweetReach, users will be able to look at a detailed report of the reach of their company, campaign or related words. The reports generated through TweetReach lets the users know the reach of the message meaning the size of the audience. Additionally, it shows the activity and timeline, the top contributors and the most retweeted tweets. Using TweetReach it is a perfect way for companies to evaluate how they are doing on a concentrated platform. Additionally, it gives the user an opportunity to learn more about the individuals who are enjoying their company which is beneficial for future campagins.
Zeroing in on Twitter and understanding just how impactful your tweets are can be very insightful in the long run. Starting at a low price of $23/month ranging up to a $159/per month, TweetReach is an awesome tool to have in your back pocket.
#4 Brand24
Brand24 allows for the user to view what consumers are saying in real time about their brand on different social media sites. It is an efficient way to receive feedback on a brands presence online. This easy to use social listening software ranges from $0 for a 14-day trial to $390/month offering a wide range of tools that will help a company interact with their consumers. Users of Brand24 enjoy using this social listening platform for several key reasons. First of all, Brand24 enables the user to monitor their brand at all times by pinpointing who is saying what about their company. Additionally, if users want to filter whether they want to view exclusively positive or negative feedback they have the option of using the sentiment filter. The sentiment filter is a great way for companies to fully concentrate on understanding what the consumers enjoy about the company and what they do not. Another key feature of Brand24 is their influencer filter which can be adjusted in order to view what the top influencers are saying about their company. Additionally, a highly appreciated feature on Brand24 is the comparison tab which allows you to compare two companies or ‘projects’ side by side. Lastly, Brand24 makes it easy to export data into PDF forms which can be saved and sent to others in the company or easily used to refer back to in the future.
Since Brand24 allows you to monitor what others are saying, it is a great way to gain perspective on what is working and what is not. I would recommend Brand24 to a startup as it is an easy way to track your company’s growth along with tracking your supporters and critics.
#5 MediaToolKit
MediaToolKit is another highly recognized social listening software. Similar to Brand24, MediaToolKit allows for the user to listen in and track what is being said online about their company. MediaToolKit begins at a price of $0, however only for a 14-day trial, the price increases all the way up to $150/month. When users first sign up for MediaToolKit the software teaches you step by step on how to use the service which allows the user to jump right in already knowing how to navigate their way through the website. MediaToolKit provides the user with the opportunity to track mentions across the web and social media platforms. Similar to brand24, MediaToolKit allows the users to look at sentiment analysis as well as track what influential companies are saying about their business. Additionally, MediaToolKit offers three levels of reports ranging from basic to competitive analysis, each offering more detailed analytics. Having more than one option for analytics is beneficial for this social listening software as it provides options to the users. However, one of my personal favourite features of MediaToolKit is that it provides the user with reports that are full of visuals such as tables and charts rendering it easier to fully see the difference of mentions, sentiments, influencer across platforms. Being a visual learner this was a feature that stood out.
If you're a visual learner who needs an easy and efficient social listening tool for a cheaper cost MediaToolKit is an absolute must.
As Brand24 and MediaToolkit are very similar softwares, I have taken the time to compare the two social listening sites side by side:
Let me know what social listening and social media monitoring tools your company uses!
