Written by Dan Barraclough Reviewed by Robyn Summers-Emler Updated on January 3, 2019 On this page Brandwatch Keyhole Sprout Social Digimind Zoho Falcon.io Buzzsumo Mention Socialbakers Brand24 Hootsuite Talkwalker Next Steps Expand Where do the best social media monitoring services excel?Most branded social media mistakes are avoidable. Some are unforgivable. In a day and age when innocent oversights can make your brand go viral for the wrong reasons, monitoring social media for warning signs is essential.It’s also impossible without the right tools.That’s why we’ve tested, rated and ranked 12 of the best social media monitoring tools. Read on for the lowdown on each one, or you can use a social media management company or freelancer to handle all your accounts. 1. BrandwatchBrandwatchUsability★★★★★Accessibility★★★★★Visual Appeal★★★★★Price$$$$$Overall★★★★★Reviewed by: Expert Market01/03/2019 Pros ‘Groups’ feature lets you monitor keyword mentions across set websites Huge breadth of data captured, from social networks to product reviews Tabbed dashboard interface is easy to use Cons Influencer identification sometimes fooled by Twitter spambots VerdictBrandwatch is one seriously powerful social media monitoring service. Flexible filters and customizable reports turn mountains of data into meaningful insights. The service listens in over 44 languages and even understands things like spam and slang.Fun fact: The team behind Brandwatch consists of about 300 staff working across four time zones. 2. KeyholeKeyholeUsability★★★★★Accessibility★★★★★Visual Appeal★★★★★Price$$$$$Overall★★★★★Reviewed by: Expert Market01/03/2019 Pros Real time tracking comes in handy for events Gathers audience demographic data for deeper insights 30-day free trial Cons Limited Arabic language support VerdictMonitoring social media mentions in real time is a breeze with Keyhole. The reasonably-priced tool tracks hashtags, mentions and URLs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to give you a complete picture of who’s saying what about your brand.Fun fact: Keyhole's data get frequently cited in the media by organizations such as Reuters, The Guardian and Al Jazeera. ▶ Read more: Best Social Media Marketing Companies for Small Businesses 3. Sprout SocialSprout SocialUsability★★★★★Accessibility★★★★★Visual Appeal★★★★★Price$$$$$Overall★★★★★Reviewed by: Expert Market01/03/2019 Pros ‘Smart Inbox’ seamlessly merges social channels Clever calendar layout for scheduled posts Easy to manage multiple clients social posts Cons Costs rack up quickly when adding users VerdictSprout Social was named to the Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing companies in the US, and they show no signs of slowing down. Strong analytics features take care of social media monitoring, and built-in publishing tools enable convenient content creation.Fun fact: Sprout Social’s team numbers 400 people, but the platform serves a whopping 20,000+ brands. Not bad for ten years’ work. ▶ Read more: Top 10 Digital Marketing Companies 2023: Serving US Business 4. DigimindDigimindUsability★★★★★Accessibility★★★★★Visual Appeal★★★★★Price$$$$$Overall★★★★★Reviewed by: Expert Market01/03/2019 Pros Good mentions with low noise and little loss Well-designed dashboard is a doddle to use ‘Top Reputation’ feature is unique among tools of this type Cons Sentiment analysis can still be improved VerdictDigimind’s expertise in web analytics dates back to the 1990s. Today, if you’re an SMB that’s looking for detailed search and social insights, there’s no better option.Fun fact: Digimind’s blog is a goldmine of industry expertise from influencers, brand managers and Digimind’s own clients. 5. Zoho SocialZoho SocialUsability★★★★★Accessibility★★★★★Visual Appeal★★★★★Price$$$$$Overall★★★★★Reviewed by: Expert Market01/03/2019 Pros ‘SmartQ’ feature for detecting best posting times is really useful Very reliable and stable platform Excellent integration with other Zoho business services Cons No easy way to see scheduled posts VerdictZoho Social’s social media monitoring service makes it easy to manage your brand and cater to your audience’s interests. Keyword tracking, sentiment analysis and advanced reporting are all included. Plus, built-in publishing means you can create and schedule all your posts in one place.Fun fact: Zoho boasts a combined 30 million users across all of its business communications platforms. 6. Falcon.ioFalcon.ioUsability★★★★★Accessibility★★★★★Visual Appeal★★★★★Price$$$$$Overall★★★★★Reviewed by: Expert Market01/03/2019 Pros Very easy to use Tagging content by category is super handy Posting to Instagram is easier than with some other tools Cons No telephone support (but there is web chat) VerdictFalcon.io provides an intuitive platform for social media monitoring and management. If you’ve got tons of channels and more than a handful of hashtags to track, it’s definitely worth a look.Fun fact: Falcon.io was the first social media suite to support advanced Instagram measurement. 7. BuzzsumoBuzzsumoUsability★★★★★Accessibility★★★★★Visual Appeal★★★★★Price$$$$$Overall★★★★★Reviewed by: Expert Market01/03/2019 Pros ‘Influencer’ feature is fantastic for finding leading voices in your niche See all shares for your content at a glance Amazing in combination with blogger outreach tools Cons Weaker backlink analysis than comparable tools VerdictBuzzsumo gives you no-frills feedback on how your audience engages with your content. It’s also great at pinpointing powerful influencers for you to add to your customer or client outreach list.Fun fact: Buzzfeed used Buzzsumo to track the most viral content about the 2017 UK election. 8. MentionMentionUsability★★★★★Accessibility★★★★★Visual Appeal★★★★★Price$$$$$Overall★★★★★Reviewed by: Expert Market01/03/2019 Pros You can filter out spam sources to cut through the noise You can see and document your most successful posts in detail… …but the dashboard also gives you the gist at a glance Cons Price may be a barrier for startups VerdictMention makes social media sleuthing easier than ever with in-depth keyword, hashtag and comment tracking, and detailed demographic breakdowns by source type, location and more.Fun fact: Unlike Google Alerts, Mention tracks chatter on Facebook and Twitter. Their web app is also much more user friendly. 9. SocialbakersSocialbakersUsability★★★★★Accessibility★★★★★Visual Appeal★★★★★Price$$$$$Overall★★★★★Reviewed by: Expert Market01/03/2019 Pros Facebook profile analysis offers incredible depth There’s YouTube analytics too Crisp data visualizations are readymade for reports Cons Historical Facebook data limited to past 89 days VerdictAnalytics aficionados will appreciate Socialbakers’ powerful social media monitoring service. The platform covers just about every major social media channel, and has a Facebook Analytics module that delves even deeper than Facebook’s own analytics tools.Fun fact: Socialbakers has hosted the Engage digital marketing conference every year since 2012. 10. Brand24Brand24Usability★★★★★Accessibility★★★★★Visual Appeal★★★★★Price$$$$$Overall★★★★★Reviewed by: Expert Market01/03/2019 Pros Daily email alerts show you mentions by top influencers Support team is fast to fix bugs Superb customer service in general Cons No Pinterest tracking VerdictBrand24 collects real-time social data faster than you can say ‘customer experience management’. It’s great for tracking buzz around your brand or public interest in new product announcements.Fun fact: A Brand24 subscription gives you access to discounts on more than a dozen other digital marketing tools, like LiveChat and GetResponse. 11. HootsuiteHootsuiteUsability★★★★★Accessibility★★★★★Visual Appeal★★★★★Price$$$$$Overall★★★★★Reviewed by: Expert Market01/03/2019 Pros The most complete social listening and publishing suite Heaps of free advice on Hootsuite’s blog Great audience analytics Cons Sporadic customer support response times VerdictThere’s a good reason why more than 15 million people use Hootsuite every day. You won’t be able to live without it after seeing how easy it makes checking your social media feeds, scheduling posts and tracking conversations about your brand.Fun fact: Hootsuite’s name is inspired by the platform’s owl logo, and is a play on the French phrase ‘tout de suite’ which means ‘right now’. 12. TalkwalkerTalkwalkerUsability★★★★★Accessibility★★★★★Visual Appeal★★★★★Price$$$$$Overall★★★★★Reviewed by: Expert Market01/03/2019 Pros Clever image recognition spots shares of your logo Extremely wide web coverage (150 million+ websites) Up to two years historical data on demand Cons Sentiment analysis for foreign languages not always accurate VerdictFor a tool that lets you carry out complex queries and analysis, Talkwalker is astonishingly simple to use. The social media monitoring service crawls the web, mining big data for mentions of your brand, and makes the findings meaningful.Fun fact: Hootsuite’s name is inspired by the platform’s owl logo, and is a play on the French phrase ‘tout de suite’ which means ‘right now’. Next StepsIf you’re like most small business owners, you’ve got plenty on the go without adding social media management to your plate. Social media monitoring services are there to ease the load, and the 12 tools reviewed here are well worth your attention.Is there anything they can’t do?Well, yes. They won’t, for example, respond to customer complaints on Twitter, or run Reddit Q&A sessions for you. For that, you need a dedicated social media support team.Fortunately, social media management companies, like Hibu, can do it all for you – monitoring Twitter mentions, running audience reports, publishing LinkedIn posts, the works.Requesting quotes for their services couldn’t be easier – simply fill out our short contact form to get connected directly with them. Written by: Dan Barraclough Dan’s a Senior Writer at Expert Market, specialising in digital marketing, web design, and photocopiers, amongst other topics. Reviewed by: Robyn Summers-Emler Digital Growth Editor Robyn started working on Expert Market in 2021 as a specialist in business websites and digital marketing. As the Grow Online Editor, she ideates, commissions and optimizes content on Expert Market that helps businesses thrive in online spaces and maximize their ecommerce potential. Covering everything from choosing a website builder to scaling a social media marketing strategy – Robyn uses her expertise to help startups, SMBs, and larger businesses realize digital growth in an increasingly competitive landscape.