Written by Sabrina Dougall Reviewed by Robyn Summers-Emler Updated on 20 March 2023 On this page Top 5 social media monitoring tools for your small business 1. BuzzSumo 2. Sprout Social 3. Keyhole 4. Hootsuite 5. Talkwalker Next steps FAQs Expand Our site is reader-supported – by clicking our links, we can match you with a potential supplier, and we may earn a small commission for this referral. BuzzSumo is our top choice for social media monitoring tools, closely followed by Sprout Social and Keyhole.Social media monitoring is essential for brands nowadays. But with a wealth of options for tools for the job, how do you know where to turn?That’s where we come in. We’ve trawled the internet and weighed up the features, pricing and drawbacks to come up with this list. Here are the five best social media monitoring tools on the market:So-cial we? Read on to find out more about our expert picks. What are the top 5 social media monitoring tools ? BuzzSumo – Best for finding influencersSprout Social – Best for campaign success trackingKeyhole – Best for keyword targetingHootsuite – Best for schedulingTalkwalker – Best for custom data analysisClick any of the links above to begin comparing quotes for social media monitoring tools. Swipe right to see more 0 out of 0 backward forward BuzzSumo Sprout Social Keyhole Hootsuite Talkwalker Price Range $99-$299/month Price Range $89-$249 Price Range $179-$999 Price Range £39-£569 Price Range $800/month+ 4.7 4.6 4.5 4.3 4.3 Best For Finding influencers Best For Campaign success tracking Best For Keyword targeting Best For Scheduling Best For Custom data analysis Free trial? 30 days Free trial? 30 days Free trial? 7 days Free trial? 30 days Free trial? Free demo Free plan? 10 free searches/month Free plan? Free plan? Free plan? Free plan? Compare Quotes from Digital Marketing Agencies Need a little support with social media marketing? Let's get quotes It only takes a minute BuzzSumoBest for finding influencers BuzzSumo 4.7 Pricing $99-$299 Quick overview BuzzSumo is versatile in its uses, which is what makes it so popular with a wide variety of digital marketing professionals. Its most useful features include deep content analysis, competitor monitoring, influencer tracking, a content ideas generator and diverse content search tools. Easily track down trending topics and articles relevant to your industry, create exportable data reports and make use of their social backlink checker. Clients reported favourable ROI because BuzzSumo revealed how well their content performed. Read more + Read less - Strengths Access to Twitter's API Range of price plans to suit different needs Strong social filtering capabilities Weaknesses Alerts can sometimes refer to old content or produce irrelevant results Free trial doesn't offer all their features Too expensive for smaller businesses Pricing See more See less Pro $99/month Plus $179/month Large $299/month Gallery See more See less Click to expand ▶ Read more: Best Digital Marketing Agencies and Companies in the UK in 2023 Sprout SocialBest for campaign success tracking Sprout Social 4.6 Pricing $89-$249 Quick overview Sprout Social is a pretty comprehensive social monitoring tool, with features for engaging with your followers, scheduling posts, analytics and social listening. Facebook tools let you compare competitor data directly to your own; handy given the limitations Facebook typically places on exportable data. Maintain oversight on paid and organic social content across your channels with dedicated reports. Additional premium options include social listening tools and more than 150 analytics reports. Read more + Read less - Strengths Reports into paid and organic social content Track competitor performance Supports collaboration across multiple users Weaknesses Advanced plan only offers 10 social plans Can't upload Instagram reels Limited content media editing tools Pricing See more See less Standard $89/month per user Profesional $149/month per user Advanced $249/month per user Gallery See more See less Click to expand KeyholeBest for keyword targeting Keyhole 4.5 Pricing $179-$999 Quick overview Based in Toronto, Keyhole is a much newer company than others on this list – it has just 7,000 clients whereas Hootsuite has 200,000. Nevertheless it has slightly different offering, with a greater focus on analytics for individual social media platforms. You'll be able to track products, brands and competitors as you wish and be able to see the engagement volume of each. Optional report downloading in PDF or XLS formats. Enterprise options offer greater customisation and more granular data. Read more + Read less - Strengths Analytics for individual social media platforms Geolocation filtering available Dashboards are shareable No sign-up fee Weaknesses Keyhole logo on reports downloads Customer support occasionally slow Pricing See more See less Professional $179/month Corporate $539/month Enterprise $999/month Gallery See more See less Click to expand Sharpen up your social media with savvy expert support Request quotes HootsuiteBest for scheduling Hootsuite 4.3 Pricing £39-£569+ Quick overview Hootsuite is a useful social media monitoring platform keeping you abreast of mentions, topics, trends and hashtags across major channels. Highlights include the ability to monitor paid and organic social posts, schedule posts in advance and plan content campaigns in a calendar. It integrates with over 150 apps, is available in six languages and offers a 30-day free trial. It falls down on competitor analysis and in-depth analytics; for these you'll need a more advanced platform. However, what it offers for the price is competitive. Read more + Read less - Strengths Discounts for nonprofits Multiple users can share a single scheduling platform Free plan available for 2 social accounts Weaknesses Reporting is not as in-depth as other apps Customer support is not 24/7 Prices have increased a lot this year Pricing See more See less Professional £39/month Team £99/month Business £569/month Enterprise On request Gallery See more See less Click to expand TalkwalkerBest for custom data analysis Talkwalker 4.3 Pricing On request Quick overview AI-powered social media listening with a user-friendly dashboard. Crunches custom categories of data including text, images, audio, video, websites, blogs, forums and of course social media posts. Its advanced social listening tools will save you time manually scrolling through channels to find mentions of your brand. A top social listening feature is its virality mapper that tracks popular conversations. Since Forrester named them as a leader in consumer intelligence platforms in 2021, they've only gone on to improve, for example, adding increased Facebook integration. Read more + Read less - Strengths Strong capabilities in search, insights discovery and analytics Processes 187 languages with sentiment detection in half of these No set-up fee Twitter certified Weaknesses You'll need to know Boolean logic to use Not simple to use at first Filtering is not perfect and some manual sorting is needed Gallery See more See less Click to expand Trusted experts will transform your social media presence Get quotes Next stepsBy now you’re familiar with the best social media monitoring tools on the market. Which one stands out for you? Would you like to compare quotes from our top social media monitoring suppliers? Take a minute to pop your details into our short form and get listening. FAQs What is a ‘mention’? A mention is any instance where a real person has referred to your company name, or any other words you’re targeting. These could involve your competitors or the industry in general. It’s important to keep track of them. The five tools reviewed above make tracking and analysing your mentions easy. What is social media management? It’s the broader umbrella term used to describe all forms of activity your business does in the world of social media. Analysis, social listening and engagement are all covered. Not sure what you need? Check out our guide to the best social media marketing agencies for small businesses. Is social media monitoring the same as social listening? Yes… and no. While the terms can be used interchangeably, there are differences. Broadly, social media monitoring is keeping your finger on the pulse of your online audience: monitoring what’s being said about your brand, and industry ‘buzzwords’ across social media sites.Social listening is the process by which you analyse the data. When you listen, you try to understand the meaning of what’s being said and use it to improve. Written by: Sabrina Dougall Web Marketing Expert Sabrina is a business journalist whose career began in news reporting. She has a master's in Investigative Journalism from City University London, and her work has appeared in The Times, The Daily Express, Money Saving Expert, Camden New Journal, Global Trade Review, and Computer Business Review. She specializes in writing about SEO (search engine optimization). Having run her own small business, Sabrina knows first-hand how critical digital marketing is to building a client base and local reputation. 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.