In today’s digital age, understanding your customers is critical to maintaining a strong brand presence. But how do you truly know what your audience thinks, feels, or says about your brand online? That’s where social listening comes into play. Unlike essential social monitoring, social listening gathers valuable insights and engages with your audience to build long-term relationships. With the right social listening tools, brands can effectively increase customer advocacy, handle crises, and stay ahead of industry trends.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the top 10 social listening tools to help your brand amplify customer advocacy and give you tips on selecting the right tool for your business.
- Hootsuite: Best for Comprehensive Management
Hootsuite is a widely used social media management platform incorporating social listening features and scheduling and engagement tools. Hootsuite’s social listening capabilities allow you to monitor multiple networks from a single dashboard, track conversations, and measure engagement levels.Key Features:
- Multi-channel monitoring from a single dashboard.
- In-depth analytics and custom reporting.
- Collaboration tools for team management.
Best for: brands looking for an all-in-one social media management tool.
2. Sprout Social: Ideal for In-Depth Analytics
Sprout Social combines robust social listening tools with advanced analytics to help brands gain deep insights into their audience’s needs and opinions. It allows businesses to track mentions, hashtags, and keywords to understand sentiment and influence.
Key Features:
- Advanced social listening and audience analytics.
- Competitive analysis and trend tracking.
- Customisable reports and insights.
Best For Brands focuses on analytics-driven decisions.
3. Brandwatch: Best for Large Enterprises
Brandwatch is one of the most powerful social listening tools, primarily designed for more prominent brands that need comprehensive social insights. It tracks vast amounts of data and provides rich insights to help brands make informed decisions.
Key Features:
- AI-driven insights and trend analysis.
- Audience segmentation and persona identification.
- Competitive benchmarking.
Best For: Large enterprises needing advanced social listening capabilities.
4. Mention: Great for Real-Time Alerts
Mention is known for its real-time monitoring capabilities, allowing brands to respond to conversations as they happen quickly. With Mention, brands can monitor millions of sources, including blogs, forums, and social media channels, and react instantly to any mentions.
Key Features:
- Real-time alerts for mentions and keywords.
- Multi-channel tracking (social, blogs, forums).
- Sentiment analysis and influencer identification.
Best For brands needing immediate alerts and quick responses.
5. Talkwalker: Ideal for Multi-Channel Listening
Talkwalker is an advanced social listening and analytics tool that helps brands monitor mentions across multiple channels, including social media, websites, TV, radio, and print. Talkwalker provides rich insights through its AI-powered analytics.
Key Features:
- Multi-channel monitoring, including offline media.
- Image and video recognition for brand monitoring.
- Crisis management and sentiment analysis.
Best For brands seeking comprehensive listening across all media channels.
6. Zoho Social: Affordable All-in-One Solution
Zoho Social is a versatile and budget-friendly social media management and social listening tool. It’s especially beneficial for small to medium businesses looking for an affordable yet effective solution for managing social media and tracking brand mentions.
Key Features:
- Social listening and engagement tools.
- Customisable reports and analytics.
- Integration with other Zoho business tools.
Best for: smaller teams and businesses with limited budgets.
7. Meltwater: Best for PR and Media Monitoring
Meltwater offers media monitoring and social listening tailored to brands with a PR focus. Its comprehensive monitoring system allows brands to track media coverage and audience sentiment, making it ideal for companies heavily relying on media presence.
Key Features:
- Media and social listening combined.
- Sentiment analysis and PR impact measurement.
- Crisis management tools and alerts.
Best for Brands focuses on public relations and media monitoring.
8. Agorapulse: Best for Team Collaboration
Agorapulse is designed for businesses looking to streamline their social media management and collaboration. It offers scheduling, social listening, and audience engagement tools, and its analytics help brands understand their impact.
Key Features:
- Social listening across multiple platforms.
- Team collaboration tools.
- Customisable reports and ROI tracking.
Best For: Medium-sized businesses focused on collaboration.
9. BuzzSumo: Ideal for Content Research and Monitoring
BuzzSumo is a powerful tool for content research and monitoring. Its social listening capabilities allow brands to track trends, discover influencers, and identify popular content topics in their industry.
Key Features:
- Content research and social listening.
- Trend tracking and influencer discovery.
- Engagement analytics for content optimisation.
Best For: Content-focused brands looking for trend analysis.
10. Keyhole: Great for Hashtag and Campaign Tracking
Keyhole specialises in tracking hashtags and campaigns, which is ideal for brands looking to monitor specific campaigns or keywords. Keyhole’s analytics can help brands measure the success of their campaigns and refine their strategies.
Key Features:
- Hashtag and keyword tracking.
- Campaign monitoring and insights.
- Sentiment analysis and influencer tracking.
Best for Brands focuses on the hashtag and campaign performance.
Benefits of Using Social Listening Tools
- Improved Customer Advocacy
Social listening tools help brands build loyal communities by actively engaging with their audience. Customers who feel heard and appreciated are likelier to become advocates, promoting your brand to others. - Crisis Management
Social listening tools allow brands to quickly identify negative conversations and respond to potential crises before they escalate, protecting the brand’s reputation. - Competitive Analysis
These tools offer insights into competitors’ strategies and audience sentiments, allowing brands to position themselves effectively in the market. - In-Depth Insights and Trends
Social listening tool provide:
- Insights into industry trends and customer preferences.
- Helping brands make informed decisions on product development.
- Marketing strategies.
- Customer service.
How to Choose the Right Tool for Your Brand
- Define Your Goals: To increase brand advocacy, monitor campaigns, or analyse competitors. Each tool offers different strengths, so start by defining your goals.
- Consider Your Budget: Social listening tools come in various price points. Determine how much you’re willing to invest based on your brand’s needs and size.
- Assess Team Size and Collaboration Needs: If you have a large team, choose tools with collaboration features like Hootsuite or Agorapulse. Smaller teams may benefit from more affordable tools like Zoho Social.
- Evaluate Integration Needs: If your brand already uses tools like Zoho or Salesforce, look for social listening tools that integrate seamlessly with these systems.
- Test for Usability and Features: Most social listening tools offer free trials, so take advantage of these to see if a tool meets your expectations regarding ease of use and features.
Case Studies: Success Stories Using Social Listening
Case Study 1: Starbucks and Customer Feedback
Starbucks used social listening to gather feedback and identify the increasing demand for dairy-free options. By analysing online conversations, they introduced a range of plant-based milks, meeting customer demand and boosting advocacy among vegan customers.
Case Study 2: Nike and Social Responsibility
Nike effectively leveraged social listening to understand its audience’s stance on social justice issues. They used this insight to craft campaigns like the Colin Kaepernick ad, which resonated with their target audience and reinforced customer loyalty.
Case Study 3: Coca-Cola and Product Development
Coca-Cola utilised social listening to track conversations around health trends and sugar intake. They responded by launching products like Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, catering to customer preferences for healthier options.
Conclusion: Get Started with Social Listening Today
Social listening is now optional for brands looking to thrive in a competitive digital landscape. With the right tools, your brand can stay on top of audience insights, handle crises effectively, and create genuine connections that foster customer advocacy.
These tools enable understanding what customers say, tracking brand sentiment, and adapting to ever-changing consumer preferences. Start by defining your brand’s goals, choosing a tool that aligns with them, and engaging with your audience in a way that builds trust and loyalty.
By leveraging the right tools, you can transform your brand’s social media presence from passive to proactive, ultimately creating a community of advocates championing your brand.
