Thursday, May 9, 2013

Social Media monitoring tools

With so much noise being created online and the potential impact that it could have on brands if an online whimper turns into a crescendo, it is important for Brands to listen and track online. I've listed down a few Social Media tools that I have come across on the web.



Of all the tools that I have used, my favorite is Whotalking . This is a free tool and tracks keywords across Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Youtube, Picassa, Google+, Digg, Blogs, Forums and Yahoo answers. Unlike other tools that tracks keywords only on Pages, this seems to track even private conversations (probably public which I am not sure). This tool doesn't give you volume and other insights into sentiments but it's a good tool to take a real time snapshot of what conversation is taking place around your brand. I've attached a snapshot of one of the brands that I manage and it does a good job of tracking across multiple media. This tool should not be used in isolation alone but it's a good starting point and best of all it's FREE.


































Other tools to watch out for are

Social Mention
This is a FREE tool. This too tracks keywords across various platforms including bookmarking sites, Blogs, Comments, Images, News, Video and Audio and of course social platforms; Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Picasa.

The sentiment reporting of this tool is very useful. It gives you a quick snapshot of the mood of the online public towards your brand. This will help you take corrective action in case of any looming disaster.





Topsy
Topsy is also a FREE tool. This tracks keywords across links, tweets, pics, videos and experts.

Amongst the social networks it covers Twitter and Google Plus. I don't see Facebook here.

The good thing about this tool is that it shows volume and also has an option to compare brands.





Nielsen Buzz Metrics
From Nielsen one of the largest measurement and analytics organisations in the world.
Defunct - updated 25 June 2013

Simply Measured
Tracks Twitter, FB Fan page, Vine, Instagram, Youtube, Klout, Pinterest, Google+, Linkedin and competitive analysis reports. There are quite a few free reports on the site.

Social Bakers
This site provides you with a free industry tracking tool across Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Google+ and Linkedin. It provides you with an industry wise view by country, brands, etc.

It has a paid analytics tool for tracking Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.

They have an interesting tool called Fake Followers app. With so much noise about agencies creating fake accounts to satisfy the lust of Brands, this tool is very useful. This is available only for Twitter

I checked 2 twitter accounts Barack Obama and Narendra Modi. check this article for results.

This is the result of my own Twitter account @rklaxman














Brand Watch
This is a paid tool and supposed to be quite comprehensive. Pricing is based on mentions per month. I haven't used it so can't comment.

Commun.it
This tool is for managing your account on Twitter and it's FREE.

Group High
This is a blogger outreach software.

Wild Fire by Google
Social Media marketing tool.

Social Bro
Twitter management tool

Social Crawlytics
It helps tracks your urls or your competitors on Twitter.

Status People also has a tool for tracking Fake Twitter followers and has been quoted widely


Useful tools listed on Imedia connection

Articles that I like on Social Media tools - Updated 25 - June 2013

9 Social Media tools to make your life easier by Kim Reynolds
6 more Social Media tools to make your life easier by Kim Reynolds
Google+ Posts Guide by Martin Shervington

By Ramakrishnan Laxman

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