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I list here 5 social media listening tools to try for free or for a low entry cost. They deliver a good spread of results across the major social media platforms. They can be all be set up for use within 20 minutes or less. I revise this post when new tools appear so do come back for updates.
Social Searcher
This is my number one favourite low cost social media listening referral – because it is FREE. Not a free trial – fully FREE. It describes itself as a “Free Social Media Search Engine”. Have a look!
Get started here.
Google Alerts
This is the classic free option that lets you track keywords across the entire web. I have used this for many years. Get started here.
Mentionlytics
Mentionlytics offers a comprehensive monitoring solution from reviews to news sites, blogs, forums, and more. They scan the entire web for mentions. I have used this extensively for a client.
Coverage across social media channels includes X (Twitter), Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, and more. Get started here
Talkwater Alerts
A good free alternative to Google Alerts. With Talkwater Alerts you can monitor your brand name, competitors, events, or any other topic across the web. Get started here.
Awario
Awario crawls over 13 billion web pages daily, in addition to the APIs. Awario offers the best of both worlds — An enterprise-level set of features plus low cost entry levels. View pricing here
Supported platforms: X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Reddit, News, Blogs, Forums, Review Websites, Web. Get started here.
Key takeaways
My suggested 5 social listening tools are free or low cost tools to get started. It is unlikely that you will find them being used as the exclusive tool of record in major enterprises. However, that is why they are on this list.
They can be used by social media novices for free or when you have a low budget. In my work/agency role I often use market leading tools that are relatively quite expensive. However, for novices to SMEs; I always talk about tools like these 5.
In past years I have researched a huge range of topics in many social media listening tools. I am convinced that at any moment of the day (or night) there is at least one person talking somewhere about a topic that is key to your business. Social listening helps you to tap into those insights.
Here is your closing challenge. If you have never done any social listening before, try one or more of these 5 tools before this day ends. Schedule a 30-minute block on your calendar to run it.
Not “I’ll think about it,” but “this is now a recurring slot in my week” maybe?
In that slot, you’re going to search, or review alerts, or scan competitor keywords, or analyse what people are saying about your brand products or services etc. At the end of that 30 minutes, write down one decision you’ll make differently because of what you saw.
That is the line between monitoring for the sake of it, compared to obtaining insights by using listening as a strategic activity.
What’s next after you have matured by using any of the above 5 tools? I suggest to start work on at least one of the 10 tasks from this list; – 10 things you should be doing right now with social media
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