Best 10 Brand Monitoring Tools (Free and Paid Tools Included)

Today, a brand lives online (quite literally!) And, Brand Monitoring Tools make sure that your online presence is not buried under the noise of the internet!

But which tool should you choose? This solely depends on you and your needs. But I get you—the research is tiring! Here is a list of the best online monitoring tools, advanced features, and pricing plans. (You need to know if it fits your pocket, right?)

But before that…

What is Brand Monitoring?

Brand monitoring is a systematic process of tracking and analyzing a brand’s online presence. This involves mentioning the brand on online channels such as websites, social media, blogs, forums, podcasts, videos, and review sites.

So why is it so necessary?

Constant monitoring helps gain detailed insights into a brand’s reputation, online presence, and public image. The primary goal is to tackle potential issues and execute top-notch marketing strategies.

And for this, you need the best tools in town…

Off we go!

Best Brand Monitoring Tools

Here’s a table for a quick sneak peek…

Tool	Main Feature	Free Plan
SurveySparrow	Reputation Management	✔
Hootsuite	Social media management	–
Google Alerts	Email alerts for predefined keywords	✔
Brandwatch	Social media monitoring and analytics	–
Keyhole	Social listening and analytics	–
BuzzSumo	Content research and performance insights	–
Mention	Automated solution for brand monitoring	–
Meltwater	Social media monitoring and analytics	–
Yext	Knowledge Graph for delivering relevant answers	–
Digimind	Social listening and market intelligence	–

Let’s get going with the first tool.

1. SurveySparrow

SurveySparrow hosts an advanced Reputation Management tool that can closely monitor customer feedback. With sentiment analysis and text analytics, you can decode user sentiments with just a click of a button. Add new platforms where your brand has its name across different locations, and analyze them from a single dashboard. Moreover, you can immediately ticket the feedback to the relevant teams and create custom workflows!

Let’s look at the features in detail.

Key Features

• Manage Multi-Channel Reviews: If you have your product, service, or brand listed on any online platform, gather them all in one place. This helps you divide your focus on customer interaction across channels. No more abandoned feedback! 
• Create Tickets and Close the Loop: Negative feedback should never be ignored. If you find a dissatisfied customer sharing their views, prioritize it, create a ticket right from the dashboard, and assign it to the authorized people.
• Detailed Analysis: You can get a thorough overview of the average rating for a set period.
• Embed Them on the Website! Create a positive brand image by attaching customer testimonials from trustworthy sites! This will help you build trust and credibility.
• Sentiment Analysis: Decode the reviewer’s sentiments as positive, negative, or neutral and close the loop!
• CogniVue: Now, this requires some serious talk! Cognivue is the latest AI-driven Text Analytics tool that can decode customer reviews!

Why don’t you try it out today? A 14-day free trial will help you get a detailed idea of the tool. Need a demo? You’ve got that, too!

An example!

Say you run a hotel chain called “X.” You are listed on Google Reviews, Agoda, and Facebook reviews. Once you gather all the reviews of your brand from each platform across all locations into one dashboard, you can create a Cognivue. And you can analyze up to 5 platforms!

With it, you can conduct root cause analytics, discover hidden insights, and get a sentiment score based on the keyword count and mentions. This will give you a key driver analysis with a detailed graph of your strengths and weaknesses. That’s not it! You can also view the Topic Shift, which shows the change in customer sentiment over a selected period.

Nevertheless, the platform is available for free! But if you need a more advanced feature set, join the paid plan for just $79/month. 

Now, since that’s sorted, let’s move on to the next tool!

2. HootSuite

HootSuite is a Social Media Management tool that controls your online reviews, brand mentions, keywords, and hashtags. Plus, you get advanced analytics features that you can avail of. With Social Media Listening and analytics, you can monitor your online presence.

Key Features

• Social Media Listening: Hootsuite recently acquired Talkwalker, the leading social listening tool. Now, you can monitor online conversations and mentions to track market trends.
• Inbox and Messaging: Gather all the messages in a single inbox. This makes closing the loop easy!
• Social Media Analytics: You can view your organic, paid, and web metrics in a single dashboard. It also gives you an idea of when and what to post for maximum reach.

G2 Rating: 4.2/5 (4,222 Reviews)

According to users, the platform is beginner-friendly and saves you a ton of time!

Pricing

• You can try the platform with a 30-day free trial.
• Paid plan starts at $99/month.

Next up…

3. Google Alerts

Google Alerts is a free solution in the Google Suite that lets you monitor topics, keywords, and trends online. To use it, log in to the platform and enter a keyword. The keyword can be your brand name, a specific feature, competitors, or industry trends. And that’s it! Google will nudge you each time a new topic arises or when new content is published.

• Real-Time Notification: The Alerts are real-time and will be sent directly to the email ID you provide.
• Unlimited Tracking: You can search for unlimited keywords—it’s free! Plus, the keyword search is customizable. You can choose the location, language, and source of your desired results.
• User-friendly interface: Everything is pretty straightforward. Formatting the search options does not take a lot of time.

GetApp Rating: 4.7/5 (299 Reviews)

Some users on GetApp think that their results are sometimes inaccurate. However, it is a preferred tool by all due to its ease of use.

Pricing

Free

Don’t Google Alerts provide enough features to fit in as one of the best brand monitoring tools? Well, there’s more on the list…

4. Brandwatch

Brandwatch is a social suite built to secure your brand. It manages consumer intelligence, social media, and influencer marketing. With advanced AI capabilities and analytics, the platform lets you create better strategies.

Key Features

• Consumer Intelligence: Brandwatcy believes in “search, segment analysis, and act.” Here, you can look for relevant feedback, segment it according to your priority, analyze it with the help of experts, and act upon the insights. They also provide historical consumer data for the past years and fetch real-time conversations.
• Social Media Management: You can organize your paid and organic content in a single calendar and run the content through authorized personnel before publishing. This will keep a check on the quality and your online presence.
• Multi-Channel Influencer Marketing: Whether TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, Brandwatch has something for you. It offers mobile-friendly, white-labeled dashboards where you can track progress.

G2 Rating: 4.1/5 (828 Reviews)

A user on G2 Reviews appreciated the tool for streamlining publishing and scheduling. According to them, the Listen module is the best aspect.

Pricing

You have to request the team for a quote.

Moving on…

5. Keyhole

This brand monitoring tool goes beyond basic metrics. It is perfect for hashtag tracking, competitor analysis, and campaign monitoring. Plus, you can get insights into brand performance, sentiments, and tracking patterns.

Key Features

• Historical Insights: Keyhole gives you historical reports on which you can develop future strategies. Also, understanding past data will help you identify areas for improvement and those that need focus.
• Hashtag Tracking: You can identify trending topics by tracking down the hashtags and staying ahead of the game. The catch? You need to be flexible in adapting to different teams’ requirements, and you get Granular data.
• Competitor Analysis: Keyhole tracks competitor performance by analyzing their social media presence. This will help you fill the gaps with clear-cut strategies and gain a competitive edge.

G2 Rating: 4.3/5 (68 Reviews)

Users feel that the platform is suitable for tracking and calculating the ROI of different campaigns.

Pricing

They have different pricing for each product. Here are the starting prices for…

• Social listening: $157.5/month
• Social Media Analytics: $40.83/month
• For publishing, the basic plan is Free

6. BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo is a social media analytics platform that can help you track brand mentions, discussions, and keywords. Not just that, it helps you with competitor research and influencer discovery so you can set your campaigns straight.

Key Features

• Track keywords: You will be nudged each time your brand or related topics are mentioned. You can also monitor the trending discussion of new products in the market.
• Backlinks: You can convert each mention to a link, monitor them closely, and be notified of each update.
• Alerts for Content: Monitor the hot topics being discussed and adjust the display of your influencer messaging. Plus, all this data will be delivered directly to your inbox.

G2 Rating: 4.5/5 (102 Reviews)

According to a customer review on G2, BuzzSumo is a good tool for monitoring web mentions. The reviewer also mentioned the most preferred features: Content Analyzer and Facebook Page Analyzer.

Pricing

• You can try the platform for free with a 30-day free trial.
• Content Creation starts at $159/month (billed annually)

Shall we move to the next one?

7. Mention

Again, with Mention, you can track brand mention across social media platforms, including social media, news sites, blogs, forums, and more. What sets it apart is its PR and crisis management features.

Key features

• Alerts: You get their types of alerts- Basic, Standard, and Advanced.
• Basic offers a quick scan of mentions and suggests additional keywords, hashtags, and countries to observe.
• The standard alerts offer a query builder to combine keywords and boolean operators.
• With the advanced one, you can optimize the boolean operators, customize the monitoring, and get a limit of up to 2000 characters.

 G2 Rating: 4.3/5 (439 Reviews)

Users appreciate the platform’s ability to track unbranded mentions in article copies, which enhances their outreach strategies.

Pricing

• You can start a free trial.
• The paid plan, Solo, will cost you $41/month.

The next brand monitoring tool in the list has a similar name. So, do not get confused!

8. Meltwater

If your requirements include media intelligence, social media listening, and analytics, Meltwater might be the one for you. With it, you can maintain your brand reputation with strategies that satisfy your customers and want more.

Key Features

• Social Listening: Get insights into the discussions, conversations, and debates on your brand. Turn on the reports, choose the frequency, and never miss a mention.
• Media Relations: The platform gives you access to journalists’ contacts, which will help you maintain your image in the market.
• Social Media Manager: You can schedule posts, create role-based dashboards, and control multiple channels simultaneously.

G2 Rating: 4/5 (2,078 Reviews)

Users call it a powerful platform for competitor analysis and benchmarking. However, having to pay separately for integrations is a big turnoff!

Now, if you feel the same way, here is a list of Meltwater Alternatives you can try. Feel free to check them out when you have time!

Oh, it seems like we’re almost done!

9. Yext

Yext helps you maintain a standardized brand presence across platforms globally. Plus, you can integrate the platform with your existing marketing solution. There’s no need for a rundown!

Key Features

• Generative Review Response: Enable AI-automated responses for reviews. This will save you time, which you can use to build strategies and action plans.
• Sentiment Analysis: The Intelligent Review Response tool can conduct sentiment analysis for on-brand reviews.
• Analytics: Track your brand presence on third-party platforms, including Apple, Facebook, Google, and Instagram. Create a search log and understand user needs with search term analysis and clustering.

G2 Rating: 4.4/5 (444 Reviews) 

Their directories are one of the most popular features when it comes to brand monitoring. A customer shared a review that the ability to create multiple directories is a helpful feature for driving more organic traffic.

Pricing

Contact the team for a quote.

10. Digimind

Digimind is intelligence software that helps you analyze customer insights, create strategies, and position yourself in the competitive market. It also hosts a robust analytics platform.

Key Features

• Brand Reputation: You can use AI-powered sentiment analysis and conduct targeted campaigns to detect weak signals.
• Insights: Consumer insights can help you create buyer personas. This will help you develop future strategies that yield results.
• Campaign Analysis: Identify past campaigns, examine their performance, and replicate them at a higher level.

G2 Rating: 4.6/5 (182 Reviews)

The platform offers reports at the click of a button, which is a common opinion. However, some feel that it is not suitable for PR metrics.

Pricing

• You can request a demo.
• For pricing, contact the sales team.

Phew! That’s a wrap! So, why don’t we officially wrap up?

Wrap Up!

Now, we have seen a list of 10 must-try brand monitoring tools. But I get you. You might still be confused. Or even more intrigued and curious! That’s okay. Take your time and consider each option in detail. There’s no hurry. After all, it is important to find a tool that fits right in the gap (and also your pocket) 

Why don’t you try SurveySparrow for free right here? You need not share your credit card details before you decide to invest.

FAQs

1. Why is Brand Monitoring important? 

A: It is important to know what people are saying. This will help you identify and tackle crises early to maintain a positive brand image. Plus, it helps align your marketing campaigns with user requirements.

2. What are some of the best practices you should follow while monitoring a brand?

A: Be clear, set the right goals, and choose the tool that fits your requirements. It is also important to focus on sentiment analysis rather than solely tracking brand mentions.

3. Can Brand monitoring tools help with SEO?

Yes! You can optimize your campaigns and content by analyzing relevant keywords and trending topics to improve your ranking in search engines. This will help in enhancing your brand’s online visibility.