Seems like every week we get asked by a client about social media monitoring tools.  Like us, they’re being deluged with messages about the latest and greatest tool for tracking brands and conversations online.  Everyone knows that conversations are happening online but they’re unsure how to stay on top of what’s being discussed and by whom.  The questions we hear from clients include who are the influencers who matter in my market?  What topics matter most?  How much is our company being covered compared to our competitors?  And what are these online influencers saying about our brand? These are not necessarily easy questions to answer but they’re the right ones to ask.  And they’re the questions we’re asking ourselves as we build influencer strategies and engagement programs for our clients.

But, with what seems like thousands of tools out there claiming to track and provide  answers to those questions, where do you begin? Which tools or tools are the best fit? We’ve tackled the challenge of researching the myriad of useful tools out on the market so you don’t have to, and here is what we found.

• From low-end DIY tools to high end services, tools cover the gamut of needs from identifying influencers to measuring sentiment to simply tracking volume of social media chatter. The key is determining your true end goals and needs  – why you want to have better insight into social media coverage in the first place.  Without that base, you can spend hours walking down the wrong paths.

• So far there is no single solution that does it all, or at least does it all well.  There are solutions that address pieces of the puzzle very well and some that handle a couple of things adequately.  The combined power of using a few of these tools together, however, can really speed the tracking process to give our teams more time to add our knowhow and historical perspective to the mix, giving our clients better insights.

• Take the time to hone your searches and carefully craft the questions you are going to ask. There’s no replacement for applying critical thinking to the challenge before jumping in, overlaying an understanding of a particular market and customers, as well as the movers & shakers and what makes them tick.

• There will be surprises along the way – and that’s a good thing!  In fact, if you aren’t surprised by something you’re learning through a deep influencer review process, you’re probably missing something.  But no matter what tool or tools you choose to use, be prepared to use the most important tool of all — your brain — because that’s what makes the difference between just tracking social media and really understanding where and how influence is happening in your market.

So before you jump in and drink from the social media fire hose, take a few sips with us.   In some cases, it might make sense for you to piggy back on the work the agency is doing because we’re investing in the tools and can make those resources available to our clients.  At the very least, we’re happy to share insights into the tools we’ve become familiar with and to help you reach a better understanding of what people are saying about your brand online.

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