Listening to the Conversational Web

If you’re engaged in Social Media Marketing, you should be equally engaged in Social Media Monitoring—the listening side of the conversational web.

You can listen for your name, your brand, other brands, your company, your competitor, or any number of terms.  Though, no matter who you listen to or what you listen for, it’s important you listen strategically and converse actively.  I listed some Social Media Monitoring tools. Some of them have free versions, so go ahead and peruse.

Social Media Monitoring Tools

Jive Software Radian⁶ BrandsEye PostRank BuzzGain SM2 Buzz Logic

Trackur Visible Technologies ReputationDefender Sentiment Metrics Brandwatch

StepRep CISION ScoutLabs Sysomos ListenLogic Vocus Social360 PivotLink

Questions to ask before listening

• Why do you want to listen to what people are saying (market research, customer relations management, etc)?
• What are you going to listen for (Name, brand, etc)?
• What mediums/people are you going to listen to (Find out where the most relevant conversations are and listen to those)?
• Are you willing to spend time and money to listen and respond?  If yes, how much?  If not, is it really worth your time? (There are plenty of free tools, but you don’t get what you don’t pay for).

Do you know of any other Social Media Monitoring tools, or do you have any other suggestions of what people should consider?  If so, comment, e-mail me, or Tweet me.