What are social listening tools?

Social listening tools are software that track and analyze online conversations about your brand, competitors, or industry. They monitor social media platforms, websites, review platforms, forums, and other online sources in real time to identify brand mentions, uncover competitive advantages, understand sentiment, spot trends, and protect the brand's reputation from potential crises.

What are the key features of social listening tools?

When choosing a social listening tool, look for the following features: 1. User-friendly UX: The tool should be accessible to every user (including non-experienced ones) and present social mentions and analytics in a clear way. 2. Real-time monitoring: The ability to track mentions as they happen is crucial for staying updated and proactive. 3. Sentiment analysis: Understanding the tone of conversations helps you gauge public perception of your brand. 4. Customizable alerts: Notifications should reach you the moment monitoring catches content of interest. They help you detect PR crises at an early stage. 5. Data visualization & reporting: Clear and customizable dashboards and reports make it easy to analyze and share insights with your team. 6. Competitor monitoring: Tracking competitor mentions provides valuable insights into their strategies and helps identify market gaps. 7. Advanced filtering: Social listening tools gather thousands of mentions daily. Advanced filters like Boolean Search help find the data that matters. 8. AI features: Look for advanced AI features like detecting anomalies, topic analysis, advanced emotion detection, and AI-powered reports to take your social listening strategy further. 9. Integration capabilities: Seamless integration with tools like CRMs, Slack, or project management software enhances productivity and workflow. 10. Historical data access: The ability to analyze past data helps identify long-term trends and compare campaigns over time.

How to use social listening tools?

Here's a list of 5 social listening expert tips: 1. Use unique keywords. 2. Use filters to focus on actionable insights that matter to you. 3. Let AI handle monotonous tasks like trend detection, sentiment analysis, and reports. 4. Track competitor mentions to uncover gaps, opportunities, and strategies to improve your own brand presence. 5. Use notifications to stay updated and act quickly.

What are the benefits of social media listening tools?

As marketers, we always look for ways to stay ahead of our competitors and boost our marketing strategy. With the proper social listening tool, you will be able to: 1. Track brand mentions and stay up-to-date on the latest conversations happening across social media. 2. Conduct sentiment analysis to identify any negative sentiment and take action to address it. It will help you to recognize potential PR crises early and take steps to mitigate the damage. 3. Measure the key social media metrics such as reach, sentiment, share of voice or presence score . 4. Find trending hashtags that match your business niche. 5. Track hashtags to discover their social media engagement and reach, the volume of mentions, sentiment, etc. 6. Improve influencer marketing by finding influencers that match your business niche. 7. Benchmark against competitors.

Are there any free social listening tools?

Yes, tools like Google Alerts and AnswerThePublic offer free options to monitor keywords and trends online. However, their functionality is limited compared to premium tools.

100% human-generated content

Katarzyna Dereń

Content Team Leader and Social Listening Expert at Brand24

Expertise:

AI social listening
media monitoring
brand strategy

For over 4 years, she’s been participating in developing an AI-powered media monitoring tool.

As a Content Manager, Katarzyna wrote blog posts about mentions monitoring, sentiment analysis, brand strategies, and social media. Currently, she’s managing a team of talented writers. In her opinion, to rank high in SERPs, it’s necessary to present the topic in a unique way.

After work, you can meet her watching a superhero movie in the cinema, or on the badminton court. Also, she’s a big fan of fantasy literature.

Education:

Tischner European University
Rzeszow University of Technology

Social Listening

Sep 29, 2026

The 20 Best Social Listening Tools for 2026 [Tested & Reviewed]

Explore the best social media listening tools of 2026. Compare free & paid social listening software with detailed reviews, features, and pricing.

Katarzyna Dereń

PR & Crisis Management

Sep 7, 2026

What is Crisis Communication? 10-Step Plan With Examples [2025]

Crisis communication will help your brand survive an unfortunate event. See the steps and examples on how to develop an effective crisis communication plan.

Katarzyna Dereń

Start Social Listening!

Get the Brand24 trial and start social listening like a PRO.

Start trial

Sentiment Analysis

Aug 19, 2026

12 Best Sentiment Analysis Tools for 2026, Tested and Ranked

Not sure which sentiment analysis tool to pick? I spent 4 months comparing 12 options by accuracy, coverage, and use case, and ranked them for every team in 2026.

Katarzyna Dereń

Media Monitoring

Aug 14, 2026

20 Best Media Monitoring Tools to Use in 2026 [Tested & Reviewed]

AI-powered media monitoring tools are the game-changers of 2026. Check the 20 best ones and choose wisely!

Katarzyna Dereń

Analytics & Reporting

Jul 27, 2026

The 12 Best TikTok Analytics Tools [2026 Tested]

Explore the best TikTok analytics tools of 2026. Compare free & paid software with detailed reviews, features, and pricing and learn from my experience.

Katarzyna Dereń

1 2 3 … 10 11 12

Start Social Listening!

Get the Brand24 trial and start social listening like a PRO.

Katarzyna Dereń

Expertise:

Education:

All articles by Katarzyna

The 20 Best Social Listening Tools for 2026 [Tested & Reviewed]

What is Crisis Communication? 10-Step Plan With Examples [2025]

Start Social Listening!

12 Best Sentiment Analysis Tools for 2026, Tested and Ranked

20 Best Media Monitoring Tools to Use in 2026 [Tested & Reviewed]

The 12 Best TikTok Analytics Tools [2026 Tested]

Popular articles by Katarzyna

How to Track Instagram Hashtags in 2026?

Sentiment Analysis in 2026: Definition, AI Methods & Original Research

Social Media Reach: How to Measure & Improve It in 2026?

12 Best Sentiment Analysis Tools for 2026, Tested and Ranked

X (Twitter) Hashtag Analytics: Comprehensive Guide [2026]

The Best Digital Marketing Tools to Use in 2026 [22 Tools + Reviews]

Social Media Monitoring Tools: I Tested & Reviewed for 2026

How to Search Multiple Hashtags on Instagram and X (Twitter)?

Top Reads

X (Twitter) Analytics Tools: The 15 Best for 2026

Brand Awareness Strategy [Ultimate Guide for 2026]

Sentiment Analysis in 2026: Definition, AI Methods & Original Research

Brand Monitoring: Tools & Guide for 2026

Brand Reputation Management: Expert Guide + Original Research [2026]

How to See How Many Times a Hashtag Was Used on X (Twitter)

9 Hashtag Tracking Tools Tested in 2026

Social Media Reach: How to Measure & Improve It in 2026?

Share of Voice: Definition, Formula, Tools [2026 Guide]

Social Media Analysis: Complete Guide for 2026

Start Social Listening!