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In the digital era, one of the key components SMEs and startups must have to understand what customers think and say about a brand is social listening. Social listening tools enable businesses to listen to customer opinions by monitoring online conversations, understanding audience sentiment, and identifying opportunities to improve marketing strategies.
Here are 7 best social listening tools to help SMEs and startups listen to audience opinions and create successful marketing strategies in 2025:
1. Dataxet:Sonar
Dataxet:Sonar is a social listening tool that helps SMEs and startups improve their digital strategies through various digital platform analyses. This tool is not just a monitoring tool but also supports specific analysis and comparison needs that are fully customizable. Dataxet:Sonar is the first media intelligence platform to analyze E-Commerce and TikTok alongside common social media platforms.
Key Features:
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Multi-Platform Monitoring:
Monitors conversations on social media, blogs, forums, and online news in real-time. -
Sentiment Analysis:
Understands whether audience opinions about your brand are positive, negative, or neutral. -
Competitor Comparison:
Understands your brand's position in the market by comparing competitor performance data. -
Customizable and Automated Reports:
An intuitive dashboard provides business-tailored reports automatically.
Advantages:
- All features are available in one platform, making it easier for teams to work efficiently.
- Competitive pricing, ideal for startups and SMEs seeking actionable insights without incurring high costs.
2. Brand24
Brand24 is a social listening tool designed to monitor what audiences are saying about a specific brand through brand mentions across various social media platforms. Brand24 helps SMEs and startups gauge audience sentiment by showing which media and accounts are discussing their brand.
Key Features:
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Real-Time Alerts:
Get instant notifications when your brand is mentioned. -
Sentiment Analysis:
Helps understand customer opinions about your brand. -
Automated Reporting:
Provides routine reports to simplify team analysis.
Advantages:
Brand24 is user-friendly, making it suitable for beginners or SMEs. Its affordable pricing is ideal for startups with limited budgets.
3. Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a tool that helps SMEs and startups manage social media, from content scheduling to monitoring content performance in real-time. It features social listening capabilities to track audience conversations about a brand, aimed at managing online reputation and market sentiment.
Key Features:
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Hashtag and Keyword Monitoring:
Monitors conversations based on keywords or hashtags. -
Social Media Management:
Schedules posts, tracks engagement, and analyzes social media performance. -
Team Collaboration:
Enables teams to work together seamlessly on a single platform for greater efficiency.
Advantages:
Hootsuite is an all-in-one solution for SMEs and large-scale companies to conduct integrated social listening and social media management.
4. Sprout Social
Sprout Social Sprout Social is not only a tool for managing social media but also offers social listening features via a dashboard that helps analyze conversations, trends, and audience sentiment across various social media platforms. This tool helps SMEs and startups strengthen their relationships with audiences on social media.
Key Features:
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Trend Analysis:
Identifies trends relevant to your campaigns. -
Social Listening Dashboard:
Displays conversation data in an easy-to-understand interface. -
Pelaporan Kustom:
Provides customizable insights for various needs.
Advantages:
Sprout Social is better suited for mid-sized to larger startups that want in-depth market trend analysis. However, it comes at a higher price than other tools.
5. Buzzsumo
BuzzSumo supports social listening by analyzing content and its impact on social media. BuzzSumo helps improve content strategies and design marketing campaigns by identifying the most-shared content, discovering influencers, and understanding the most effective platforms.
BuzzSumo is designed to monitor the content that is most shared and relevant to your audience.
Key Features:
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Content Monitoring:
Tracks content performance based on specific keywords. -
Influencer Research:
Finds influencers relevant to your campaigns. -
Backlink Analysis:
Identifies who shares or mentions your content.
Advantages:
BuzzSumo is ideal for businesses seeking to enhance content strategies with solid and detailed data, making it suitable for SMEs building a content marketing strategy.
6. Mention
Like other tools, Mention is equipped with listening features and helps users monitor brand mentions, track competitors, and analyze sentiment globally.
Key Features:
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Real-Time Monitoring:
Monitors online conversations across various platforms. -
Keyword Tracking:
Tracks specific keywords relevant to your brand. -
Competitor Comparison:
Understands your brand’s position compared to competitors.
Advantages:
Mention is budget-friendly and easy to use, making it ideal for small businesses with limited resources.
7. Talkwalker
Talkwalker is an effective social listening tool for analyzing audiences in depth. This tool helps create marketing plans aligned with trends and consumer preferences based on data gathered from social media platforms, forums, and blogs.
Key Features:
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Multi-Language Monitoring:
Supports monitoring in various languages. -
Visual Analytics:
Analyzes your brand's representation in images and videos. -
Insightful Reports:
Provides comprehensive reports to support strategic decisions.
Advantages:
Talkwalker is perfect for startups with global target markets needing deep insights.
Tips for Choosing Social Listening Tools for SMEs and Startups
When selecting a social listening tool, consider the following:
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1. Budget:
Choose tools that align with your financial capabilities, whether you're an SME, startup, or a large-scale business. -
2. Business Needs:
Ensure the offered features meet your business needs and goals, such as sentiment analysis, competitor tracking, audience trends, or content marketing strategies. -
3. Ease of Use:
For SMEs and startups, tools with simple interfaces are easier to use without requiring much time to understand their features.
Benefits of Social Listening for SMEs and Startups
By using social listening tools, SMEs and startups can:
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1. Build Relationships with Customers::
Responding directly to customer conversations and adapting communication styles can boost customer loyalty.
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2. Improve Marketing Strategies:
Social listening provides insights to create more strategic marketing campaigns. -
3. Manage Brand Reputation:
Monitoring negative audience sentiment helps businesses stay aware and take action to maintain a positive brand reputation.
Conclusion
Social listening is a powerful tool for SMEs and startups to deeply understand their audience and improve the effectiveness of digital marketing strategies. Using the right tools, such as Dataxet:Sonar, Brand24, Hootsuite, and others, helps businesses gain data-driven insights to craft competitive marketing strategies.
Before choosing one of the tools mentioned above, ensure your business needs and budgetalign with the features and advantages each tool offers, as this significantly impacts its effectiveness. By integrating social listening into your marketing strategy, your business can build stronger relationships with customers and create a competitive edge in 2025.
