What are the best tools for publishers looking to track social media activity at the content level?
There are a lot of options for social monitoring, tracking and analytics, with prices ranging from free to very expensive. I thought I’d share some of my favorites that are well suited to editorial content sites.
The primary focus here is on social media analytics and share count tracking, along with identifying content and topics with the potential to go viral. I have intentionally left off most of the wider-ranging management platforms and enterprise suites to try to limit the scope.
Real-Time Analytics
These real-time analytics platforms are among the most popular with news and content sites. Having one is worth the investment.
- Chartbeat Publishing
Chartbeat Publishing was the first on the scene in this category and it continues to be the most popular. The functionality is broader than just social media but you can drill down on social referrers and activity. Check out their live demo. - SimpleReach
SimpleReach is a newer option that is well respected and making good gains. It has a greater degree of social-specific reporting. - Parse.ly
Parse.ly is another popular choice that has strong momentum. It also has a broader focus but the social data you need is covered. - Spike
Spike from NewsWhip is well-suited to news sites with good functionality for both journalists and marketers. - HipDek
HipDek is an up-and-comer; it hasn’t achieved the critical mass of the others yet but it offers good functionality specific to publishers. - Nuvi
Nuvi offers some useful real-time dashboards and reporting options. I don’t have first-hand experience with this one but the functionality looks good.
Competitive Analysis
These tools are useful for pulling social data on your own site as well as the competition.
- BuzzSumo
I really like BuzzSumo; it has become my go-to resource for quick analysis of a specific site or topic. Currently the full functionality is free; there is also a Pro version in the works. - Social Crawlytics
Social Crawlytics allows you to crawl a domain to drill down on social metrics by URL and author. It’s a good way to get some basic competitive insight. - Rival IQ
Rival IQ is becoming popular for competitive analysis in social and other marketing channels. - Shareablee
Shareablee provides social engagement data and competitive benchmarking for a variety of platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Tumblr and Vine.
Management Tools
As mentioned above I’ve left off most of the management tools to keep the size of this list reasonable. But here are a few that are a good fit for publishers. These shouldn’t be your only source of social analytics but they each provide useful data.
- HootSuite
HootSuite is popular with editorial teams because it offers good all-in-one functionality without being overly complicated. - Sprout Social
Sprout Social is another popular choice that has strong features. - Engagor
Engagor is a comprehensive all-in-one tool with a good analytics component. - Buffer
Buffer has evolved from a nice choice for custom scheduling to a more comprehensive option. Buffer for Business is good for larger teams.
Other Analytics and Tracking Tools
Here are some other recommended options for social analytics and tracking. Most are not specifically tailored to publishers but they have good functionality.
- Simply Measured
Known for its clean reports with strong visuals, Simply Measured is a good option for overall social analytics. If budget is tight their free tools are nice too. - Moz Analytics
Moz Analytics continues to incorporate more social data into its reporting, so this has become a worthwhile choice. - Trackur
Trackur made its name as an affordable alternative to the larger social media monitoring tools. Monitoring is its primary function but the analytics component is good too. - Curalate
Curalate is a great option for image-focused content on Pinterest, Instagram and now Tumblr. - Bottlenose
Bottlenose is nice too. The primary focus is on trend analysis but it has a wide range of useful functionality.
Share Counts by URL
Some basic free tools that provide the social share counts for a specific URL.
- SharedCount
SharedCount is very basic, but it works and it’s free. - Share Tally
Share Tally offers more visual reporting and it provides the option to click through to see the specific shares on some sites. - AudienceWise
AudienceWise has a couple of handy tools that are free. The Social Shares by URL tool lets you pull the stats on up to 20 URLs at a time. The Social Shares by Sitemap tool lets you submit a Google News sitemap to get the tally for every article in it. - Topsy
Topsy doesn’t exactly fit in this category since it’s largely focused on Twitter and has wider functionality. But it’s a nice option for checking the tweet count for a given URL, and more usefully who tweeted it and how influential they are.
What Else?
There are a lot of great tools out there and it is easy to miss some. What else are you using that I didn’t cover? Let me know and I’ll add any that are well matched to news and content sites.
Aaron Bradley says
Great list Adam – thanks, bookmarked!
It could fall under multiple categories, but I’d definitely add Bottlenose (http://bottlenose.com/) to your list.
Adam Sherk says
Glad you liked it Aaron. Bottlenose is a good one; thanks. I’ve just added it.
Cameron Joye says
Hi Adam! It’s always interesting for me to read articles such as this to gauge what people are saying about social media management tools. I notice Engagor isn’t in your list, and if you haven’t already heard of it I invite you to check us out! Engagor is a SMM tool that covers all the bases including monitoring, deep insights, and customer engagement. I’d be interested to hear what you think!
Andy says
Thanks for recommending Trackur in your list!
G.G. Silverman says
This is a fantastic list. I am an author, not a publisher, but can see these tools as being very helpful.
Adam Sherk says
Thanks Cameron, I’ll check out Engagor.
You’re welcome Andy.
And thanks G.G., I’m glad you found it useful.
Jade Furubayashi says
Hey Adam,
Appreciate the Simply Measured shoutout here! This is a solid list, keep up the good work.
Cheers,
Jade
Lisa says
Great list Adam! I’d also throw Shareablee into the mix for both your own brand analytics and a competitive deep dive!
Adam Sherk says
You’re welcome Jade.
Thanks Lisa, I added Shareablee to the list.
And Cameron I added Engagor too.
Cameron Joye says
Thanks Adam! Really appreciate you taking the time to check it out and include Engagor 🙂
Conor Mulloy says
Don’t forget Spike from Newswhip!
Adam Sherk says
Spike is a good one that I forgot about, thanks Conor. I’ve added it to the list.
vahe says
Hi Adam,
Thanks for the post. I wish you post more often and hope things are well from your end!
Cheers,
Vahe
Steve McMurray says
You should really check out NUVI and then redo your rankings.
Andy Detweiler says
Hi Adam,
A joint acquaintance of ours tipped me off to your list.
Please consider checking out B2B Content Engine (www.b2bcontentengine.com): we are a social content marketing tool that encompasses all the necessary ingredients to achieve meaningful business results through social media: your content, curated content, calls-to-action, and analytics.
Adam Sherk says
Steve – NUVI looks interesting; I’ve added it to the real-time analytics section. Also to clarify the tools in this post are not ranked.
Andy – Thanks for sharing B2B Content Engine. It looks like an excellent option for start-ups and small businesses. I’m not sure it’s an ideal fit for large-scale news and editorial content sites however. But I’m happy to suggest to relevant businesses when appropriate.