The Top 10 Media Monitoring Tools: Compared

What’s the best media monitoring tool?

It depends on what you need.

Monitoring tools for both traditional and social media are must-haves for a PR pro’s arsenal. From an early-warning device for reputation management to media mining for research – to an integral component of your media measurement practices – having a trusted media monitoring service at your fingertips is gold. 

Bottom line for PR pros: you need a way to listen to the conversation, filter it and respond appropriately.

But which media monitoring tool is best? Do you need more than one? Balcom’s PR team spent weeks weighing options and comparing companies until we settled on the ideal partner for our clients’ needs – but you may need something completely different to meet your needs. Just check out our research so you can make an informed decision for your organization.

Our Judging Criteria

• Manage media lists – The system helps you search, build and update media contact lists
• Distribute press releases – Includes a way to distribute media releases by email (if you prefer that type of distribution), complete with tracking and reporting
• Regular coverage alerts – Includes email alerts for media coverage
• Online monitoring – Offers extensive monitoring of online news
• Print monitoring – Offers monitoring of print media coverage, as well as options for media clips
• Broadcast monitoring – Offers monitoring of broadcast TV and radio coverage, as well as options for media clips
• Social monitoring – Offers monitoring of social media
• Measuring media/social – Includes robust analytics and reporting
• Trial account – Offers the option to try the system first